From Super Heroes to Bible Characters

We've all got The Incredibles on our brain. I think we have watched this movie 2-3 times in about a week and a half.

So, while I was cleaning up the kitchen this evening, my two boys were discussing which kind of super powers they would want if they could have them.

I joined in and said that I thought it would be cool to be able to disappear and make force fields like Mr. Incredible's daughter.

**SPOILER ALERT**For anyone who has not seen this movie and wants to, do not read any further.




Then Lincoln chimes in with, "I'd want to be SYNDROME!!!"

Though not surprised by his answer, I asked, "Why would you want to be him? He was mean and evil? He murdered people!!

Lincoln argued, "Well, not when he was Incrediboy."


I love it when "life lessons" just happen. And this was one of them.

I proceeded to point out the fact that Incrediboy wasn't exactly a nice kid, either. We get just a glimpse of him as a boy, but it was enough of one to find out a few of his character traits. He was annoying. He was selfish. He was focused on no one but himself. And... here is the kicker... He was JEALOUS.

Some may say, "Big deal." But my boys have had many, many lessons on the dangers of jealousy. So, when I raised my eyebrows and stressed the fact that Incrediboy was jealous, my boys gave me that "uh, oh, mom's about to give a speech" look.

No monologuing here. But I did give them a quick reminder of how devastating jealousy can be. Syndrome's jealously drove him to murder. Just like Cain's jealousy drove him to murder his own brother. Just like Joseph's brothers' jealousy drove them to sell their own flesh and blood. I could mention more, but you get the picture and so did my boys.

I am sure not all jealousy leads to murder, but it is an emotion that cannot be left to fester in the depths of our wicked hearts! And that is a reminder to myself for sure!!!

Happy 4th!

Oodles of Apples

Making memories at Grandma's house. The kids look forward to this every June!!!

Apple picking...




Apple washing...

Apple juicing...

Apple drinking...

Apple peeling and coring...

Apple dehydrating...

Apple trail mix making...

Good times! Oh, and the taste of freshly juiced apples is delicious! Fresh dehydrated apples are a tasty treat as well. Mom, thanks for the many bags of apples and all of the apple fun!

Relief!

It's been overcast and rainy for the past 2 days. Even got some hail yesterday. Nothing serious or anything. Oh, but how it has lowered the temps! It is actually chilly outside right now. The weather will be perfect for this holiday weekend!

Last weekend we hit triple digits!! It is supposed to be hot here, but not that hot...yet We desperately needed the rain, but I am ready for sunny skies again. How, I wonder, did I ever live in TN?! I remember sinking into the depths of despair when we would be stuck inside our TN home just waiting for the rain to end. Then our yard would just be a big, muddy swampland. By the time it would dry out, it would rain again.




So here's what we did during the major, heatwave: Dad and kids washed our VERY dirty SUV! They were so thrilled over putting their suits on and getting soaked.

Grandparents, this is the best I could do at capturing Mullin on film. He refused to look at the camera!! Honestly, I love him as much as the other 2, but he hates being center stage. You all will just have to come see him in person!

Lincoln is doing a fine job washing all the splattered bugs off the car!!!

Oh goodness, Sweet Sue just thought she was the biggest helper ever.



This was taken on Sunday morning last week around 8:3o or so, and we were only out for about 5 minutes. Sweat was pouring down my face by the time we went in. That was a triple digit day!!! Mirages really are common in the desert, you know. I kept thinking that I saw a nice, refreshing, salt water pool in my backyard as I was snapping shots of my cutie pie!

Maybe, hopefully someday it will no longer be a mirage!!!

Mother's Day Memories

Seems like yesterday when my two sweet boys made teeny, tiny hand prints on plates for Mother's Day. But... that was in 2003

Seems like yesterday when I had my first Mother's Day with my daughter. Those same two sweet, little boys proudly presented me with breakfast and a card. But... that was in 2006.

Oh my goodness! It is so hard to believe that I am celebrating my 10th Mother's Day! (If you count the one when I was pregnant with Mullin.) I have said it before and I will say it again, "The days are long, but the years are SHORT!"

