I have a FOUR-year-old!!!!

Last Thursday (the 22nd), Philip celebrated his 4th birthday!! It has gone so fast and I am continuously amazed by the wonderful boy God is shaping before my eyes. We have such great fun together, and I so enjoy his inventive stories. I am likewise being shaped by God as I try to discipline Philip daily so that he might grow into a godly man.

Although Daddy was far away at Disney World for a work conference last week, I wanted Philip to have a special birthday dinner. We invited over Grandma, Aunt Elise, Nana and Papa. I decided to pour the cake batter into my Bundt pan thinking I wouldn't have the two layers as I normally do to ice. Upon icing the round cake with chocolate frosting, I realized the cake was perfect. Philip's favorite snack are chocolate doughnuts, and now he was getting a HUGE one for his birthday.



Grandma gave Philip this very appropriate new ballcap. And look at those baby blues!



On Saturday, we had his "friend party". Since seven little girls happened to be the only guests at his party last year, this year we decided to only invite boys. It was a hit. They each came dressed in a superhero costume (as was suggested on the invitation). We played Red Rover, ate pizza and cupcakes, and attempted to smash into a Transformers pinata. The pinata was not scratched by the boys' bat hits and then the ribbon pulling which was supposed to open the hidden secret trap door didn't work either (I think the candy I used was too bulky). Therefore Matthew kicked the side of it off and the candy then fell to the floor causing all present to shriek (me, from almost getting a pinata in the head as I was standing right in front of it and not knowing Matthew's intentions!!).





And here's Philip feeling very proud after completing his new wooden dinosaur model with help from Daddy. Thank you, Hannah and Madeline!

God... big and small!

Tonight our youth pastor Jason did an amazing job of describing how awesome the God we serve really is. He began with something he knew the youth (and I) have heard a lot, "Almighty God loves you and has a plan for your life." He said tonight he wanted to help us see exactly how true that is and how God has placed His fingerprints on everything throughout the universe, all bringing glory to Himself. Just seeing the snow fall yesterday and the leaves turn from green to yellow to brown and then fall to the ground a few weeks before that, it all really takes more "faith" to think it happens coincidentally than the simple faith of believing that God really did create it and controls it all.

We can clearly see this world all around us, but Jason showed this picture of the Whirlpool Galaxy to explain that God displays His love for us to the far ends of the universe. His love was first perfectly displayed when Christ died for us on a cross.



Wikipedia lists this description, "The nucleus of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). The Cross marks the location of the black hole at the center of the galaxy. The cross was first interpreted as two dust rings circling the nucleus. It was later determined to simply be foreground dust lanes silhouetted by the active nucleus. Bright ionization cones can be seen extending perpendicular to the largest dust feature." The photograph was taken by the Hubble Telescope.

Jason then spoke about how people can believe God on the big things, but not find peace in the little things in life. Jason used an inspiring video clip to demonstrate the degree of miniscule detail the Lord went to in creating us as humans. Our physical make-up comes back to the Cross by the basic "glue" which holds all of our bodies together, a protein called laminine. Here is a picture of the laminine molecule.



Wikipedia says this about laminine, "a protein found in the extracellular matrix, the sheets of protein that form the substrate of all internal organs also called the basement membrane. It is the major non-collagenous component of the basal lamina, such as those on which cells of an epithelium (a tissue composed of cells that line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body) sit."

I have not done Jason's message to the youth any justice as it brought me to tears thinking about how I let petty things of this busy life distract me from the Lord's majesty. If I focused on how amazing He is and miraculously loves me unconditionally to a degree I'll never understand, not a thing in this world should be able to pull me away from a constant state of worshiping Him.

I praise Him for my husband and children and yet they are whom I lose my temper with most often. I praise Him for my home and the opportunity to stay home with Philip and Braewyn and yet I get frustrated with all the cleaning and upkeep it requires. I praise Him for saving my soul by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and yet I rarely tell others how much He loves them and that He died for them too.

Jason said God uses every single thing to bring glory to Himself. Every single thing except one thing... your heart. God allowed our hearts to be left to our decision, whether to bring glory to Him or to seek to please only ourselves. Oh how so very, very thankful I am to have chosen to follow Him and experienced the multitude of blessings He has poured out on me.

