Ben climbed into bed with me this morning carrying this little travel pillow he has. He told me the pillow was his baby, a boy, and asked me to hold him. He made me so happy with his cuteness and so sad, cause I really would love to have a baby to hold, almost as much as Ben wants a sibling. Then he went and got another small pillow from his room and brought it to me and told me it was my baby, a girl. We named her Gracie. Ben's pillow baby, by the way, was baby daddy. I'm thinking he might be missing Jeff! ;-)
Both babies were abandoned after about 20 minutes so Ben could have some breakfast. Ah well, I guess parental nurturing only goes so far in a male 4 year old who's hungry. :-)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
random
Ben's Pre-K4 class took a field trip yesterday to the bowling alley. They are learning about the Netherlands and guess where bowling was invented... :-) He had a great time and want Meff and I to take him again soon!
I have been teaching two computer classes for the homeschool co-op at my church (4th-6th and 7th-12th). My primary foci for each class have been keyboarding, Microsoft Word, and internet safety. I only have two classes left and I cannot believe that the entire 6 weeks have almost flown by already!
Jeff is going out of town this afternoon for a conference he in speaking at in Panama City, FL. He gets the adeded bonus of seeing his mom and his St. Joe buds while he is there. I know he is going to do great and have a great time to boot! Ben and I are staying in Tifton to accomodate Ben's thriving social schedule. He has a pirate themed birthday party to go to tomrrow as well as the public library's celebration of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, which is next week. Tomorrow is going to be a very piratey day (aaaarrrggghhh!) and if Ben doesn't behave, he may just have to walk the plank!!
So, does anyone else enjoy the totally awful programming that is BRAVO. It's awful, I know, but I just eat it up! Rachel Zoe, the Jersey and NY housewives, Betheny, and on and on... I know I shouldn't watch, but its just so awful...its like a train wreck you can't help but wrench around to see and then you cannot tear your eyes away from! Someone help me! :-)
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I have been teaching two computer classes for the homeschool co-op at my church (4th-6th and 7th-12th). My primary foci for each class have been keyboarding, Microsoft Word, and internet safety. I only have two classes left and I cannot believe that the entire 6 weeks have almost flown by already!
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Jeff is going out of town this afternoon for a conference he in speaking at in Panama City, FL. He gets the adeded bonus of seeing his mom and his St. Joe buds while he is there. I know he is going to do great and have a great time to boot! Ben and I are staying in Tifton to accomodate Ben's thriving social schedule. He has a pirate themed birthday party to go to tomrrow as well as the public library's celebration of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, which is next week. Tomorrow is going to be a very piratey day (aaaarrrggghhh!) and if Ben doesn't behave, he may just have to walk the plank!!
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Monday, September 12, 2011
parenting
I have been doing a lot of thinking about, praying about, reading about and actually living out some serious parenting recently. Ben is growing up - fast. I am amazed everyday by how much he has changed/grown and how quickly it is happening. When he was an infant I could always sense when things were about to change (i.e.: nap schedule adjustments, changing the amount formula or food he needed at each feeding, etc.) and could almost stay one step ahead so that transitions were practically seamless and he, because he was a great baby, pretty much always responded well to my adjustments to his life and we all kept moving forward - happy and satisfied. We are not so far removed from those days, but I already find myself yearning for the simplicity of those "problems." :-)
It's obvious to me that Ben is making a pretty big transition right now from being a toddler to being a school-age kid whose starting to see and interact with the world and me in a whole new way. While I guess I knew this time would come, it's kind of snuck up on me and I find I am not as prepared to deal with the challenges as readily as would like. Perhaps you experienced parents out there would tell me that this is only the beginning of many, many years of being unprepared for what my child is going to throw at me! :-)
Through talking with other parents, talking with Jeff, reading most of "Shepherding A Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp (like my awesome sis-in-law, Kim), and, strangely enough, studying the book of Jonah in Sunday School at church, I have learned quite a lot about what I think the goal of my parenting should be. I believe that my job as Ben's mother is to, as Dr. Tripp put it, shepherd Ben's heart. I am supposed to love him, teach him, guide him, protect him, care for him - yes, all of that - but even more so I am supposed to guide him using the Word and the daily example of my word and deeds to live a godly life. When he does wrong I am supposed to do more thank correct his outward behavior - his heart must be penetrated with God's truth so that he not only sees that WHAT he did was wrong but that his HEART'S MOTIVATIONS for doing it was wrong too.
So what does that look like day in and day out? I am still parsing that out. On the one hand I have in the past been very strict, almost heavy handed when it comes to discipline and God does compel parents to discipline their children. On other hand God is gracious and merciful where I am often angry and unforgiving. So the result thus far has been a lot more and certainly deeper conversations with Ben about God - about His ways, His Word, His expectations - and a whole lot of me apologizing for being cruel where I should be gentle, being permissive where I should stand firm, and being honest with Ben about my own shortcomings so that he knows its okay to fail and to seek forgiveness. Is it working? I don't know. Yes? Maybe? Perhaps only time will tell. I just pray that God can use me in spite of myself to raise Ben up to be a godly man who loves Him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
It's obvious to me that Ben is making a pretty big transition right now from being a toddler to being a school-age kid whose starting to see and interact with the world and me in a whole new way. While I guess I knew this time would come, it's kind of snuck up on me and I find I am not as prepared to deal with the challenges as readily as would like. Perhaps you experienced parents out there would tell me that this is only the beginning of many, many years of being unprepared for what my child is going to throw at me! :-)
Through talking with other parents, talking with Jeff, reading most of "Shepherding A Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp (like my awesome sis-in-law, Kim), and, strangely enough, studying the book of Jonah in Sunday School at church, I have learned quite a lot about what I think the goal of my parenting should be. I believe that my job as Ben's mother is to, as Dr. Tripp put it, shepherd Ben's heart. I am supposed to love him, teach him, guide him, protect him, care for him - yes, all of that - but even more so I am supposed to guide him using the Word and the daily example of my word and deeds to live a godly life. When he does wrong I am supposed to do more thank correct his outward behavior - his heart must be penetrated with God's truth so that he not only sees that WHAT he did was wrong but that his HEART'S MOTIVATIONS for doing it was wrong too.
So what does that look like day in and day out? I am still parsing that out. On the one hand I have in the past been very strict, almost heavy handed when it comes to discipline and God does compel parents to discipline their children. On other hand God is gracious and merciful where I am often angry and unforgiving. So the result thus far has been a lot more and certainly deeper conversations with Ben about God - about His ways, His Word, His expectations - and a whole lot of me apologizing for being cruel where I should be gentle, being permissive where I should stand firm, and being honest with Ben about my own shortcomings so that he knows its okay to fail and to seek forgiveness. Is it working? I don't know. Yes? Maybe? Perhaps only time will tell. I just pray that God can use me in spite of myself to raise Ben up to be a godly man who loves Him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
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