Mommy and Lincoln--This sweet boy brought me breakfast while I was getting ready for church this morning. (It consisted of a piece of bread with honey and a cup of orange juice.) :)

Mommy and Shiloh--This precious cutie-pie has been telling me "Happy Birthday" all week. I guess she has yet to figure out the whole Mother's Day holiday.

Mommy and Mullin. This thoughtful child spent his own money to buy me a gift. He even picked it out himself. I had mentioned a few times that I wanted a garden gnome. Why? Well that is a secret. :) Anyway, he couldn't have picked out a more perfect one--I absolutely love it!!!

While I spent the afternoon at Starbucks with my mom, my sweet husband was slaving over a delicious dinner!! Tasty, colorful pork and beef kabobs, Pawpaw's heart-attack potatoes, and for dessert, French Silk Pie --yum!!!

Thank you to my wonderful family for a special day!

Excellent Example of Bravery

See, speckled eggs!!! I know some of you are saying, "huh?" But, I am the boring, mess-free, easy-clean-up mom. This year, though, I let the boys do something besides just dunking the eggs into colored water. With special "egg glue" and different colored foil paper, we made eggs that looked like magical, dragon eggs. Lots of fun and not too messy.

Mullin and Lincoln are putting their creative minds to work and having a great time!

This was Shiloh's very first time to decorate eggs. Grandma was here to help, and after the eggs were done, we all went to our favorite pizza place, Barro's!

My Little Cooperative Easter Bunch

Rather than be late for church on Easter morning, we had to settle on this pose.

Oh well, they are still my sweet, adorable cutie-pies!!

I was just glad to get that blond, bundle of energy to stand still for 1/2 a second. By then though, the boys had lost interest.

Home school: Just an Excuse to Make Tasty Treats

Mullin just finished reading Homer Price, and chapter three's book report project was making homemade doughnuts. I made up the dough, Daddy cooked 'em in hot oil and the kids decorated. They got the fun part. They actually turned out pretty good--more of a cakey type doughnut. Of course I made them as healthy as possible by using white whole wheat flour and coconut oil, but I guess when it's all said and done, a doughnut is a doughnut.
Lincoln got to help decorate, too. But oh goodness, Shiloh was not a happy camper as you can see in photo #1. The rule in our house is: to get dessert, you gotta eat your dinner. I kept pressing her to eat her dinner so she could eat a doughnut, but she just wouldn't. So, yes I made her suffer the consequences. It kills me to see my little Sue cry, but we just can't have a spoiled brat on our hands, now can we? Don't worry the story has a happy ending--she got one the next day.
Shiloh eventually got over her fit and enjoyed watching the boys, and I did even let her decorate one. She just didn't get to eat it. Until the next day.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Christmas Countdown

What kid doesn't love to count down the days until Christmas? I know I did and actually still do! Ever since I was a wee girl, I have made a Christmas chain. Every night before bed I would tear one chain off until Christmas Eve when there was only one left. I have now passed this tradition on to my kids. This year I had to add an extra color for Shiloh. It helps us all keep track of whose turn it is to tear off the chain each night!

About 5 or 6 years ago we started creating lasting memories with Adorenaments from Family Life. The set includes 12 ornaments with each one containing a story about a distinctive name of Jesus.

This year, a very generous lady at Mark's work gave our children a beautifully made Advent Calendar. So, now we can count down the days in 3 different ways!

Dreadfully Busy!

"Busy, busy, dreadfully busy.

You've no idea what I have to do.

Busy, busy, shockingly busy.

Much, much too busy for you!"

This is the Veggie Tales song that has been playing over and over in my mind like a broken record since Thanksgiving! (I have made the assumption that all of my readers know what a record is.) I have been busy decking our halls with Christmas decor, getting my kids back in home school mode after a 4 day weekend, wrapping and packing up presents that need to be mailed to what seems like a galaxy far, far away, cleaning and scrubbing, planning for Friday dinner guests, updating addresses for Christmas card mail outs, gathering up recipes for a baking day with my mom and sister, etc, etc... All good and fun things, well most of them anyway, but still all things taking up every precious moment of my time. Blog land had to be put on the back burner.

So glad to finally have all of our Christmas decorations up. The kids had a fun time trimming the Memory Tree. I love Christmas ornaments! Good thing, too, because several of our beloved family members give us each new ornaments every year! We all anxiously anticipate what they will be and can't wait to find a spot for them on the tree.