One More Photo

I left this photo off my last post. It captures the most common moods of my kids: Braewyn being impish and cute, trying to convince you she hasn't done anything wrong; and Philip being an action-packed superhero with some really enormous mission to attend to. They're my Sweet Muffin and Munchkin!!

Philip and Braewyn

January has already contained lots to post about. The kids have been enjoying their Christmas presents including comfy new pillow and blanket sets from my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Greg.



Philip had his first basketball game last Saturday morning and he participated very well for being still so new to the sport. The Upward Basketball league is a great way to introduce kids to a sport because it's not so competitive. The 4-6 year olds don't even have scores kept during the game. Also it's cool the way they teach them "man-on-man defense" by using matching wristbands. Philip was to "guard" Kendall, a little girl he knows from Sunday School. The only problem was that her dad is her coach and at this age the coaches are on the court leading the kids around in plays. Kendall followed her dad around and Philip had to follow Kendall around. She had the ball one time and Philip tried to get it but backed down. Later he told me he didn't like playing with her because he didn't want to take the ball away from his friend. He got a yellow star for good sportsmanship!!







(Thank you so much, Jessie, for taking these great pics during the game. I videotaped every moment Philip was on the court as the first time "basketball mom" that I am. I'll try to get a few minutes of that posted soon.)

I've also begun using a great book called "Before Five in A Row" to guide us through some preschool like activities in preparation for homeschooling Philip next year with a real K-4 curriculum. I find one of the listed books and read it to the kids. Then we do all sorts of fun activities explained in the book which ties other learning opportunities to the storyline of the book. Our first book was "Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?" Such a cute book. Our activities included matching outfits for a Jesse Bear I made from cardstock and material (very fun but long on the preparation end, however I look forward to pulling it out again with Braewyn next year too!) and sorting colored pieces into groups. This week we're reading "Blueberries for Sal". To let the kids "pick blueberries" as the little girl in the book does, I poured dry kidney beans over the livingroom rug. They had fun hearing the beans "kuplink" into their pails.







Finally, Braewyn took Walmart photos off our to-do list yesterday after she tripped right in front of Philip's bed and sailed nose first into the metal bedrail. I was scared she had broken her little nose as it turned blue and was swollen. Today there is no swelling but a nasty rubbed spot. It doesn't help that she has a fierce runny nose which of course she doesn't want me to wipe. I very carefully dab.





Girlfriends stick by you even when your nose is scraped up!

And to not leave you with that awful image of Braewyn in your head, check out these curls!





Matthew is naturally curly and I have some body to my hair. We'll see if Braewyn will want to use gel to keep them bouncy when she gets older.

Clean Bill of Health

Thank you so much to all friends and family who prayed for me this morning. My colonoscopy went well and my doctor said he did not find any polyps. Thank you, Jesus! I can now rest easy for five years and know that I'm not crazy for wanting to keep on top of this as my doctor recommended I come back in five years. Aside from feeling cleaned out, the best part of this procedure are the comments I make in my pre-colonoscopy nervousness and post-colonoscopy drugged state.

Before hand I told at least one nurse and my doctor, "I ate green jello last night so I hope my insides are not green. If they are, that's why."

Afterwards as I was coming around from this awesome anesthesia (Jo Ellen, how badly did I spell that?) which knocks you out in less than 5 seconds and then wears off in about 15 minutes, Matthew tells me I said this to the SAME nurse FOUR times as she came in and out of my recovery "stall" (I wasn't in a room but more of an alcove behind a curtain but everyone is put in that kind of "room"). "I have two preschoolers at home. I'd love to just stay here for the rest of the day and sleep." There's deep truth behind something you say FOUR times!!!

