It finally warmed up around here with a bang. Hot like summer today!
I got (2) books today that I had recently ordered. Both by Heather Forbes - "Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control" and "Help for Billy". Both relate to challenging children from a bit of a different perspective. The one thing I've learned from what I read is that "Anger is Fear". And that anger/fear/behaviors in others can trigger our own...maybe even from a time we don't remember. Anyway, I know that some people hate the BCLC book and others love it. Sometimes I think that the different books are not an either/or but rather both/and depending on the situation and depending on the child.
Since it was so hot, we got out the sprinkler to cool down before going to bed. The kids settled down very nicely after cooling off like that. :-)
Tomorrow's plans - cleaning and laundry...and the cleaning needs to be done right away before it gets too hot.
Despite not liking to sweat, I'm loving this weather...love the open doors and windows, the sounds of the kids playing outside. I wouldn't mind a few degrees cooler, but I love the summer life. :-)
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Wednesday
And what a lovely Wednesday it is..hot in the sunshine, lovely in the shade. It's going to get quite warm/humid...but I'm enjoying the gentle breeze.
I came across this article which I found interesting as we have a child who is prone to anger and not responsive to typical parenting...http://www.spdbloggernetwork.com/2013/05/29/an-angry-child/
I came across this article which I found interesting as we have a child who is prone to anger and not responsive to typical parenting...http://www.spdbloggernetwork.com/2013/05/29/an-angry-child/
Monday, May 27, 2013
Beautiful Day
It is absolutely gorgeous today...sunny, moderate temps. I'm planning on enjoying today and tomorrow as it's supposed to be around 90 the rest of the week...and I don't particularly enjoy the heat. We've had a lovely weekend so far...relaxing as a family and hanging out with friends.
Since it's Memorial Day, Randy's off work. He, Josiah, & Zach are washing his truck. I'm doing laundry and paying bills. The other kids are playing...
Since it's Memorial Day, Randy's off work. He, Josiah, & Zach are washing his truck. I'm doing laundry and paying bills. The other kids are playing...
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thursday
This morning we babysat our former neighbor children. So much fun to play with them again. And seeing them two weeks in a row...it was good for my boys to see that though they are gone, they are not out of our lives forever.
Today was the 2nd to last day of school and the kids got out at 11:30. Autumn came home at 9:30 with another bad headache. I took Josiah to meet Randy to go along on the truck. Janae went home with a friend for the afternoon.
We had rain off and on all day. The kids played outside a lot anyway. They thoroughly enjoyed the water puddles! This evening the neighbors were out so there were a bunch of kids playing together. Now they are all in bed...some resting/falling asleep, some reading for awhile yet.
It's a lovely evening.
Today was the 2nd to last day of school and the kids got out at 11:30. Autumn came home at 9:30 with another bad headache. I took Josiah to meet Randy to go along on the truck. Janae went home with a friend for the afternoon.
We had rain off and on all day. The kids played outside a lot anyway. They thoroughly enjoyed the water puddles! This evening the neighbors were out so there were a bunch of kids playing together. Now they are all in bed...some resting/falling asleep, some reading for awhile yet.
It's a lovely evening.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Today
Change is in the air. Today is the last full day of school. Half days the next two and then done for the summer. Not sure what all's going to happen but I'm looking forward to having all my kids around me for a few months. I know by the fall I'll be ready to be back on a routine again.
Zach's been having a tough time dealing with his emotions/life this spring which comes out as inappropriate/disrespectful behaviors. It can be very challenging to deal with. He had been doing so well, and then spring came and he became quite out-of-sync again. I can't imagine having the burdens that he has, particularly, at such a young age, but that's one of the fall-out's of this sinful world...and of losing your first mom, whether by trauma (foster care/adoption) as he did or any other way. It certainly seems that some people/personalities are affected differently by trauma then others. I love to see his eyes light up and hear him laugh...it just doesn't happen quite as often for him as the others.
On the plus side, Mark & Micah are very well adjusted and a pleasure and joy to us. Mark continues with his multiple therapies and is slowly strengthening.
