Hang Time

We started a tradition at our house of what would normally be called "date nights" with our kids. However, my son did not like the idea of going on a date with his parents so we have renamed the outings to "hang time". Hang time is a special one on one time with our kids. In our family we take one kid per month out to do something fun or have a special snack or whatever they want within a certain price range. We have four children, so one month I would take #1 and my husband would take #2 on another day. Then, the next month, I would take #3 and he would take #4. We could do every kid each month but that can get costly and time consuming. So we are doing it this way for now. The kids really enjoy their special time with mom or dad. It is nice to get away from the house and have some time to build our relationship. They look forward to this time (so do I). We think it is important to let each kid know they are loved and not lost in the crowd and chaos of family life and life in general. They can see that we desire to spend time with them. It also gives each kid a chance to experience mom and dad in different ways. What are some things you like to do with your kids? Do you have anything like this you do with them?

A Time of Traditions

According to Webster's dictionary, a "tradition" is, an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)," and "the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction."


As moms, part of our job is to teach our children, to pass down information from one generation to the next.  As Christian moms our job becomes to pass down the truths from the bible to the next generation.  


Christmas, I think, is one of the biggest times of year for tradition.  Think about some of your traditions and think about what is it you are teaching your children through these traditions?  This Christmas I would like to challenge you to add a new tradition.  A tradition to help further teach truths from the Bible.  


Last year, I was convicted on finding ways to "give Christmas away."  Of course, I already wanted to teach that to my children, but was really convicted about it after watching a new Veggie Tales movie and hearing a song by Matthew West and Amy Grant called, "Give This Christmas Away" .  I then went out and bought the book with the same title to get some ideas.  


This year we decided, as a family, to participate in Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse.  We collected 3 shoe boxes--one for each of my kids--and went shopping for toys, toiletries, candy, etc to fill up the boxes.  Then, we wrapped the boxes, designated who they were for (for example, my 6 year old boy shopped for a 6 year old boy) and sent them on their way.  Now, I admit this was a difficult task for my children to pick out toys for other kids and not themselves.  BUT, that is why we did it!  My husband and I are starting a new "tradition" of passing down and living out real Bible truths through this activity.  They are learning how to give to others in need.  Naturally, we are selfish people, so I am not surprised at all that this was difficult for them.  I am thankful though that they did it and for the most part did have fun at the same time. lol  They are also excited that their boxes will be tracked and we get to find out what part of the world they are going to!


Here are a few photos of our day.

So, I challenge you to find a way to "give Christmas away" this year.  You can buy the book, Give This Christmas Away to get lots of ideas.  Here are some more ideas as well:


Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog
World Vision Gift Catalog

“Halloween” at the Wilson house

My post today will talk about what our family did for the time of Halloween this year. We are in the process of figuring out how we want to celebrate things and what things to celebrate and educating ourselves on the history of things and why people celebrate as they do, and how we can be a light of Christ or "missionary" in our community and culture, etc etc... We have always just done stuff because that's what we have always done or what we were taught, but I want to have and live with purpose and know why I do it and are having my kids learn and do it.

Well this year, a couple days before Halloween weekend I was led to do a lot of research on Halloween and I learned a lot of stuff. I even learned that Reformation Day is the same day. I had never really heard of Reformation Day. I knew about Luther and his theses, but I didn't know when he did it and why he did it that day. I could not believe that in almost 20 yrs of being a Christian, i did not know much about Luther, his theses, and the Reformation.  It was very saddening to me.  It is a very important moment in the history of the church.  We need to remember it!  This was all very interesting and enlightening. I was convicted to change our plans for that weekend.

We had just carved our pumpkin the night before and we had made it a witch. It was right after this that I started feeling weird and had a desire to research the holiday for personal knowledge as well as lesson planning for school (I had been putting it off). So first, I changed our witch pumpkin because I did not want to glorify the occult. Witches are real. They are not some made up fantasy that is just for fun. There is active spiritual war daily that we need to be aware of. Halloween is a wiccan holy day and the thought of having a witch on my front porch was grieving my spirit. The occult does not believe in God and spreads a false message along with serving false gods and so therefore they raise themselves up against him. So I did not want to display that at my house.