Mark and I also like to exchange ornaments with ourselves and the kids. From now on we will open up our ornaments from each other right before we decorate the tree,instead of waiting until Christmas, so we can enjoy them all month long! This year I gave Mark a Smore basketball player and a Starbucks mug. He gave me a jeweled cross. Mullin got a Smore baseball player, Lincoln a Smore soccer player, and Shiloh got three since she hardly has any ornaments to her name yet--Wish Bear, Strawberry Shortcake, and a Victorian baby buggy.

We all LOVE the ornament tradition!!!

For a more thorough post on our family's Christmas decorating weekend, see my husband's post.

Christmas Decorating

Don't panic! It isn't December yet--still just the middle of November, but we are a little excited about putting up our decorations this year since we weren't able to at all last year. My mom has wonderful decorations, but it just isn't the same when they are not your own!! I usually like to wait until after Thanksgiving, but really, putting up decor a little at a time is a lot less stressful, at least for me anyway.
We even turned on some Christmas tunes, and Shiloh wanted to dance with Daddy. Oh that face--it's adorable!
Lincoln was in charge of putting on the very top part of the tree.
Daddy and Mullin check to see if the colored lights still work. Most of our white lights didn't. The ones that did, Mark decided to put on a tree outside.

Silly Shiloh. Lincoln calls her "Samanthaclaus". I have no idea why? She is cute whatever her name is, though!
Lincoln holds the chair still while Daddy strings the lights around our tree out front. Mullin helps with light hanging. What a team. Momma's inside giving Shiloh her bath.
That's it for now. Will post more as we continue the decorating process...

Works For Me Wednesday--Scripture Memory

Sword Fighting has been such a blessing for me and my kids, so I thought I would share it with you all.

This is such a wonderful way of memorizing scripture--if only I would have thought of it sooner. I have always had trouble committing Bible verses to memory long term.

Following the suggestions in the book, I wrote the temptations on an index card. Then, I wrote the matching verses on swords, which I cut out in the shape of Sting, Frodo's sword. The boys really liked that!

Though, Shiloh isn't memorizing just yet, she enjoys handing out the temptations to the boys on Fridays. (We have already completed the entire book, so on Fridays we just do a review.)

The book contains 52 temptations and verses, so you memorize one a week. Each day you read a Bible story that corresponds to that particular temptation and verse. It really is a great way to teach kids how to specifically apply God's Word when dealing with temptation.

I love this way of learning Scripture so much that I plan on using this technique to write out more temptations and matching verses when I have the chance.

*If you do click on the above link, it will take you directly to Karyn Henley's site. She is the author of the book. You can just type in Sword Fighting in the search box on her site.

To read more great tips visit RocksinmyDryer.

Green is Good!

Why is it always so difficult to get kids to eat green stuff??

Mullin has been the least picky of all our dear children. Goodness, Lincoln and Shiloh have been so picky about what goes into their bellies. I used to stir vegetable powder into Lincoln's yogurt when he was a toddler. Recently I "hid" smashed avocado in Shiloh's turkey and cheese sandwich, and she ate it!! I know technically avocadoes aren't vegetables, but at least they are GREEN!

Speaking of avocadoes, here is a delicious recipe for some dip.

Amazing Avocado Dip
*1 avocado
*2 tsp. fresh lime juice
*1/2 c. fresh, chopped cilantro
*1/4 c. chopped, red onion
*2 tsp. minced garlic cloves
*1/4 tsp. salt

I use Garden of Eatin' Black Bean chips and Garden of Eatin' Blue Corn chips to go with this sensational dip.
This stuff is so yummy, and healthy, too!!

**For a plentiful amount, you will probably want to triple or even quadruple this recipe.

Thanks to Staci for sharing this recipe with me!

Park Day

Ate lunch at a park last week with my friend Staci and her 2 cutie pies, Benjamin and Kaiya.
So glad God has blessed my with an Arizona friend. Well, acutally she isn't from Arizona--she just moved here from Colorado. We met at church and found out that we have so much in common. I am used to being the youngest in my circle of friends, but this time I am the older one. :(

Fridge Art

Hanging art on my fridge was something I said I would never do. Then I had kids.
Kids love to draw pictures, and honestly now that I am a mom, I love to see their work displayed! To try and keep things on the "neat" side, I bought each kid a magnet clip and they're each allowed to hang one picture on the fridge.

