Summer Reading

With school getting out on Thursday of next week I thought it would be a great time to share with our friends some information about summer reading programs available for kids. Summer reading is a wonderful way to keep kids brains working over summer break and several libraries and programs across the country are trying to encourage this healthy activity by offering lots of freebies and prizes.

Barnes and Noble has a summer reading program available for children in grades 1-6. Kids write down the books they have read in a reading log with a short description of why they would recommend the book. Once they have read 8 books they can bring their reading log into a Barnes and Noble store to earn a FREE book! The program runs from May 22nd to September 4. How fantastic! More details can be found online at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/summer-reading/379003570  Or to print out your reading log go to: http://img1.imagesbn.com/pimages/kids/summerreading/2012/bnsummertearpad.pdf

Locally, our own Cedar Rapids Public Library has a special summer reading program available. The program runs from June 1 to July 27 and is available to independent readers up to age 12 as well as younger kids that need to be read to still. Kids earn rewards along the way and at the end of the program there will be a raffle to win a bike! Registration for the program begins June 1st and can be completed online or at a participating library. More information can be found here: http://www.crlibrary.org/kids/summer-reading/


Even if you don't have a child in school and have a preschooler or toddler it is never to early to start reading and making this a fun family tradition. Developing the habit of family reading time is a great way to encourage learning at every age. With that in mind each of us in our home will have our own "reading list" this summer because after all, we all can benefit from some nice quiet time and a good book. Brent already has several books he would like to read this summer and I know I have several waiting to be read as well. My boys alone check out an average of 10 books a week from our library so I know there will be plenty of new books for us to get our hands on this summer.

Plus there are plenty of fun crafts you can do to get younger kids excited about reading. You can have them make their own bookmarks, help them decorate their own library tote bag, and lots more! You can even get books on tape or audio books for long road trips. Our kids current favorite book is a sing-along called Pete the Cat. And lucky for us the publisher has a free mp3 download available online so now I can pull it up on my phone or lap top at any time! How cool is that? Get your own Pete the Cat mp3 here: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/

"Mommy Stuff"

When you become a parent it seems like your life become too busy for just about anything. Every second of time is important. However, every once in a while I find time to chat on the phone or catch up with a friend by email. This week I had a friend ask me what I have been up to other than my usual “mommy stuff.” I kind of had to laugh. So much of my life is centered on what makes my kids happy that I actually had to stop and think because I couldn’t recall the last thing I did that wasn’t for my kids. It took me a few minutes to get out of mommy mode and recall the last time I did something for me.

When my friend asked me what I had been up to other than mommy things, the first things that came to mind were all related to my kids. I thought of how I am having so much fun with my son Oliver at our parent-child swim lessons. I thought of what I was working on with the PTA at Thomas’s school this month. I thought of how much I enjoy playing in our backyard with Ellie every afternoon and how much I love to push her in her baby swing. I wanted to talk about all the cool finds for the kids that I found at a garage sale last weekend or what I plan on doing with the kids this summer or about our upcoming family vacation.

I do have things that I enjoy and do for myself. I enjoy photography, cooking, and have recently been very active in our church and I have even started working out at the gym. However, the first things that came to mind to describe myself were my kids. My children have become such a big part of my life that they now are part of my identity. What a powerful thing parenthood can be!

 It made me stop and think for a moment about how much my life has changed. Almost every part of my day revolves around my family and more specifically my kids. Years ago my former self would have said that this was a BAD thing. “Adults need freedom and the ability to do what makes them happy. Kids need to not be the center of the home. You have to put yourself first!”  I would have said. I would be furrowing an eyebrow at the new me. How dare I give up my independence and push aside my needs and wants. 

It is funny how parenthood can change a person and transform a person’s values. This is not to say that this is the case for other people, but for me it certainly has been a truth. Before kids (and I would even say as a new parent) I had a totally different perspective. Today my world is absolutely centered on my kids! I would give up anything and do anything to better their lives. Really important things from before seem not nearly as important. There are a lot of things that I would love to indulge in. For instance photography classes, a Kindle fire or all the new technology gadgets out there, the latest and greatest fashions, and pedicures every month. Those would be nice. When you have a family though, other things become important. Swim lessons, T-ball, family vacations, and college savings become important. Our goals as a family are to do everything to make both our lives and our children’s future better. I will give up a pedicure and latte any day to give my family the experiences that will forever change their lives. 

With Mother’s Day approaching this weekend I have to admit how much I love my family. I feel blessed to have children with unique personalities that lift me up every day. I love the way they giggle and laugh, their little wrinkles on their feet after bath time, how they explore the world, their curiosity, how they love learning new things, and all the extra cuddles and hugs I get from them (sticky fingers and all). Some days are challenging for sure, but they are always rewarding.  I love that Brent and I are walking through this journey of parenthood together. We walk through it together and we never take for granted those little blessings that we get each day.