Feeling Good but Hungry

I'm pretty calm about tomorrow's procedure. It really must be the prayers I've requested from friends and family. And probably also the fact that I'm STARVING! Now I just want the colonoscopy to be over so I can eat something. My heart really goes out to people who have gone through medical issues which kept them from eating for an extended amount of time (Mom and Jessie are who I think first of). Today I've had a mug of hot tea (no milk so it didn't taste quite right), a mug of chicken broth, 2 servings of Jello at one time (a box makes 4 servings and I ate half of what was in the bowl I made it in), a glass of white cranberry peach juice, and at 2:30pm, 4 Ducolax laxatives. At 4:00pm, I begin drinking 8 ounces every 15 minutes of a lemon-lime Gatorade and Miralax concoction until all 64 ounces are down the hatch. Interspersed during that drinking process, I'll begin going to the bathroom, a little at first and then a lot towards the end. When I had my first colonoscopy , I remember thinking that last cup of Gatorade went in one end and immediately out the other.

Sorry if this was too much information. It's honestly not a bad process at all and I do remember thinking last time, "I might just do this every other year just to clean out my insides."

I did get a call from the outpatient nurse today and I am to report tomorrow morning at 8:45am. Thank you, Lord, for letting me have an early appointment so I can come home and EAT something!!

My Colonoscopy on Tuesday

I had a colonoscopy six years ago due to some bleeding which turned out to be due to lifting some heavy boxes. Since then Mom was diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer which means I have family history of that disease. Mom's surgeon recommended that my brother Mike and I have colonoscopies at age 40 instead of the standard age 50. It is recommended to begin checking 10 years prior to when your family member was diagnosed (Mom was 50). That would mean a span of 13 years from my first check until the next. As a worrier and hypochondriac, I wasn't comfortable with that. Also just the fact of having two children and the changes those events brought to my body, the colonoscopy will settle my fears over random aches and pains I experience.

With that said, I ask for your prayers for me to have peace leading up to the procedure on Tuesday morning, precision of my doctor in using the scope, and for God to take away my cough which I've had for about two weeks. My crazy mind wonders what can go wrong if I cough while sedated with a scope up my insides! I pray to report back with a great report.

My Mental Journey Through the Topic of Educating My Children

If you had asked me two months ago if I would consider homeschooling my children, I would have quickly said no. My reasonings were truthful yet selfish: I don't know anything about teaching school, I'm not organized enough, I look forward to the day I can send my children off to school so I can have some time to myself again, and maybe I would like to get a fun job at Hobby Lobby or something! I love Philip and Braewyn completely, but there are days when I am very ready for Matthew to come home and "take over". The idea of spending everyday always together seemed a little overwhelming when I thought about it being for YEARS to come.

Well, around the first week of December, I kept hearing friend after friend mention she was planning on homeschooling her children, the subject was mentioned in a magazine article I read and a brochure for My Father's World homeschool curriculum was on the information table at our MOPS meeting. I thought to myself, maybe God is really wanting me to think about this! I knew this was definitely not something to make a spur of the moment decision about. I mentioned to Matthew that the idea of homeschooling was in my mind but not in any formal fashion and I would just be pondering it over and "researching" it by asking friends who do homeschool and/or are planning to do so.

The more I thought about it, the more I got excited about the idea. At the same time, I continued praying for God to show me His clear direction as I didn't have a complete feeling of peace about it. Also, I struggle with getting Philip and Braewyn to comply to simple requests when they're not in the mood so I wondered how taxing homeschooling really would be. Philip was also showing signs of failing to obey authority figures outside our home (didn't do his craft in Sunday School, sat down during basketball practice because he was tired) which made me wonder if keeping him home would only perpetuate that problem.

I continued talking with friends about which curriculums they use and planned on getting together with a few in January. As I do with anything that perks my interest, I next went to the internet and searched for "homeschool curriculum". Boy, did that blow me away. I spent a few good hours reading over all sorts of plans and honestly became overwhelmed and confused about which I would choose if I did so.

That feeling of peace was still not in my spirit, but I knew my God is faithful and so continued to think this subject over until He sent me my answer. I then also spoke with some friends who have children in our public school system. They all told me they really felt good about the experiences their children have had. Many of the teachers are Christians and although they cannot teach Christian material in the classroom, they display a wonderful Christian example to the children.