2 Star Wars Characters and a Beautiful Princess

The kids were so excited about getting candy! Lincoln got a little upset right before we left, so he didn't fully cooperate for the group photo. Hmmm, seems like there are quite a few of these types of pictures in our files.
Shiloh was such a good girl and the boys took very good care of her. If she was too scared to go to the door, Lincoln would bring back a piece of candy for her.
Just look at her--she is gorgeous. She loved the bucket that I let her use for trick-or-treating.
After searching for peanut candy in Lincoln's bucket, any off limits candy due to Mullin's braces, and finally any and all candy that wasn't fit for a 2 year old, they got the green light to dig in.

Mad about "Cars"

The boys love the movie, "Cars", and our newest fan happens to be their sister, Shiloh. She loves playing with the toy "Cars", and she even sneaks them into her bed at night! The other day, she came downstairs in this outfit. Nice.

I wasn't really in the mood to carve a pumpkin today ( I would rather be at the PMS Diner), but in honor of every one's love of "Cars", especially Tow Mater, I attempted to carve Tow Mater into our pumpkin. Yeah. Looks like I will have explain... the black circle is his busted head light, those things sticking out by his eyes are his rear view mirrors. Hopefully it will look better tonight all lit up. The boys added paper wheels, and Lightning McQueen being towed.

I took them to my mom's work (high school) this morning so they could trick-or-treat in the offices. So far so fun, and I know they can't wait to go again tonight!

Play-Doh Phobia

As a kid I loved this stuff. Mmm, the salty smell, beautiful, bright colors, and cold dough being formed in the palm of my hand bring back fond memories.

As a mom I hate this stuff. It's messy, especially when boys play with it. It ends up in little pieces on the floor, gets stuck on the bottom of shoes, and gets ground into carpet and into the "straw" seats of my kitchen chairs.

A couple of years ago, after cleaning up a big Play-Doh mess and throwing every last bit into the trash can, I vowed never to let it in my house again! (I know, I am a terrible mother.) Well, my oldest received some Play-Doh from church recently, and he asked if he could have another chance at playing with it. Of course I couldn't resist his kind plea. He used a paper plate and cleaned up after himself! He did a great job, but then his younger brother got a hold of it and well, let's just say the Play-Doh's new home is yet again in the garbage can.

As a Christian, I am supposed to get rid of the stumbling blocks in my life, right? Well, for me Play-Doh is one!!! Maybe I will try again when the weather is cooler and have them use it outside. But as for now, I have a Play-Doh free home!!

Reading is Fun!

A lot of reading goes on in this house! It is too bad we live in a day when kids can't just roam the neighborhoods getting all their energy out while playing with all the other neighborhood kids. I am sure some would say I am too overprotective, but I don't care. My kids are just too precious, and frankly they're defenseless against all those Big, Bad Wolves out there. I don't really want my kids around other kids I don't know, either. It has been too hot all summer to play in the backyard, so we have been inside a lot. Can't wait for spring sports to start back up. Anyway this brings me back to the reading thing. We spend inside time going on adventures through books!

Mullin is reading, "Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears", and Shiloh is in giggles over it! All of my kids just love this series by, Cynthia Rylant. She also writes the Henry and Mudge series, which my kids also love.
I think Shiloh' s favorite at the moment is the Poppleton series, and I believe Rylant is also the author of those as well. I love doing all of the voices for the Poppleton characters! In fact, I try to do different voices for all characters when we read. It just isn't any fun listening to a story any other way. I knew being a part of the Speech and Debate Team in highschool would pay off some day. I actually got a few trophies for reciting poetry. I can't believe I actually did that! I am embarrassed just thinking about it.
Mullin still likes to listen in when I am reading to Lincoln and Shiloh, but he also loves to read on his own, too. No forcing him to curl up with a good book! He is almost through with the Lemony Snicket series--I think just 2 more to go. Over the summer we both read the Spiderwick Chronicles and can't wait for the movie to come out next year.

What are you reading to your kids?