Potty Training and Remodeling and Teething...OH MY!

It's May.  And since my husband is a principal at a Christian school, that means we're BUSY with graduations, open houses, spring programs, awards banquets, school board meetings...the list goes on!

So why of all months did we pick May to start two pretty major remodeling jobs in our home?  And why am I attempting to start the potty training journey with our 2.5 year old?  And why did Liberty choose now to cut two new teeth?

Well, it's probably because Chaos is our best friend :)

But also because these are all things that we've been putting off, but they just need to get done.  You see, around here, there is no such thing as a "perfect opportunity" when it comes to things like this on our "to do" list. So, we just have to do what we can when we have the energy...


With this awesome Spring weather, I guess our energy just got the best of us!  :)

So currently, I'm trying to potty train Samuel.  Although I've done this twice already with my two older boys, you wouldn't know it if you could see right now!  I'm having trouble remembering all the "tricks of the trade" so ANY advice would be greatly welcomed!

The best technique I have right now is that EVERYONE gets an M&M if Samuel uses the potty.  This really gets my older boys involved in encouraging him to potty train!

We're also refinishing our front porch.  It has badly needed it ever since we moved in almost 4 years ago, but we are just now getting around to it.  Thankfully, a few of our students used their "community work day" to come over and help my husband sand, strip, patch and caulk.

I know what you might be thinking..."you let high school kids work on your porch with power tools?"  Yes we did!  You have to understand that around here, these boys ain't no city boys!  They are farm boys, hard workers, beginning craftsmen, well-rounded in all things "construction".  They did awesome and were such a blessing!

Some of the girl students came over too and we got working on painting my cabinets in my kitchen pantry.  Sanding and painting, was the name of the game...they saved me soo much time!

Yet even with their help, we're still in the midst of both projects.  The porch is waiting for it's final coat and the cabinets are waiting to be hung. Working on things just a few spare minutes here and there is challenging, but we keep reminding ourselves it WILL get done...eventually :)  Family always comes first, and THAT pays off!

Then there is Little Miss Liberty.  The past fews days she's had a fierce fever, messy diapers, sleepless nights and the culprit is...her two top teeth!  They decided to make an appearance in the midst of all our insanity.  So for her and I that has meant little sleep, more baths and the best part of teething that I LOVE?  Lots of cuddling!

If you have any advice on potty training or soothing techniques for teething, do share!!!
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And one more thing...
For my last "MckLinky Monday" (coming up) I was inspired to have us all write about why we love our hubbys!  Recently my friend Jenny (who I lived and served with in Mexico in 2005 for a few months) wrote a blog post that I LOVED...

Her first line in her post still makes me smile; 

i love him when. ...after bathing the eldest, toweling her, and putting on warm jammies, i hear him say 'now let's put one of these thinga-ma-jiggies in your hair.'

Doesn't that just make you smile?!

You can read the rest of her post HERE!  

So now YOU get ready to blog about why YOU love YOUR HUBBY and link it up here this Monday!!!

Remembering...The Day My Second Child Was Born...And Our "Abraham" Move

I have REALLY been enjoying Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane because not only has it encouraged me to scan some pictures in, but it also has been such a blessing to look back at the birth of my blessings!

Last week, I told you about the "plans" my husband and I had when we started our marriage and how the Lord intervened and asked us to surrender my womb to Him.  A short time later, we had our first born, Trusten.  At the time, we didn't know what that meant for future babies, but when Trusten turned 9 months old, we discovered we were pregnant again!

This time, we weren't in such a stable place as before...

My husband was the "Director of Student Ministries" at our large, growing church in Kansas City...but the Lord was calling us away.  Honestly, the calling made no sense to us..."a town in the middle of Kansas?  Why there, Lord?  Is this a joke?  What will Ryan do for a job?  What's you plan for us there?"

We asked and asked the Lord our hundreds of questions, but got the same answer every time.

"Go.  And I will show you."

So we spent most of my pregnancy with Brahm visiting this town, it's churches, talking with pastors, putting in job applications.  And when I was nine months pregnant, the Lord opened a door.