Then, I contacted a friend who I remember saying she was doing something at her house as an outreach. We joined them Monday night instead of trick-or-treating. The kids dressed up and we went to their house. They had a big display in the yard of a lighthouse which said that Jesus is the light of the world. They had a fishing area that the kids could go "fishing", catch a “fish”, and then get a full sized candy bar as a reward. Then they went to a table and made a witness bracelet that they then took home with them along with info. They also had popcorn, hot cocoa, and games set up. It was really neat. Our kids enjoyed themselves and it was great to serve others instead of going around being greedy with candy. The kids didn't even miss trick or treating.  We want to plan our own something next year.

I also planned a lesson for Monday all about Reformation Day and some history of Halloween. It was really fun. The kids enjoyed it. I used things I found online, nothing was my idea. What we did was learn some history about the day and do some games and activities. The kids did a maze worksheet of Luther finding his hammer; they colored the symbol the reformers came up with; we made a Door of Wittenberg, put it up on the wall and wrote simple statements reflecting the theses and the kids “nailed” them to the door; we played pin the beard on the reformer; and we had a special snack of worms(dirt pudding) due to the trial held in Worms Germany. It was a great day and we all learned a lot.

We plan on doing a lot more stuff like this as we go about the year and learn new things. I am trying to figure out what we will do for thanksgiving and Christmas. I am looking forward to it.  Anyway, hope you enjoyed seeing what we did.  

Chrissy

Take A Hike!

About 2 weeks ago we had fall break here in IN.  Our plan was to take the kids camping and have our first family camping trip!  We were so excited until the bad weather came!  We were bummed.  I was looking forward to spending time in God's beautiful creation and talking to the kids about it.  

But, God still allowed us a short nature hike!  We were so blessed!  I encourage you to read Deuteronomy chapters 6 and 11.  In chapter 6 God says,

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

And then again in chapter 11, 

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,"

God wanted the Israelites to not forget what He had done for them, to keep His commandments, and pass this on to their children.  We are to remember God's faithfulness and blessings, to obey Him, and to teach our children about what He has done!

I used the nature hike as an opportunity to teach my children more about God.  As we walked the trails in the woods, I talked to my kids about His creation and how He reveals Himself through His creation.  Romans 1:19-20 tells us this,

"since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

And Romans goes on to teach us to say thank you to God for all He has done!  You can also read Acts 14:15-17 and 17:24-30 regarding God making Himself known to us through His creation.  

This is where I stopped.  Later, I realized I also could have talked to them about how He has been faithful to our family.  How He has cared for us, provided for us, walked with us through hard times.  I could have also taken this time to remember and point out the ways He has worked in our lives and to say thank you together to Him for all these things!  But, I did not miss an opportunity because I can be doing that all the time, "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 6:7)

So for this month's idea, if you haven’t already, go take a hike, and talk to your children about God’s creation.  Then, talk to them throughout the week about His faithfulness in your family.  Talk to them about what Jesus did for us.  And most importantly remember to give Him thanks!


Jenny Wilson

Being "Mom" In God's Strength Not My Own

Sometimes the responsibilities that come with my role as a mom of two special needs children feels overwhelming.  So many people have told me that Josiah and Bethany Grace chose us as parents and that God must think a lot of us to give us two children with extra special needs.  Some days I wonder what it would be like to have typical children without the special needs.   But then I have just erased the most wonderful and beautiful aspects of my children and an opportunity to depend more on Jesus.  My two children are precious and I love them very deeply just as they are.  Yet, it still is a heavy load to bear some days….when I try to bear the responsibilities on my own strength.  For a year after Bethany Grace came home from the NICU I tried desperately to do it all on my own strength.  Pumping her breast milk for her feeding tube, being a nurse 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and coordinating all of her care with doctors, specialists, therapists, case managers, and supply and equipment companies.  I quickly burnt out and did not spend enough time caring for myself. 

