Don't Just "Talk"

Just read a good post over at the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by JD Gunter.  In it, he addresses a new{ish} stage that many couples go through as they seek to find Mr. or Ms. Right called "just talking."  I appreciated JD's honest evaluation of the "just talking" phase that is so common in early relationships today, and I'd encourage you to go and read it here (even if you're already an old married person), as I feel he has some solid advice.


Here is an excerpt:

If things don’t work out, and if you’ve acted like a true man, you’ve gotten to know a sister in Christ better and helped prepare her to meet her future husband. If things do work out, congratulations, you’re married. Those are the only two options for a man of God.

Read more >>

FFF: Enoch's Favorite Post-WalMart Snack

Almost every time we go shopping at WalMart, it takes at least 2 hours from the time when we leave our front door until the time when I've unloaded the sacks into our living room.  That's a long time, especially for the kiddos!  In fact, sometimes I even have to park our cart near the photo lab and nurse Karis on one of the benches since she doesn't always sleep through the 2 hour trip, though wearing her in the wrap does typically help her sleep the entire time.

Anyway, by the time we are checking out at WalMart, Enoch is generally a hungry boy!  So, to celebrate our victory over our shopping list, I always try to buy a ripe banana, which he devours on our way out to the car.  Sometimes it is hard for him to patiently wait until we checkout to eat the delicious looking banana in our cart, but lately he has been complaining less as he waits.  I love this little snack because I know that it's a) healthy, b) clean & easy (doesn't require washing because of the peel), c)  tasty, and d) perfectly portioned!  And, as you can imagine, Enoch thinks it's a pretty good idea to snack on a banana too.  ;)

Read more >>

Karis Playing at Bedtime (a video for the family)

Here's a rather long video of Karis playing with me before bedtime.  We play together every evening for at least 30 minutes, sometimes over an hour as she gets rid of all her burps, right before I swaddle her.  Typically we play for 5-10 minutes, try to burp her, and then repeat.  :)  Hope all of you grandmas enjoy!

Read more >>

BOGO Melissa & Doug Puzzles!

Remember me saying that I was loving those Melissa & Doug peg puzzles that I got for Enoch a few weeks ago?  Well, right now (until Aug. 26th), Melissa & Doug are having a Buy One Get One half off sale on all of their puzzles!  Here's the promo code:  PUZZLEBOGO, and here's the link to their website.

If you aren't sure what kind of puzzle to get for your baby/toddler/child, check out this link, as I think it will help you understand the options.

Read more >>

Phones + Cars Don't Mix

I'm certainly tempted by my phone every time I sit behind the wheel of our minivan - needing directions, wanting to call someone, thinking about a last minute text to check on a friend...  And yet, I try to continually remind myself that those things can wait.  Especially with two babies in my backseat...  Nothing is more important when I'm driving than fully focusing my mind and eyes on what's around me.

This video drove that lesson deeper into me, and I hope it will for you as well.

Read more >>

FFF: Enoch's New Peg Puzzles

 Just last week I decided to look for something that I could purchase for Enoch to help him with learning for this next season.  Though I'm not technically beginning homeschool now, he has shown an interest in numbers and colors recently, so I wanted to foster that in a fun way.  I stumbled upon this puzzle pack from Melissa & Doug, and couldn't help but love it.  (In the past few months he has begun loving puzzles enough to be patient in working on them, so I thought the combination might be good.)

They finally arrived early this week, and we have played with them everyday since then!  The three puzzles include:

• fish (skills: color matching and fine motor skills)
• numbers (skills: number recognition and counting objects beneath each number, like three fish under "3")
• alphabet (skills: letter recognition and matching letters with pictures beneath each piece, like a duck under "D")

Right now, the fish puzzle is the easiest for Enoch.  He can complete this one by himself and enjoys doing it over and over since it's so simple (we don't stress out about matching the colors every time).  The number puzzle is slightly more challenging because each number has a different shaped hole (unlike the fish, which are all the same shape and size).  Since he already knew a few numbers really well (6, 9), this puzzle wasn't incredibly difficult, but he still requires some help in order to finish it (for instance he sometimes gets 3 & 8, 1 & 7, or 2 & 5 mixed up).  The alphabet puzzle is the most challenging of the three.  Since there are 23 little pieces, each with its own specially shaped hole, Enoch really needs lots of help and encouragement with this one, otherwise he gets frustrated.  Typically I have him pick a letter and then I tell him what object (on the puzzle board) to look for so that he knows where to put the letter.  And then I say the letter's name and the object's name a few times together.  Right now he has a few favorite letters: D, F, N, O, U, W, X, Z, mainly because he likes the pictures underneath them, I suppose.  

Anyway, I've been so pleased with this purchase, that I'd highly recommend it to other parents of toddlers who want to have fun learning these skills!  In my experience, these Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles hold up well over time too, which is a definite plus!  They also have other packs of peg puzzles, like this one, which I'm sure would lead to many more hours of puzzle fun as well.   :)

Here's a video of Enoch playing with the fish puzzle.  One interesting thing that I've noticed regarding his fine motor skills (which also shows up in this video) is that Little Guy typically begins putting a piece into the puzzle with his right hand, but if his right hand can't quickly do it, he'll switch to his left hand, with which he seems to have more patience.  Interesting, huh?

Read more >>

Lightbearers is Expanding!

"Love, love, love it!" Those are the first words that comes into my mind when I think about Lightbearers Ministries.  I just stumbled upon an article about their progress, and I couldn't help but share in their excitement as they continue expanding their ventures.  You can read the article here.

Not only do they have a wonderful model of renewable missions support and student discipleship, but they also have passionate and visionary leaders.  I've known the Exec. Director, Kevin McCollum (and his family), for over 4 years now.  He's a wise man with deep insight into the Bible who strives to orient his life around what it teaches.  He and his family have encouraged and shaped Hugh and me more than we can express.

Personally, I've been involved with Lightbearers here and there for awhile now.  When Hugh and I were first married, I took a few of their classes (New Testament and Systematic Theology).  Then, before I knew it, I was involved with discipling one of their students, and I was even able to play around a little with the landscaping at the apartment complex they now own.  ;)

Hugh and I have been so pleased to see how the Lord has expanded this ministry over the years, and in our heart of hearts, we would one day love to see it spread even to Mississippi State!  I hope you get as giddy as I do at the thought of such exciting work (discipleship + missions) being done in a sustainable way with sturdy Biblical teaching at its core.  :)

Read more >>