In the evenings Randy (sometimes me too) and the kids enjoy taking their bikes around the blocks. Last night I sat on the front steps (I don't like to sweat, so I declined to ride my bike in this heat and humidity...yeah, I know...) with the breeze blowing over me and took great delight in watching my husband and children ride their bikes...we do make rather a sight in the neighborhood. :-)
Not sure what I'm making for supper. The heat & humidity tend to take away my appetite. This weekend is supposed to be lovely and I'm looking forward to it. I'm enjoying this too, just from the shade. :-) I love the windows open and doors open and hearing the children playing in the yard and sitting on a chair watching them. Such pleasures!
I realized that I'm rather neglectful this year...I didn't post about this being National Foster Care Month (it is...and thank you to all those wonderful foster parents that I know!). I neglected to post about this month being 2 years since Micah's adoption. And my post on Autumn's birthday was quite minimal.
So perhaps I'll get those posts written yet...and perhaps not this year but next year...we'll see...
Well, I have about 45 more minutes of quiet time and I'm off to enjoy them. :-)
Zach's been having a tough time dealing with his emotions/life this spring which comes out as inappropriate/disrespectful behaviors. It can be very challenging to deal with. He had been doing so well, and then spring came and he became quite out-of-sync again. I can't imagine having the burdens that he has, particularly, at such a young age, but that's one of the fall-out's of this sinful world...and of losing your first mom, whether by trauma (foster care/adoption) as he did or any other way. It certainly seems that some people/personalities are affected differently by trauma then others. I love to see his eyes light up and hear him laugh...it just doesn't happen quite as often for him as the others.
On the plus side, Mark & Micah are very well adjusted and a pleasure and joy to us. Mark continues with his multiple therapies and is slowly strengthening.
In the evenings Randy (sometimes me too) and the kids enjoy taking their bikes around the blocks. Last night I sat on the front steps (I don't like to sweat, so I declined to ride my bike in this heat and humidity...yeah, I know...) with the breeze blowing over me and took great delight in watching my husband and children ride their bikes...we do make rather a sight in the neighborhood. :-)
Not sure what I'm making for supper. The heat & humidity tend to take away my appetite. This weekend is supposed to be lovely and I'm looking forward to it. I'm enjoying this too, just from the shade. :-) I love the windows open and doors open and hearing the children playing in the yard and sitting on a chair watching them. Such pleasures!
I realized that I'm rather neglectful this year...I didn't post about this being National Foster Care Month (it is...and thank you to all those wonderful foster parents that I know!). I neglected to post about this month being 2 years since Micah's adoption. And my post on Autumn's birthday was quite minimal.
So perhaps I'll get those posts written yet...and perhaps not this year but next year...we'll see...
Well, I have about 45 more minutes of quiet time and I'm off to enjoy them. :-)
Monday, May 20, 2013
Monday randomness
Not tackling to much today...just the laundry from the weekend. And making my grocery list. Not sure when I'm going but I do want to take advantage of the Memorial Day weekend sales.
Over the weekend Micah ditched his training wheels so everyone rides a 2-wheeler now!
We continue to enjoy cooking with our cast iron pots. This weekend we tried an Apple Struesel Cake dessert from the book I bought, "A Texas Treasury of Dutch Oven Cooking." It was fabulous! I modified it slightly based on what I had here (sour cream instead of plain vanilla, apple pie filling instead of sliced apples). I'd like to try it with sliced peaches or other kinds of pie filling as well.
We are down to the final week of school. Janae is home today. She's been dealing with headaches/sinus stuff so I kept her home to rest. Hopefully she'll return tomorrow! Seems many of us here have these issues so I'm not sure if we have sinus infections or allergies or a combination.
I'm working on figuring out our summer plans and schedules. Somehow, if we don't have a plan, nothing ever gets done. :-)
It's grey and cloudy here and the humidity is supposed to very high.
I haven't been reading to much lately but I did read (again) one of the Louis L'Amour books I own...the title is escaping me right now...
Well, the kids are having their "quiet time" (watching Stanley the Stinkbug currently) so I'm going to go enjoy that.
Have a lovely day!
Over the weekend Micah ditched his training wheels so everyone rides a 2-wheeler now!