Only recently I have experienced the freedom and joy in depending on God’s grace and help.  About a month ago, exhausted and at the end of myself I threw up my hands and cried, “I cannot do this on my own strength anymore!  I need you, Jesus!”  The phrase, “God never gives you more than you can handle” really means “God never gives you more than you can handle when depending on His strength.”  I need God’s help and strength in my daily life of caring for my two children.  I am finally thankful for the incredible challenges I have been dealt with my family.  For without them, I would have been able to keep going in my own strength and would not be experiencing the grace and the joy and the freedom and the rest that comes from receiving grace on a daily basis. 

Whether you have typically-developing children or special needs children, do you ever feel like you try to be a mother in your own strength, not depending on God’s grace to give you strength and joy?  I have learned that I miss out when I am stubborn and refuse God’s help—even when I might feel like I do not need it that day.  I am now trying to remember to be thankful for my difficult circumstances, to ask God to come into my weakness with His grace and make me strong in His strength.  When I am loving my children and caring for them through God’s love, I am a much better mom. 

Kristin  

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29

Hello from TN!

Hello, I am happy to be here blogging. I am excited about my sisters idea.  Yet, honestly I have no idea what to say today. Things have been crazy at our house with bringing Peyton home to us. It is 9:30 and I am finally getting a chance to attempt this post. I have not even blogged my personal blog since like April.  And I have not really blogged our adoption blog since before we left Ukraine.  I am very thankful to not be tired right now... yesterday was a different story... I was so exhausted in every way possible that I was not functioning very well.  Our precious little boy has been home 3 weeks now.  Some things have been hard, some things have been amazing... we love our life and our family. We are excited how God will continue to use us and can't wait to see what he has next for our lives after this adjustment period.

I am not sure exactly what kind of posts my sister expects from me. But I am most likely going to post things about life: about relationships, parenting, community, missions, homeschool, spiritual healing, theology, marriage, etc. I am a deep thinker, analyzer type. I am not very creative like my sister, so it is nice to have a mixture of people on this blog to contribute and learn from. I like her fun ideas she comes up with to do with her kids. She inspires me all the time in how to be a good mom. I hope that I can help inspire, enlighten, educate, intrigue, etc others through this blog.

My sister says I amaze her because I homeschool my kids. I think she is way more patient that I am, lol.  There is really nothing special about me that I can do this. I can't really do it, but I can through Christ and his strength.  It is funny, I call myself an enigma. I don't really make any sense. If you were to look at me, you would never guess I was a stay at home, homeschooling mom of 4!!! I am a tomboy, have been my whole life. I have never fit-in at any ladies or mom events. I don't seem to have a lot in common with other moms or socialize very well with other ladies. I am one of the least patient people in the world. I am not very creative. I am naturally very lazy. I am not very tactful or gentle. I didn't spend a lot of time with little kids at any point in my life. However, I have always wanted to be a mom. That is the one thing I have always known, and know I would never want to live without.

God grabbed our hearts for homeschooling early on. Yet, when the time came for school to start with our oldest, I was not in a very good place spiritually or emotionally and the idea of homeschool was not even in sight. But you know what... God healed me... and then God called me back to it... and I was obedient... and this life is not easy but it's wonderful. If you like the idea of homeschooling or have ever thought about it, you should look into it. Get educated about it, pray, and listen. If you know you feel called to do it and have put it off, then trust God and just do it! But definitely get help, find  community of support, and get involved in the community you live in! We are not called to isolation! Important: Do not look at yourself to see if you have the ability... look to God and know he has the power. Just make sure you go where God is leading, whatever that may be.  The alternative is not wise. 

This journey has been great so far in the short time we have been doing it. I mess up constantly, but I don't give up. It is growing me, changing me, building my character, opening my eyes, etc. I am learning more and more about sacrifice and death to self. I am learning more about my children and growing our relationships. I mess up constantly, but I don't give up. A lot of things are trial and error. I love the flexibility our family can have. I love the freedom in the curriculum and how we can teach them truth throughout the whole day no matter what subject they are learning. I mess up constantly, but I don't give up. As a parent, my #1 goal is to train them up to spread God's fame and build the Kingdom. For us, this path includes homeschooling. It was a calling; one we accept with joy and we keep covered in prayer.