Thankfully, God has brought me my answer just in the last few days with a peace that is so comforting. Matthew's opinion on this matter was obviously a key part in my decision as well and this whole process has been "verified" by something I read while studying the Bible. First Matthew favors the idea of public school (I don't want to misquote him, but I think he basically believes that kids become most well-rounded socially and academically in that atmosphere). I would never overrule him on such a substantial decision for our family as this so that came into play. Secondly, I was reading about David being told by God to attack the Philistines while he was in hiding from King Saul (1 Samuel 23:1-6). He told the people he was with who asked him if he was sure about that. David went to God and asked again if that's what he should do.

About these verses, Beth Moore writes in "David: 90 Days with a Heart Like His" (pg. 135), "David did not ask God a second time because he doubted God, but because he needed to be certain. In the same way, you or I might ask God to reconfirm His direction -- not because we doubt God's Word, but because we question our understanding. To doubt God in the face of clear direction is disobedience, but to double-check our understanding and interpretation of God's will is prudent." I did not want to disobey God is He truly wanted me to homeschool, but I just didn't know if that's what He was really telling me

All that being said, God has helped me re-evaluate my motives, and the "plan" Matthew and I have (unless God speaks to us again) is for me to homeschool Philip for preschool (a.k.a. K-4), and then send him to public Kindergarten and further grades. I feel complete peace about this decision. I am certain that God wanted me to think about homeschooling because it brought me to saying that if yes, He wanted me to do so, yes I would do so. What God is suggesting is not always what He wants you to really do, but He just wants to see your faithfulness in saying yes to do so (i.e. Abraham almost taking his son Isaac's life).

This spring, I'm loosely doing K-3 preschool homeschool by using a book entitled, "Before Five in a Row" (activites are provided to use along side a children's book), learning letters and numbers by playing Old Maid and Go Fish, coloring, etc. Next schoolyear, I will be using an actual preschool homeschool curriculum (still working on deciding which one) for him on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as we continue to attend MOPS on Tuesdays and his last year of BSF on Thursdays. This will give us a lot of time together, much of which Braewyn can join in.

Now the question is which elementary school will Philip attend. We are selling our house this spring to move into a different school district. There are four elementary schools and so the location of our new house will determine which he attends. I am excited to see where God leads us and what experiences He has in store for us down the road. It is an amazing feeling to live in the center of His will!!

As my favorite Bible verses say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

Another Video

This video almost brought me to tears. Brittany, one of the teenagers at church, mentioned to me that there was a video for the song "Everything" by Lifehouse on YouTube that was actually a youth skit about all the things that try to tear teenagers down. I've just watched it and it breaks my heart. Matthew and I have been teaching youth Sunday School for 8 years. Teenagers are dear to my heart because the world they live in today is so much more blatantly trying to drag Christians down, really anyone who doesn't want to get caught up in the drinking, drugs and sex. I shudder thinking about what they face everyday not to mention trying to keep my mind from thinking about Philip and Braewyn being in that atmosphere one day. I pray to the Lord almost daily for guidance in raising them and that they might each accept Christ as his/her own Savior so they would seek His guidance for themselves.

That being said, even if you don't come into contact with teenagers regularly this video can make you think about your own life too. What is Satan using to draw you away from God? Is God even a part of your life?

Time to start over!

January 1st has always given me that feeling of taking on huge projects, goals, dreams, etc. because this is a brand new year and the possibilites are endless!! Normally the daily grind of day-to-day activities wears that "everything is possible" energy level down after a few days, but I've found something that might help. I've always loved watching good movies and this video contains clips from some of the best. Hey, Mel Gibson is in it. That would make it worth watching alone. Seriously though, God has an amazing plan for you. And He does want to help you find out what that is. Here's one of my favorite verses from the Bible because it clearly states that God is for us, not against us.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

I forgot Jesus

In my Christmas day recount, I forgot to mention that we did celebrate the true reason of the day. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I wanted Philip to be fully aware that the holiday is in rememberance of Jesus' birth. I would tell him Christmas is Jesus' birthday and we celebrate by having a birthday party for him. We exchange gifts to show each other how much we love each other and think about how much Jesus loves us. Therefore, on Christmas afternoon I made Jesus a birthday cake. We ate it with ice cream after dinner that evening.