We continue to enjoy cooking with our cast iron pots. This weekend we tried an Apple Struesel Cake dessert from the book I bought, "A Texas Treasury of Dutch Oven Cooking." It was fabulous! I modified it slightly based on what I had here (sour cream instead of plain vanilla, apple pie filling instead of sliced apples). I'd like to try it with sliced peaches or other kinds of pie filling as well.
We are down to the final week of school. Janae is home today. She's been dealing with headaches/sinus stuff so I kept her home to rest. Hopefully she'll return tomorrow! Seems many of us here have these issues so I'm not sure if we have sinus infections or allergies or a combination.
I'm working on figuring out our summer plans and schedules. Somehow, if we don't have a plan, nothing ever gets done. :-)
It's grey and cloudy here and the humidity is supposed to very high.
I haven't been reading to much lately but I did read (again) one of the Louis L'Amour books I own...the title is escaping me right now...
Well, the kids are having their "quiet time" (watching Stanley the Stinkbug currently) so I'm going to go enjoy that.
Have a lovely day!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Thursday...
Nothing very much to report on here...so this will be random...
Tuesday was our foster/adoptive mom playgroup. Two new moms joined us this time and we had a lovely time.
Wednesday the 3 younger boys and I went to visit our former neighbors. Very exciting. So much fun to hang out with them again and to see their new baby.
This morning I went to the final MOPS meeting of the year. I wasn't going to go as I had a lot of stuff to do around here, but gave in and went. I've been going to MOPS for 4 years now and this is my last year. For the next 3 years I will have a kindergartner and so MOPS won't fit my schedule quite as well. And with having older kids as well...I'm ready to move on. Part of me is always sad at the ending of anything, even something good, and even if it's time to move on.
Tuesday was our foster/adoptive mom playgroup. Two new moms joined us this time and we had a lovely time.
Wednesday the 3 younger boys and I went to visit our former neighbors. Very exciting. So much fun to hang out with them again and to see their new baby.
This morning I went to the final MOPS meeting of the year. I wasn't going to go as I had a lot of stuff to do around here, but gave in and went. I've been going to MOPS for 4 years now and this is my last year. For the next 3 years I will have a kindergartner and so MOPS won't fit my schedule quite as well. And with having older kids as well...I'm ready to move on. Part of me is always sad at the ending of anything, even something good, and even if it's time to move on.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Monday
Today was rather chilly. I did lots of laundry (approx. 10 loads - I lost count) and air-dryed it all since my dryer is still broken. Thankfully it will be fixed on Wednesday. I will probably postpone doing more laundry until then unless it gets warmer. The wash doesn't dry as fast when it's chilly...but thanks to a stiff breeze it did dry. It's even all folded and put away...rare for me to get that all accomplished on a large wash day.
This morning Miss S. (PT) came to work with Mark. He's definitately improving on going up and down steps. She suggested that he work on sitting "criss-cross-applesauce" to improve his hip joints and pigeon-toed walking. He also worked on jumping (getting both feet simultaneously off the ground). Miss H. (OT) postponed her visit until next week.
Tomorrow is Play Group day with our foster/adopt group. Looking forward to hanging out with the ladies and drinking coffee together. I'm going to try a new banana muffin recipe for a snack for the kids...it sounds pretty healthy though, so I'm not sure that I'll like it! :-)
For Mother's Day, I bought myself several books on Dutch Oven Cooking. I've been enjoying reading them immensely.
Now I want to pack Randy's lunch and get myself into bed.
This morning Miss S. (PT) came to work with Mark. He's definitately improving on going up and down steps. She suggested that he work on sitting "criss-cross-applesauce" to improve his hip joints and pigeon-toed walking. He also worked on jumping (getting both feet simultaneously off the ground). Miss H. (OT) postponed her visit until next week.
Tomorrow is Play Group day with our foster/adopt group. Looking forward to hanging out with the ladies and drinking coffee together. I'm going to try a new banana muffin recipe for a snack for the kids...it sounds pretty healthy though, so I'm not sure that I'll like it! :-)
For Mother's Day, I bought myself several books on Dutch Oven Cooking. I've been enjoying reading them immensely.
Now I want to pack Randy's lunch and get myself into bed.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
quick note
It's a lovely, windy Sunday. Today we joined the folks in at the Make-A-Wish Truck Convoy and had a great time.