A man called with a job for Ryan, but he had to start in two weeks.  TALK ABOUT CRAZY!
So a month before my due date, we packed up our house in a U-Haul and sent Ryan off.  Trusten and I moved in with my parents and we waited for our second baby to be born.  I was SO scared Ryan would miss it.

BUT GOD IS GOOD! 
Ryan came to visit us the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend and guess what?!?!  Early Saturday morning I went into labor!!!

This time, I was only 8 days over due and my labor was only 3 hours long!  I call him my miracle baby, just because when he was born, the cord was around his neck and according to everyone in the room, he was blue...but I didn't know this until a few minutes later, after they assured he was SAFE and HEALTHY and my hubby explained what had happened!  He was a little guy...

6lbs 11oz, 19 inches long

 

Our first photo together...

 

Meeting His Big Brother Trusten

 

I can still hear Trusten saying, "Nosh" as he investigated the tiny nose!

  

The story of his name:

Everyone wants to know, "Why 'Brahm'?"  Here's the answer...

Through my pregnancy with him, in the midst of our new calling and move, we really resonated with the story of Abraham.  God called him to an unknown land and Abraham just obeyed.  So being strengthened and encouraged by such faith, we wanted to give him a name that reflected that!  "Abraham" seemed too big for a little guy, so we called him "Brahm".  So now you know, it's not because we love ice cream!  :)

Our Sweet Little Man!

 

My very favorite photo...Brahm looks SO tiny in his daddy's arms!

 

Our new family!

 

Us with our Parents

 

Time to go home!  Trusten was excited to have a backseat partner!

  

1 week after Brahm's birth, we moved to the small town in Kansas, where we live now.

The Lord has done great and mighty things and continues to.  He led us here to heal us and restore us from bondage we weren't even aware of!  He is using my husband in amazing ways...they may not be in ways that will ever get him the type of attention he had up in Kansas City, but he is changing lives and has already lead many to the Light of Jesus!  

The Lord has blessed us beyond what we could have even dreamed.  We are happier now than we have EVER been. 

And being in this small, rural town hasn't been the key...the key has been being in the center of God's will...which currently just happens to be in this small, rural town that we LOVE!  :)

10 Things To Do With Little Ones Suffering From "Cabin Fever"

I love rainy days.  Actually, I should say I love A rainy day (as in: singular, occasional).  It's fun to stay in jammies, cuddle up and watch movies all afternoon...but when the second day of rain comes...my boys are itchin' to MOVE, JUMP, TUMBLE and WRESTLE!  Or as Trusten says, "boy, I need to get my energy out!"

So here's a list of my Top 10 things we like to do on rainy days...(keep in mind, I have BOYS!)

1) "Ice" SKATE!  

About a year ago, my kiddos came up with this nifty activity!  Divy out 2 ice cube trays per child, turn them over, stand on 'em and skate away!  It's wears them out nice and quick...er, um, I mean, it's good exercise!

2) Build a FORT!
My boys love building forts!  What boy doesn't?
Grab all the blankets, pillows and linens in the house.  Find some clothes pins (or something to secure the sheets) and go for it! Challenge them to see how tall, wide, colorful they can make it!

Or just bring the traditional camping inside and put up your real tent!

3) READ a book and ACT it out! 
My boys usually choose "Going On A Bear Hunt" when we play this game!  They love to "play" what they just read!  And it's a good memory practice too!

4) Splish, splash, let 'em take a BATH! 
Birthday suits?
Swim trunks?
Whatever works! 
This can be great fun for the kiddos! 
(Just don't forget to put some towels down and steer clear of their "splash zone"!)

5) Little BLIND mice!  

My oldest son loves this game...probably because he's bossy a natural born leader!  We make an obstacle course in the living room, one boy gets blind-folded and the other brothers talk him through it!

6) Let them play CHEF! 
Encourage their creativity by putting a variety of food items out on the counter and let them create a new dish or snack!  It's so fun to see what they come up with...

and what they are daring enough to eat!!!