Teacher Appreciation for a POPular staff

When Thomas started school in the fall I made it a priority of mine to get involved at his school. One of the ways I have been doing that is by volunteering and serving on the PTA as co-president. It has been both a wonderful and challenging experience for me as a parent. I really love the staff and families that I have worked with over this school year. However, the staff just rocks my world!
My friend and fellow co-president Carrie agrees and we decided to do something nice for our staff. With it being Teacher Appreciation Week and all we decided to get our craft on and try our hands on these adorable soda pop goodies.
We used an easy and oh-so-cute (and free!!!) printable tutorial on this blog: http://darlingdoodles.blogspot.com/2011/10/put-some-pop-into-your-love-life.html
We attached them to construction paper and used a hole punch and some ribbon and string to tie the cards securely around the neck of the bottles. Instant success! We delivered them in the afternoon for our staff to enjoy a nice little pick me up because even teachers need some caffeine and sugar every now and then.
So happy to have wonderful staff and teachers at my son's school! What a POPular staff they are for us!

Eleanor's Baptism

 

 

 

Eleanor was baptized yesterday. It was a very special day for our family. A family friend made her dress out of my wedding gown and she looked beautiful in her little outfit. Even more special, we had several family members travel up for her special day including her Grandpa Todd. Todd actually baptized each of our boys in Swea City, Iowa. This time we had the privilege of having him as a guest pastor at our church in Cedar Rapids. Grandpa Todd got to baptize Eleanor just like he had for our boys only in our new church. This was a huge blessing for our family to be surrounded by love in our church.
We actually starting attending our church Lovely Lane when I was still pregnant with Eleanor. About this time last year Brent and Thomas were traveling to see their Grandpa at the Iowa Methodist Annual Conference. We had only recently moved to Cedar Rapids and I decided this would be a great weekend to go "church shopping" as they call it. The very first church I tried out in Cedar Rapids is the only one we tried and it is now our home church! In the last year we have become very close to members of the church. We feel like this church encourages us to be stronger in our faith together as a family. We have really come to love our church and having Eleanor baptized in our new church was very special because we were able to baptize her in the presence of many people that have blessed our family with so much love.
Baptism is always special I should say. It is us as parents promising to raise our children in Christ's image of love. However, this baptism was different I think for me than it has been in the past. Every time I baptize another one of my children the promises I make when I take those vows become stronger and stronger. It could be that this is my youngest child but I really feel that each baptism has strengthened my resolve to be a better parent and a better Christian. It would seem like a simple thing, but it is very important. A good parent instills the sense of love and respect that the teachings of the bible and Jesus give to us. Likewise, a good Christian carries the cross and reaches out to others and really lives out the teachings found in the bible. Being a good parent and being a good Christian are interconnected. I am so happy to know that all of my children will have the chance to grow up surrounded by the love of family, friends and a wonderful church. As a parent I couldn't ask for anything more beautiful for our family.

Play and Learn Time

Ollie and Ellie and I have a favorite day of the week. No it is not Friday. It is Tuesday! On Tuesday mornings we visit our library and attend a play group sponsored by the United Way of Eastern Iowa. It is a free program for kids 0-5 that focuses on teaching kids through a play based curriculum. Kids play at stations for the first part of the program and end with a special circle time of songs, dancing, and book. During play time we do several activities. Sometimes we do a craft, other timed we play games or dress up. This week was sensory week. All of the sensory activities were available. Our favorite was the ball pit. It was a big hit! The kids are not just having fun though-- they are learning too! Children that attend are getting exposure to a pre- classroom setting which can be very important for developing the skills to learn later in life. The wonderful curriculum of Spanish, colors, shapes, numbers, reading and math, science and more doesn't hurt at all either!

Breaking the Elusive Mystery of Grace

In February I had the unique experience of witnessing my oldest son Thomas get ashes for the first time on Ash Wednesday. We walked up together side-by-side holding hands. He watched me receive my ashes with his big brown eyes full of wonder. Then I turned to him and watched him receive his ashes from our pastor. I listened as the pastor gently said, "Jesus loves you," and watched my son's face light up with joy as his facial expression changed from curiosity to excitement. We returned to our seats where he started asking me all kinds of questions. I was happy to answer his questions and it spun off into a great discussion about God's love and grace. During Lent I often find myself thinking about the grace that God has given us so it was great to share some of my thoughts with my son. The most rewarding thing from our discussion was that it reinvigorated my prayer and lead to some deep thought and insights that I hadn't thought of before.