In other news, my dryer is still broken. It will be fixed on Wednesday making a total of 2 weeks of air drying our laundry. Thankfully most days it was sunny. And on a few days I managed to dry some wash in between showers. I did not do much wash this weekend so I will have the lines packed full tomorrow!
In other news, my dryer is still broken. It will be fixed on Wednesday making a total of 2 weeks of air drying our laundry. Thankfully most days it was sunny. And on a few days I managed to dry some wash in between showers. I did not do much wash this weekend so I will have the lines packed full tomorrow!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Photos
I love the trees against the sky.
My little one.
Autumn took this photo of the sunset from our campsite.
On a walk.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Joy
I haven't been doing so well with the Joy Dare.
We were away over the weekend camping.
Here's a short list of things that brought me joy this weekend:
We were away over the weekend camping.
Here's a short list of things that brought me joy this weekend:
- gorgeous redbud trees
- graceful white & pink dogwoods
- sunshine
- campfires
- hot coffee
- the green-yellow of newly forming leaves against a brilliant blue sky
- watching children interact (peacefully) with cousins
- happy smiles on grubby faces
- clean faces
- children riding bikes, running, playing in the outdoors
- visiting with my cousins, aunts & uncles, parents, grandparents
- watching my children fish and seeing their excitement if/when they caught something
- driving on winding country roads through the beautiful spring landscape...new life....
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Bible Study/Devotions and other thoughts
If you remember, earlier this year I finally completed reading through the Bible chronologically. I determined next to focus on one book a month for the rest of the year.
Feb - Philippians
March - John
April - Psalms
So I was thinking and praying about what to focus on in May. I have my favorite Psalms that I tend to focus on, but God drew my attention to several of the Psalms that recounted Israel's history, their failings, and God's faithfulness. And so....in May I will be focusing on the book of Exodus. The history of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to the edge of the promised land. Their rebelliousness towards God despite his work in their lives, and God's faithfulness to them. The story of Moses and the Israelites.
In other reading, I recently read the book "What's it like to be married to Me" by Linda Dillow. Definitely thought provoking and challenging! I thought perhaps that she could write another book on "What's it like to be my child" as some of the insights could be applied to other relationships. I also read "After the Fall" by Craig DeMartino. He fell 100 feet in a rock climbing accident. This book recounts his recovery and life since the fall. Very fascinating and miraculous and painful!
Today is another lovely spring day. Mark had speech this morning. I ended up taking Zach & Micah as well since my babysitter was not available. It went pretty well so I feel okay if I need to do that again. :-) Then we went for groceries. Now I'm going to drink a cup of tea and spend some time with Exodus and God. Then I'm going to continue working at cleaning/straightening up the house and dishes. The switch to "movie time" instead of "nap time" continues to go well. Today they are watching Veggie Tales "Jonah".
Have a lovely day!
Feb - Philippians
March - John
April - Psalms
So I was thinking and praying about what to focus on in May. I have my favorite Psalms that I tend to focus on, but God drew my attention to several of the Psalms that recounted Israel's history, their failings, and God's faithfulness. And so....in May I will be focusing on the book of Exodus. The history of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to the edge of the promised land. Their rebelliousness towards God despite his work in their lives, and God's faithfulness to them. The story of Moses and the Israelites.
In other reading, I recently read the book "What's it like to be married to Me" by Linda Dillow. Definitely thought provoking and challenging! I thought perhaps that she could write another book on "What's it like to be my child" as some of the insights could be applied to other relationships. I also read "After the Fall" by Craig DeMartino. He fell 100 feet in a rock climbing accident. This book recounts his recovery and life since the fall. Very fascinating and miraculous and painful!
Today is another lovely spring day. Mark had speech this morning. I ended up taking Zach & Micah as well since my babysitter was not available. It went pretty well so I feel okay if I need to do that again. :-) Then we went for groceries. Now I'm going to drink a cup of tea and spend some time with Exodus and God. Then I'm going to continue working at cleaning/straightening up the house and dishes. The switch to "movie time" instead of "nap time" continues to go well. Today they are watching Veggie Tales "Jonah".
Have a lovely day!
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