I look fwd to posting more and getting to know some readers.

A book I read recently about parenting young children that I thought was totally awesome is, Loving the little Years by Rachel Jankovic. I highly recommend it!

Another is One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda. Again, highly recommend!

Chrissy

Introducing...

Today I am excited to introduce a couple of new faces to my blog!  These other moms will be blogging with me periodically so they may also share their stories and ideas.

First, my sister, Chrissy is also a stay home mom and she home schools!  She amazes me, I don't have the patience for homeschooling. ;)  She is my best friend and a great mom!  Chrissy has 4 kiddos ages 8, 6, 5, and 2!  She just recently adopted their little 5 year old boy from the Ukraine!  If you click on her picture you can read about their adoption journey.

Next, is Kristin.  Kristin and I are colleagues from Wheaton College.  We met in a marrieds small group during graduate school and became instant friends.  Kristin inspires me to find the strength I need to be a better mom (she may not believe me, but it's true; she is amazing!).  She is now celebrating her 10 year anniversary and has 2 beautiful special needs children.  She has an amazing story to share and I am so excited to have her blogging with me!

Finally, I want to introduce my mentor, Jenny.  God blessed me with Jenny's friendship shorty after having my first child.  She has been an excellent teacher and encourager to me as both a wife and mom.  Jenny has been married for 32 years, has 3 grown children, and 4 grandchildren.

I hope you enjoy learning from and growing with us!  We also hope to hear from you--your stories and ideas--as well.  :)  We hope to pass along our faith from one mom to another as well as to the next generation.

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."


2 Timothy 1:5

New Moms

I am getting ready to relaunch my blog!  I'm excited to have a couple more moms join me in this journey!  I will be introducing them soon.  I'm excited to see what we can learn from these moms and each other!

Mix Up!

Just recently for about 3 weeks I helped take care of 3 extra kiddos (that's why I've not posted in a while).  Yes I am crazy!  But it was totally worth it.  My sister and her husband are adopting!  So, I watched her kids while they were over seas.  She gave me a fun snack idea to do with the kids.

We made what her family calls, "Mix Up."  This is basically make your own trail mix.  It was fun.  I changed her ingredients slightly and we mixed up: pretzels, colorful marshmallows, and chocolate chips.  Not healthy, but very fun!  Then, her kids took our family's "silly snack" idea and made silly snacks out of the mix up!

The Cave

I mentioned earlier that I would share some ideas from my kids imaginations.  Here is something we like to do, that you may already do as well.  Sometimes, we like to get out all of our blankets and pillows and make a cave for the kids to play in.  I create the environment and they create the stories.  I love watching what happens when we do this!  Here is a picture of one of the caves we made:

The kids have a small pop-up tent we used and a tunnel as well.  Fun, fun!  They loved it!  This goes back to the idea of why buy a kid a toy when all they want is the box.  So much more room for creativity and imagination when you do this kind of stuff.  :)

Everything You Do...

Do you ever feel guilty about the things you are doing, or should I say, not doing with your kids?  I certainly do!  Especially when you have multiple degrees, perhaps, and you have learned the consequences of certain activities (i.e. too much TV).  In school, you think, “Oh I would never do that with my kids!”  Then, 10 years later, you find yourself doing exactly the opposite of what you vowed you would not do?  LOL!  I hope you can relate and that I’m not the only one!