7)  Be a BLESSING!
Make cards, pictures, cookies, or crafts for friends, neighbors, family, a nursing home, etc!  A great way to spend a rainy day and to teach your kiddos kindness and compassion!

8) WATER play!
Fill up the sink with water...
Lay down some towels...
Give 'em stools to stand on...
Let them pick out bowls, spoons and cups to play with...
Don't forget the medicine droppers to squirt with...

Keeps 'em entertained for hours!

9)  DANCE Party! 

We like to turn on a worship CD (usually and dance our hearts out!  It's fun getting silly with them and letting them see you cut loose!

10) LEGO race!
My boys love Legos!  They will play for hours!

But sometimes, they need some direction so they'll stick with it.  So, I give everyone a specific thing (truck, airplane, space ship) and set the timer to 20-30 minutes and say "GO!" and they have to build their structure within that time. 

Once the timer goes off, we move on to something else...and when Daddy gets home we get to show him our projects!

This post is linked to "Top Ten {Tuesday}" on OhAmanda.com

And to "Works For Me Wednesday" at WeAreThatFamily.com

Quiet Times: With My Kids, For My Kids

In my last post, I talked about how after the kids and I have finished breakfast and our morning chores, we gather in the living room for "Devotions".

This is one of my favorite parts of our mornings and I wanted to share it...

Each boy picks out a Bible (we have a shelf with a wide range of Children's Bibles...keep your eye out for them at garage sales and start collecting!) and they pick a spot on the couch.

I turn on worship music and we sit in silence while we "read" our Bibles.

Most mornings we start out this time, by each of us simply praying out loud, one-by-one, "Jesus, speak to me."  There is NOTHING more precious to me than hearing this phrase come from the mouth of my little boys each morning!

By teaching my boys this habit, my prayer is that they will not only grow used to listening for the Lord, but that they will learn how to recognize His voice.  And every once in a while, my  heart is SO blessed when a boy (usually my 5 year old) will say afterwards, "Momma!  Jesus said __________ to me!"  It's almost always one of the 10 commandments or just "I love you"...THOSE are amazing moments for them and me!!!

Since Trusten is the only one even close to reading, this time of "Devotions" mainly means they look at the pictures and as they see a familiar lesson, they reflect on what they've heard in the past.

And for me, this is a perfect opportunity to get my Bible reading in!  I usually only get one chapter read, but it's often just what I need to lift my gaze and keep me in step with the Spirit!

We end our Devotion time with the boys gathering around to pray.  Usually each boy picks someone or something they want to pray for, but we always pray for our daddy.

I know that I'll remember these precious, group morning devotions forever!  Looking around the room and seeing my boys quietly studying their Bibles is a humbling sight for me!  Then to hear them as their prayers grow and mature is such a blessing to my heart!

This post is linked to Momentous Monday hosted by my friend Tiffany(...check out her blog, they are soon adopting from Ethiopia!)
and it's also linked to...

How We Used To Do Chores--Chore Cards

I've been cleaning out my "school" area and found my kids' old chore cards!  Most of these ended up lost or chewed up, but I found a precious few still in tact and thought I'd share them with you!

When Trusten was 4, Brahm was 2.5, and Samuel was 9 months, I became pregnant with Liberty and had awful morning sickness.  Unlike my past pregnancies, it was just in the mornings, so I knew if I could get to noon, I'd be good to go!

So, in order to survive mornings, I came up with these picture chore cards to help my kiddos know what they were to do while mommy was laid out on the couch!

Trusten and Brahm each had their own envelopes for their morning responsibilities that I kept in the desk drawer.  When they woke up, I'd fix them breakfast (that was about all I could manage!) and then they'd head to the desk drawer for their cards.

These cards gave them some direction for their mornings and because of their ages, my expectations were really low, it was just the fact that they were trying and learning a routine! 

The last "chore" was quiet time with me in the living room.  And we loved this SO much, we still do it!  After all the morning tasks are checked off our chore board (for my new method, see HERE), we'd have quiet Bible time.

I'll write more about that in a future post!

Have a GREAT weekend, friends!