For me, grace has meant several different things in my life. Each new challenge and joy has changed what grace looks like to me. In some ways you could say that grace has been an elusive mystery for most of life. As a child grace was like opening a big birthday present. The suspense and anticipation of ripping open the wrapping paper and discovering a wonderful treasure inside filled my heart with joy. I was told that Jesus loved all the little children and that someday I would meet him in heaven. My imagination made heaven into this glorious beautiful place and to this very day I still believe in a heaven that is like this. I loved listening to Genesis verses because it was full of imagery and the wonderful creations filled me with awe. Grace was a gift, waiting to be unwrapped.

In my preteen and teenage years I found grace to be something entirely different. I found myself believing in a more selective grace. Grace to me was Santa's naughty and nice list. Had I been a good girl? Did I do all the right things? I knew I better behave because God was watching me. I better not fall out of line or he might zap me with Zeus-like lightning bolts or worse! He might decide to put me in the worst possible penalty box of all--HELL. For many young people, I think this is what grace looks like. There is a perception that you have to earn grace.

Then as I became an adult grace was different suddenly. Grace felt so far out of reach. For the first time in my life I had accepted the label of being a sinner. I knew I had messed up and that I would probably do it again. I began to wonder why Jesus would die for a sinner like me. What did God see in me or any part of humanity anyways? All around me I saw pain and suffering and sinners just like me struggling to find a greater purpose in life.

It took having children for me to understand and believe in grace again. As the mother of three kids I am constantly challenged. Raising children is most definitely the most rewarding and challenging thing I have ever done. You love them unconditionally and would give them everything in the world if you could. You want the best for them and work very hard to give them everything they need. In addition to basic needs children need guidance, support, and love to grow. A parent is the best person to offer these things to a child.

However, sometimes a child rejects these things. As my children get older I am experiencing this more and more frequently. When they are young it is temper tantrums and disobedience. As they get older there are still meltdowns and disobedience but you find yourself incredibly disappointed when they do wrong. Sometimes the disappointment can be very painful and exhausting. Despite all of this you still love them and continue to do what is best for them. It is frustrating but you still offer your love and keep on giving second chances. When they fail you offer discipline and love in the same hand. It is this kind of support that children thrive under.

God's gift of grace to us really isn't any different than this. I could write a book about all the things I have done that are wrong. I am past second chances. I sometimes repeat the same mistake several times and I even struggle with some things continuously. I am not proud of it, but I am a sinner. However, I have a Father who wants me to get up and try again. Grace doesn't have to be something you search for or have to earn. It doesn't even have to be a great mystery. God does love us and wants to give us this great gift. Grace is not a secret or exclusive to one group of people. Grace is for all of us!

Someday I hope to share in greater detail what grace is with my children. There is one thing I will share with my children now and that is to never give up on growing with God because God will never give up on us! I hope that they can see that I am not perfect but that the power of prayer has taught me to be persistent and to keep trying. The journey of faith changes sometimes and can seem mysterious but with persistence you will get to where you need to be.

A bomb just went off in our house!

Yes, it has happened again. The laundry bomb went off in our house. It is amazing how quickly laundry piles up in the house when you have kids. Yes, that's right, there is laundry all over the living room!

Not to worry though, it is CLEAN laundry. I get points for that at least. This week has been so busy I just haven't had a chance to sort, fold, and put away our laundry. You know it is bad when you start to run out of laundry baskets. The worst thing is when you have to go rummaging through the piles to find matching pairs of socks. Don't lie! I know you have done this too! The worst part is I still have 2 loads in the wash and 2 waiting to be done. Laundry is everywhere right now!

That got me thinking about how much laundry our family does in a typical week. We do on average a daunting 14 loads a week. That is 728 loads of laundry in a year!!! Here are our numbers broken down:

--1 load of towels a week

--3 loads of cloth diaper laundry a week

--2 loads of boys clothes

--1 load for the baby

--1 load of kitchen towels and bibs a week

--1 load of jeans

--1 load of gym clothes and socks/undies

--1 load of darks

--1 load of lights

--2+ loads of miscellaneous things (Includes anything like sheets, bedding, and of course the "oops the kids" category for accidents and spills).

That is a lot of laundry! That doesn't even include all the other things I do during the day like the dishes, cooking meals, picking up the same toy over and over, and sweeping the floors (which I need to do still today by the way). Forget deep cleaning, I just try to keep it "tidy." Although I should mention I did scrub the floors and bathroom down this week. I surprise myself sometimes!

So husband dear...if you are reading this you should be asking yourself what does this mean??? I will tell you what it means. It means Valentines Day is coming up and that you really really love your wife. Did I say really enough? Because you REALLY just love her so much. I don't ask for much. You know diamonds and jewelry are not my kind of thing. But flowers, well those are nice. Or you could let me sleep in one morning next week. That would be perfect. I am sure you will think of something. You always come through.

Signed,

Your loving wife