(I know the writing is a little sloppy. It was time to decorate the cake and I realized I was almost out of writing icing so I was pinching the tubes with all my might.)

Our Christmas Festivities

The long Christmas "weekend" began on Dec. 24th with a wonderful Christmas Eve service at church followed by a special time with friends. Our good friends Kim and Bobby had several families to their house for a time of fellowship and Christmas cookie decorating.

Oops! We forgot to tell Philip that the cookies were for Santa and not for him. Yum!

Christmas morning came and we had told Philip to come to our room before going to the living room. Matthew read us the Christmas story from the Bible and then it was time to see what Santa had brought and open presents from Mommy and Daddy. Braewyn went diving for her stocking first.

Our little chocoholic ate FOUR chocolate bells before even opening one present...

but I suppose it gave her lots of energy to do so!

Philip was very excited to spot a new Batman plane and Buzz Lightyear toy. Just what he had asked Santa for while on top of that firetruck!!

After seeing the unwrapped gifts from Santa, Philip and Braewyn began distributing the gifts from us out from under the tree.

Who is that Caped Crusader? Philip has so much enjoyed his Spiderman and Buzz Lightyear suits, we thought he'd have fun being more of his favorite super heroes. Batman and...




Iron Man!

Braewyn did receive a new baby and stroller from Santa. Here she is giving her baby a Christmas kiss!

Iron Man and the little mommy exchange words in the hallway.

Matthew was surprised to receive a new router from the kids. It should help continue his new found hobby of woodworking (he made his mom a table for Christmas).

Braewyn had fun playing with her new Mrs. Potato Head. Mommy had a hard time figuring out how to store all the parts in the box!

Ruth Ann, "Grandma", came over after lunch and tried her hand at stockcar racing with Philip on his new Disney Cars Wii game.

Christmas dinner was at our house this year. The table was full but the atmosphere was loving. There were the four of us, Ruth Ann, my parents, Aunt Liz, Aunt Elise, Uncle Arden, and Grandma Mary.

Braewyn, Matthew, Ruth Ann and I sat in the "peanut gallery" section as I called it. Hey, we were all in the same room this way.

Braewyn snuggled up to Aunt Elise and Uncle Arden in the new bathrobe they gave her.

My Mom, the sentimental one, has kept my childhood baby highchair all these years and presented it to Braewyn this Christmas.

She gave it a fresh paintjob and added the cute bird. Braewyn has fed her new baby and learning puppy in it this week.

Saturday was a yard work day for us. Philip helped move some leaves in his new heavy duty, Tonka truck from Great Grandma and Grandpa Diemer (Mom's parents).

On Sunday, we traveled to Matthew's great aunt and uncle's house (45 minutes away) for a large family Christmas gathering and baby shower for his second cousin. I love going there as it's the house Grandma Mary and her siblings grew up in. Her sister Amy and brother-in-law Melvin own it today and we always feel extremely at home there. This photo is during one of the baby shower games.

Here are the expectant parents, Melinda and Brian, opening presents and receiving some unrequested help from an experienced gift-opener, Braewyn.

One of the best things about visiting Amy and Melvin is that they own 34 cows!! It had just rained and so the cows were wet and curly standing around in thick mud. How cute!! We had a wonderful Christmas week and I feel so blessed to have spent it with our dear family and friends.

My Christmas Letter

(Just in case I didn't get to send you an actual Christmas card, here is this year's photo and letter.)



Dear Family and Friends,

I pray this letter finds you and your loved ones healthy and well during this Christmas season. For some of you reading, this is our only interaction during the year. I do think of you each personally as I envelope each letter and pray that 2009 will bring many of God’s blessings to you and your family.

