And again...

Well, who knows. It changes daily. See why we don't get too upset? Just hanging out now. Hoping it DOES stay off to the east if Will decides to still fly down here Thursday!

No more nagging...

Our first week of school was a nightmare. Not because they don't love their new school--they do--but it's hard b/c we don't get home until 4, then have homework, dinner, a little play time, reading, and baths to do before bedtime at 8. I spent hours last Friday trying to figure out how to make it better. ..

My next recommendation for moms...Creative Correction, by Lisa Welchel. (Remember her? Blair on "Facts of Life"?)
Wouldn't you choose to be corrected instead of punished? Nagging, threatening, grounding, spanking and sending my children to their rooms never worked as well as the ideas in this book are working for us. My children are learning to work toward rewards (which may only be a big smile and a hug)--while learning to do the right thing because it's the right thing--instead of trying to avoid punishments. Marbles in a jar to earn a Happy Meal, earning special privileges for going the extra mile, "caught you doing good" rewards, good manners jelly beans, etc.

There ARE corrections, though. Sloppy work requires practicing handwriting for 15 minutes, forgetting something over and over requires doing it 100 times to practice, unfinished chores earns the right to do the other child's chores as well, a room left in a mess might require writing out state names and capitals. These are just some examples but my home is a different place after reading this book and taking good notes.

We started a new thing to help them stay focused in the afternoons. If they finish their homework within an hour, finish their afternoon routine (which includes laying out clothes for the next day, a couple of chores, picking out lunch items for the next day, practicing piano), and practice their spelling words and memory verse in a reasonable time period without being prodded, they get a "ticket." Five tickets = a McFlurry at McD's. :) They love challenges like that and I'm not always nagging.

We also did a little thing last night where I set the timer for 5 minutes and everyone flew around the house picking up and putting things WHERE THEY BELONG. They did great and the house was completely picked up and they asked to do it again tomorrow. LOL They got 2 Starbursts if everything was done in 5.

I got most of the ideas from that book. John Rosemond is great, too, but Lisa uses lots of scripture and the basis that you teach your children to do right because it's right.

Now, to find a Creative Correction for Husbands...

Reading material

Okay, so the three of you who read my blog have heard me mention my favorite books. Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge, Beth Moore's Believing God, The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers, Max Lucado's It's Not About Me, Francine Rivers' 10 novellas, some John Rosemond, anything James Dobson (especially Bringing Up Boys), and of course Les Mis and This Present Darkness. I'm finishing the fourth in a wonderful series by Bodie and Brock Thoene.

I need some suggestions. I love Christian fiction and Christian historical fiction but I also love the deeper studies like Beth Moore. I don't have a lot of time for reading but like to have someone on-hand for the times I do have a minute. Let me know...

It's official.

It's official. He's growing up. Long and skinny now, just like his brother. When we moved into this house four years ago, he was in utero and T&T could still stand under the bar at five-and-a-half.
Yesterday, R hit his head when he tried to run under it and, just like that...overnight, he's grown.
Makes me so glad he still says things like "I yuv you," and "YOOK," and "I yike it," and "Dosh Wiwinghammuw."
Sidebar: I know he looks homeless. He just woke up.

Lasts

I know my posts are too long sometimes but bear with me. This one is worth it.

I am really into Karen Kingsbury right now. One of the story lines in the book I just finished is about a couple whose son is about to marry. The night before their son's wedding, the couple is discussing how they had records of all their children's "firsts" but no pictures/records of their children's "lasts." For example, one day, their son jumped into her arms and gave her flowers for the last time. She says, "I took no pictures, threw no party, made no note of it...We simply moved on to another stage of life and never looked back...Our children's growing up years were full of lasts, and I never knew it." She talks about the saying, "A daughter's a daughter for life...a son's a son 'til he takes a wife." (I don't like that.)

So, she writes this poem as a letter to her son on his wedding day.

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts...
First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst.
But one day you will move away and leave to me your past,
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts.

The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips...
Last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip...
Last time when you had a binky stuck inside your mouth...
The last time that you crawled across the floor of this old house.

Last time when you ran to me, still small enough to hold,
Last time when you said you'd marry me when you grew old.
Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from the past.
Would I have held you longer if I'd known they were the last?

Your last few hours of kindergarten, last days of first grade...
Last at bat in Little League, last colored paper made.
Last time that I tucked you in for one last midday nap...
Last time when you wore your beat-up Green Bay Packers cap.

The last dark night you slipped in bed and slept between us two,
When last I read to you of God or Horton Hears a Who!
Last that that I smelled your hair and prayed after your shower...
Last time that we held devotions in the evening hours.

Last piano lesson, and last soccer goal you kicked...
The last few weeks of middle school, last flowers that you picked.
Last time that you needed me for rides from here to there...
The last time that you spent the night with that old tattered bear.

Last time that I helped you with a math or spelling test,
Last time when I shouted that your room was still a mess.
Time and life moved quicker, taking pieces of your past.
Would I have stretched the moments if I'd known they were the last?

I watched you grow and never noticed seasons as they passed.
I wish I could've frozen time to hold on to your lasts.
For come tomorrow morning life will never be the same,
You'll pledge forever to your girl and she will take your name.

And I will watch you, knowing God has blessed you with this day.
I never would have wanted, Son, to somehow make you stay.
They say a son's a son until he takes for him a wife.
You're grown-up now; it's time to go and start your brand-new life.