Well, there’s a new Stephen Curtis Chapman song called, "Do Everthing," that really speaks to me and reminds me of what is important.  It's from his latest cd entitled, Re:Creation.  Here are the lyrics for the first part of the song:

"You’re picking up toys on the living room floor for the 15^th time today

Matching up socks, sweeping up lost Cheerios that got away

You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips and head out the door

And while I may not know you I bet I know you

Wonder sometimes does it matter at all

Well let me remind you it all matters just as long

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you

Cause He made you to do

Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face

And tell the story of grace

With every move that you make

And every little thing you do"

This song comes from the verse 1 Corinthians 10:31,

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Collosians 3

Sometimes as a Christian mom I feel pressure too.  I think I’m not doing enough Bible study or scripture memorization, etc with my kids.  I try new ideas to help their faith and feel like I fail more often than I succeed.  But, this verse reminds me that no matter what I do, even with my kids, all I need is to be sure to do it for God’s glory!  Can I glorify God in making “silly snacks” with my kids?  Yes!  Can I glorify God by letting my house get messy because my kids like to be creative? Absolutely!  I do believe teaching them the Bible is important.  But, I also believe God would rather me be laughing and playing with my kids rather than spending the day cleaning my house.  After all, being a Christian is about building a relationship with Christ and I believe He wants us to also build a relationship with our children as well.  So here's an idea...go have some fun with your kids and whatever you do, do it for His glory!  J

Treasure!

I have 2 boys with very wild imaginations!  I'll share some of the stuff they come up with in future posts.  Today I want to tell you about their treasure boxes.  One of their favorite activities is to dress up like pirates and hunt for treasure.  We also enjoy going on walks outside and looking for "treasures."  So, one day while I was out shopping, I found these treasure boxes.  I think I got them on clearance at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.  The boys were so excited!  They were perfect because they were cheap and blank!  The boys got to decorate their own treasure box!

They use their treasure boxes for different things almost every day.  Sometimes we go on walks and they collect "treasures" which they keep in their boxes for a little while.  Sometimes they dress up like pirates and have mom make a treasure map.  I fill their treasure boxes with some sort of "treasure" and they go hunting.  Yesterday, they turned the entire living room into Pirate World!  They had each made flags they colored and taped to a variety of places to make their ships.  My 6 year old said it was "pirate VBS."  He had me go around from station to station, talk about God and Jesus, and sing songs.  So creative!  We even got to pick out treasures at the end.

Two of our favorite stories to read about treasure are:

The Treasure Tree by John and Cindy Trent and Gary and Norma Smalley
Will, God's Mighty Warrior #2: The Mystery of Magillicuddy's Gold by Sheila Walsh

Prayers and Praises

Do you ever get overwhelmed with all the prayer requests that come in--prayer chains, small groups, Bible Study, friends, family, etc.  And you sometimes feel guilty when you forget to pray for someone?  Of you forget to thank God and look for the praises later?  Well, I came up with an idea for our family because that was me!  So, I went to the dollar store and purchased a simple jar.  Then, I decorated it at home.  Next, I wrote down as many prayer requests as I could think of on small pieces of paper, folded them up and put them in the jar.  We placed the jar on the kitchen table so we remember to pray.  Then, usually at lunch time, each kid enjoys picking out a piece of paper from the jar, especially the 2 year old!  Then, we pray for the requests we have picked.  When we are done, we place the papers we just prayed for in the lid of the jar.  This way we are sure to get through all the requests.  When we have prayed through all the requests, then we take the papers out of the lid and place them back into the jar.

The praises come so easily now and the kids get to see them too!  Let's say we've been praying for a particular prayer request for some time now...my sister's house to sell.  We pick this request out of the jar once again and it becomes a praise because my sister's house just sold!!  So, now we thank God during our prayer time for the house selling and His faithfulness!  The kids are excited!  Next, we throw that prayer request out since it has been answered.

Every time we get a new request in, we just write it down and stick it in the jar.  Mom is no longer overwhelmed, enjoys prayer time more (because the jar helps me remember who to pray for), the kids are involved (even the 2 year old), and we get to see God work!

Here is our Prayer Jar

Here is a picture of the lid where we put the papers we just prayed for

Silly Snacks

Here are some fun and healthy "silly" snacks (my kids like to call them) that we made.

A Boy 

This is a T-Rex

Rabbit

A cow--according to my 4 year old :)

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  I hope you like the ideas that I plan to share.  I am very excited!  I don't know how often I will post being so busy with 3 little ones and all.  But, I will post new and old ideas whenever I get the chance.  I'd love to hear your comments and be in community with other moms!