Each year I eagerly anticipate writing this Christmas letter and yet when I sit down to do so, I’m not exactly sure where to start. To sum up the year in one word, I am picking “Fun”. Philip turned 3 years old on January 22 so we started the year with a “Go, Diego, Go!” party. There was Philip and seven little girls at his party!! We had invited boys but they were all sick. Everyone had fun anyhow. I am amazed at how Philip’s vocabulary and imagination have grown this year. We can be going somewhere in the car, and he will tell me a story spanning the entire drive time! I love listening to him, but the problem comes when he wants ME to play with him and that means reenacting an episode of Spiderman, Batman or Bibleman he has watched. Oops, Mommy wasn’t really watching all of that show while folding clothes! I can’t wait until he learns to write and can get these stories of his down on paper.
Our daughter Braewyn started life with a strong voice and it hasn’t let up yet. She had her first birthday on May 2. She’s a beautiful child inside and out, but there’s just a very strong will backing that beauty up. Braewyn holds her own very well against her big brother. They do play very well together for the most part, but when she has something he wants and he takes it, boy do you hear about it! There were days when I would say, “Braewyn is gonna give us a run for our money as parents.” Now, I try to focus on the strong, godly leader she can become by using her personality within the right parameters. She does also have a sweet, nurturing nature as she recently has begun taking care of her baby dolls with little bottles, spoons and bowls.

Matthew celebrated his 10th anniversary working at QS/1 Data Systems this year. I am completely thankful to the Lord for providing this wonderful job for him which in turn allows me to stay home with our children. His company produces the computer software for small, independent pharmacies. In this trying financial time, people are still always going to need their medicine so I believe QS/1 will be a solid foundation for us.

I continue to enjoy attending Bible Study Fellowship and MOPS as have gained so many dear friends through each ministry. This year at MOPS, I am the Discussion Group Team Leader which means leading a monthly meeting for the Table Shepherds (discussion leaders at each table) and creating the discussion questions pertaining to guest speaker’s topic for each MOPS meeting. My days are filled with doing laundry, washing dishes and teaching the kids to love God and each other. It gets tiring and sometimes mundane, but I remind myself everyday what wonderful blessings I have.

Just because the future of our country appears to be very uncertain, yesterday morning you really didn’t know what today would hold either. Someone once said, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I do know who holds tomorrow.” My God has told me, “For I know the plans I have for you, …plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). My prayer is that if you do not know Jesus Christ personally, you would seek to do so this year. He knows what tomorrow holds for each of us, and no matter what that is, I am grateful to know He will be with me. If I leave this world tomorrow, I’d be meeting Him and so excited to be doing so. Would you be? I’d be happy to talk with you more about Jesus or you can always call 1-800-NEED-HIM.

Merry Christmas! We love you!
Matthew, Kim, Philip and Braewyn

Pre-Christmas Pictures

Before I share photos from our wonderful Christmas day, I didn't want to pass up on all the fun we had from December 1-24. This has been a fun month with decorating the house, attending Philip's first Upward basketball practice (he's on the 4-6 year old team and will begin games in January), celebrating with Aunt Andrea, Uncle Mike and Holden at my parents' house, watching the kids being their silly selves, and our annual visit to A Return to Bethlehem. We definitely want to keep Jesus' birth as the focus of our month so we've gone for three years to a drive-thru live nativity which includes a dozen "scenes" winding through Bethlehem leading up to Jesus being born in the stable. Live animals are brought in from a near-by zoo but I can never seem to get a decent photo of the camel! This year we stopped by Krispy Kreme for doughnuts afterward. A fun night!

We live with a screamer!

Braewyn was born and the screaming started. There's no way to sugarcoat it. It took us 8 months to get her to sleep through the night (meaning from 10pm until around 5am but that was exciting when it started). The kids began sharing a room when she was 4 months old. She would get unsettled and begin her "banshe" screaming as we dubbed it and Philip would ask for her to be removed. I suppose I did coddle her a bit more than we did with Philip because she would literally scream for an hour straight even while I was walking her around the kitchen floor due to her being so overly tired.

Flash forward a year. Braewyn's now a beautiful, lively (oh, so lively!)20 month old (on Jan. 2), but still the screaming problem is there. The nights are great now. Philip and Braewyn still share a room and sleep comfortably from around 8:30pm until 6:30am (yes, now we're working on how to keep Philip asleep longer in the morning; he only naps 3 or 4 times a week but maybe that's too much). The screaming happens during the day: when Philip steals her blanket, when I've given her a cup with the wrong drink in it, when I say, "Mommy must brush your teeth first", ESPECIALLY when I "help" buckle her in the car seat (she believes she can do it all herself), when I stop her from doing something she knows she shouldn't be doing. Matthew would like to add to the list: when she's conscious and breathing. And her scream is in comparison to someone blowing an airhorn right beside your head unexpectedly.