One last hug, one last good-bye, one quick and hurried kiss...
One last time to understand just how much you'll be missed.
I'll watch you leave and think how quickly childhood sped past.
Would I have held on longer if I'd known it was your last?"

Apparently, KK turned this poem into a children's picture book called Would I Have Held on Longer?

Good night. I gotta go hug my boys.

NEW DAYS!

Okay, well, it was a first all over again. T&T started a new school today-- a private christian school here--and we are so excited. It's going to be a BIG change for us - money AND travel time - but we're trusting God. They were excited and a little nervous. I knew for sure we were in the right place when the Headmaster kept talking about "God's plan for our year" and when I found out about the Mother's prayer group where you get a list of children to pray for by name each day. This may not be as great as we expect it to be but, for now, thank you, Lord.

Standoff

Okay, so there was this huge three-hour-plus standoff yesterday here in Tampa on Dale Mabry, the busiest thoroughfare (good word, huh?) in town.

http://www.wfts.com/stories/2006/08/060803standoffwrap.shtml

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBWKSP0GQE.html

Turns out, my husband was in the Chili's about 50 yards from where this crazy man named Esteban Gonzalez was cornered. Scott said they wouldn't let anyone leave the restaurant and actually had them all squeezed onto the opposite side of the restaurant.

All things considered, I could think of worse places to be trapped for four hours. :)

Lessons learned

Last night, Scott and I sat out on our lanai (which is Yankee/Florida talk for "screened-in back porch") watching the most amazing lightning storm. That is one of the things I love about living here. This picture was taken from downtown.



Amazing. We never counted more than two seconds between bolts.

So, since I have all this spare time and nothing to do this morning (oh my word), I wanted to know more about Florida lightning storms. I had been told that Florida is the lightning capital of the world. Not so BUT here are some of the TRUE facts I learned.

1. More people die from lightning strikes in Florida every year than in any other state.
2. Tampa has lightning about 90 days a year, which is basically almost every day in the summer. 3. Even though Florida storms aren't as lightning-filled as those in the Midwest, we still see more strikes per year than anywhere in the nation.
4. Central Florida, from Tampa to Titusville, is "Lightning Alley" in the U.S.
5. Florida leads the nation in lightning deaths, injuries and casualties.
6. In Hillsborough County, 32 people were killed by lightning between 1959 and 2003.
7. With all the talk in recent years about hurricanes, I find it interesting that, on average, hurricanes are responsible for 8.7 percent of weather-related deaths in Florida each year. Tornadoes are responsible for 13 percent. Those pale in comparison to lightning, which is responsible for more than 53 percent of deaths in the state.

Needless to say, from now on, Scott and I will be watching the summer lightning storms from the sofa. :)

48 Ways to Build Love in Your Marriage

This is a checklist based on the best-selling book, LOVE-LIFE for Every Married Couple, by Ed Wheat and Gloria Okes Perkins.

48 WAYS TO BUILD LOVE IN YOUR MARRIAGE


● Say something good about your partner to another person ● Answer with positive, loving words, no matter what ● Do something kind for him/her ● Surprise him/her with a gift or thoughtful act ● Do the things you know are important to him/her ● Say “thank you” often and mean it ● Say, “I love you” ● Be courteous consistently ● Thank God for your mate and be specific ● Pray for his/her blessing ● Choose to forgive if hurt or offended ● Avoid proud behavior and never try to get even ● Study more ways to bless your partner ● Decide not to criticize your partner again and back up your decision by action until it becomes a habit ● Discern areas where your partner can use extra encouragement and think of ways to build him/her up ● Spend some time thinking about every positive quality you admire in your mate ● Edify your partner with words or praise and appreciation and be genuine, specific, generous ● Recognize his/her talents, abilities and accomplishments ● Communicate your respect for the work he/she does ● Keep your attention focused on your partner rather than expressing admiration for others of the opposite sex ● Seek your partner’s opinions and show that you value his/her judgements ● Demonstrate your confidence in him/her ● Respond to your mate with eye contact, smiles, body language (turn toward him/her) ● Treat your partner as a VIP in your home and in the presence of others ● Provide a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere of acceptance and unconditional love ● Enjoy some quality time together every day ● Do a special project together ● Develop some new interest in common ● Learn more about one another’s work and share the challenges and rewards ● enjoy a special date together once a week—plan for it ● Listen to him/her attentively without interrupting ● Be understanding ● Share your feelings ● Say, “I care” ● Make plans and set goals together ● Do housework or yard work together and make it fun ● Find ways to become more sensitive to one another ● Study communication skills together and practice them ● Treat your partner the way you would treat your best friend ● Hug often and for no particular reason ● Always greet or leave with a kiss ● Kiss when there’s no occasion ● Sit close to each other, whether in church or at home watching TV ● Go to bed at the same time and cuddle before you go to sleep ● Allow a few minutes in the morning to hold each other before you get up ● Practice expressing your love through the medium of tender touch ● Find what feels good to him/her ● Set some times at night when you have uninterrupted time to practice non-sexual body caressing and enjoy it ● Hold hands when you take a walk ● Some evenings take your shower or bath together and be lighthearted ● Develop positive feelings toward your own body (Psalm 139) ● Stay in physical contact while going to sleep ● Think of ways to say “I love you” by tender touch ●