I love my daughter completely and feel overly blessed daily. I'm just posting about her screaming to ask others if you have a screamer and what do you do about it. I'm going to get a copy of "The Strong-willed Child" by James Dobson to see what he says. Braewyn definitely falls into that category also. We believe in spanking and with Philip it really works well and helps curb his disobedience. Maybe it's that with two kids, I'm more tired this time and haven't been as consistent in spanking Braewyn. Or maybe she just needs a different method of discipline. I'm praying that once she is fully speaking the screaming will go away. Did it with your kid(s)? Thanks for any advice.

Still Trying to Keep At It...

Yes, I just got back from running (a.k.a. walking with a little running). My goal is still to go to Charleston for the Cooper River Bridge Run on April 4. That's only 3 months away. It's crunch time. Well, today was the first time I've actually gone outside, in running clothes, by myself, to run in about six weeks. All that means I'm starting from SCRATCH again!! The first few minutes were miserable as I had very little stamina, the crisp winter (Happy 1st Day of Winter!) air stung my face and made my eyes water, and the zip pull-thing on my vest was jingling! However, I made a decision to "run" three laps through my neighborhood and wasn't stopping until I did so. It took me 37 minutes (from 2:42pm until 3:24pm) and my cellphone's built in pedometer says I went 3.4 miles!! That's exciting. The CRBR is a 10K race which equals 6.1 miles! If I keep "training", I think the race will go well as I wasn't completely exhausted after running today. I could have gone longer (maybe just a little bit longer), but I need to go to the grocery store before church tonight.

Philip's Bad Dream

Over the last year, Philip has really taken an interest in super heroes. He was Spiderman for Halloween of 2007 and has worn the costume around the house at least every third day since then. Then he and Matthew began father/son bonding time watching "Spiderman" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoons on Saturday morning. He caught a few episodes of "Transformers" and "Ben 10: Alien Force". All the while, I'm thinking to myself, "How do I know which shows to let him watch? What things will be scary to him?"

Today I found out. He entered our bedroom at 6:17am. I told Philip to use the bathroom and go back to sleep. He continued walking closer to my side of the bed. He tells me he had a bad dream. I asked him what was his dream about. (I don't know why people do this because then it just gets the person to again focus on the images which scared them in the first place). Philip says a big brown elephant with eyelashes was in our house...

SNUFFALUFAGUS!!!! Philip is watching all these shows which seem to probably be for older kids and he has a nightmare about Snuffalufagus from Sesame Street. We've not watched that in six months. I reassured him that there were no brown elephants in our house, but he and I went on into the livingroom anyway to start our day.

I know personally my dreams are terrifying until I explain them to Matthew. He and I both wonder what's wrong with me so maybe Philip gets the crazy dream gene from me!

"Borrowed" Thanksgiving Photos

Our family and Mom, Ruth Ann, had a wonderful (minus my day of a stomach bug) Thanksgiving weekend with Matthew's brother Jonathan, his wife Lori and their adorable girls Hannah and Madeline. Thanks to Lori's timely uploading of photos, I'm posting her slideshow here. I'm going with the excuse that I didn't take my camera the day we visited Jonathan's children's museum (he's the director) and therefore you would never see most of these photos. The first few photos are at their home and I just really wanted all of my friends and family to witness our Braewyn in pigtails! She won't keep a bow in her hair for more than a few minutes at home, but she lasted a good 15 minutes while feeling "positive" peer-pressure of her cutely, styled cousins.

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Too Much Throw Up and A Lost Lamb

Well, I'm to the point of wondering if what I post should only be headline-type breaking news, just thoughts off the top of my mind or a random something just to say I've posted at least once a week. Today, I'll just say thank you, Lord, that the four of us appear healthy today. A week ago Saturday (Nov. 22), I threw up in the bathroom of Sam's after eating "something's not right about this" chili from Wendy's. Philip shared my chili and so yes, he threw up in his bed (tough being a kid) that night at 2am (tough being a mommy because I slept on the livingroom floor the rest of the night as he slept on the couch).

Sunday, Philip and I rested while Matthew and Braewyn went to church. Monday came and went and we seemed well (even made a stop by Target). Early Tuesday morning (around 2:30am), Braewyn began to cry and even said "Momma." My normal routine if she cries is to get up, use the bathroom, and check on her if she's still crying. Well, she stopped crying so I went back to bed. Philip and I were up around 7:00am, and by 8:00am I went in to get Braewyn up from her crib. My heart sank as there she lay, peacefully sleeping away, her and everything in the crib covered in throw up!! Philip had come out of their room himself or else I would have smelled it earlier. Yuck!!

Well, my plan to make it to BSF that Tuesday morning derailed as I had to wash and change her crib bedding, and still run several errands before leaving at 5:00pm for our Thanksgiving visit to Lori and Jonathan's. I chalked Braewyn's throwing up to my using old ("When did we open this?") spaghetti sauce as part of our dinner on Monday. Everything came together, and we were headed up I-85 that evening with Ruth Ann, our stuff and her stuff. We walk through the door of our usual dinner stop, Moe's at Exit 58, and Braewyn throws up all over Matthew's arm (he was carrying her). Yuck again!!

Well, we finally arrive at Jonathan's (I'm praising God Braewyn didn't throw up in the car as THAT would be an awful thing to smell for four hours) and again everyone seems well. Wednesday was fun (a whole post about the trip to come later), but around 3:00pm, my stomach started to turn on my again. Several trips to the bathroom for me (I'll spare you the details), and I began apologizing for bring sickness to their home and praying desperately that no one else would get it (especially toddlers and preschoolers who don't always make it to the bathroom).

Thursday came, and thankfully Lori had planned to serve the Thanksgiving meal in the evening. This gave me all day for my stomach to settle and appetite to return. A huge blessing was that no one else did get sick during our visit. Monday and Tuesday of this week, Lori and her girls have been a little under the weather and Braewyn ran a fever all day yesterday. Let this please be the end of it.

Now you might ask, what does a lost lamb have to do with anything? Well, I mentioned a quick visit to Target on Monday afternoon and yes, that's where Philip's beloved Lamby spent the night. I did remember Lamby being in the cart upon our arrival at Target, but that was the last of my memories. At bedtime, Philip asked us as always, "Where's Lamby?" That began a search to no avail. We then recounted our steps of last seeing Lamby and the Target boys' pajamas section is what we believe he left us. At 9:30pm, I called Target and the Guest Services girl said that yes, a little Beanie Baby lamb was in the Lost & Found box. I thought Philip would be glad to hear Lamby had been found, but he actually cried harder knowing that Lamby was so far away. Lamby was picked up Tuesday morning (albeit after washing the throw up crib sheets) and Philip was a happy boy. Our new rule: Lamby stays in the car. We should probably change it to: Lamby stays at the house.

Sweet Innocence

Philip has recently gotten really into Transformers. He plays with a friend's toys and I watch the cartoon on CartoonNetwork.com with him. He has asked to watch the DVD of the live action movie, but we tell him that it's for when he is older. He complied wonderfully as he hears that answer often about a lot of the "superhero" movies. However, he does like to look at the DVD cover. Philip's imagination is wildly active these days and he loves to assign us to characters in whatever fantasy world currently holds his attention.

So looking at the Transformers DVD cover, Philip decides that Daddy will be Optimus Prime and he will be Bumblebee.

Philip: Who should Mommy be?

Matthew: Mommy can be the hot chick. (Meaning the teenage girl in the movie; thanks, sweetie, although I hope Philip doesn't start calling anyone "hot chick"!!)

Philip: (after a few seconds pass and he has looked at all the other Transformers on the cover) Mommy's not a chicken, she's a Transformer.

Matthew and I actually had tears come to our eyes for the fact of trying so hard to keep from laughing!!