an answer

In reference to this morning's post about thunder, I wanted to share one of our breakfast Psalms, which spoke to Peter's heart.

Psalm 16 (excerpts)

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.  (verse 1)

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord;  apart from you I have no good thing."  (verse 2)

I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  (verse 8)

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.  You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (verses 9-11)

We are reading the Psalms in order as we also go through the Proverbs in order.  What an awesome thing God did this morning--that on this day of expected thunder, we read this particular Psalm!

This beautiful form of divine reassurance calms my heart as a parent.  We may be memorizing some of these verses today!  So often there's nothing I can do to comfort Peter.  His brain refuses any earthly reassurance.  He fixates on a fear and only fun distractions work to break the cycle of constant questioning.

Anyhow, thanks for listening!  Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

advice for thunder/lightning fears

We've had a couple days of shorts weather.  Today we expect 79 degrees with rain and thunder, and tomorrow it's back down to a 47-degree high.  When a huge temperature drop is expected, the thunder prediction is usually accurate.

I'm writing for advice for dealing with children who are afraid of thunder/lightning.  My anxiety-disordered Peter will drive me insane all day, asking what if questions about lightning,.  I do not exaggerate!  

I know many children are afraid of lightning and thunder.  What has worked for you?

Thanks!

sweet sisters, busy brothers

This was the first time she'd finished this whole puzzle. We're making progress with attention span.  I told her how proud I was of her, and she lifted her arms and said, "Victory!"  One of her pet words. :)

Here is Beth, celebrating Mary's "victory".

I no longer buy grated cheese because I found that it has an additive to keep the cheese from caking.  Good thing Peter likes kitchen work.  He's working on their cheese/bean burritos for lunch.

Peter is taking an English test on the steps of the writing process, and Paul is reading a Bible story.  Paul finished his AWANA book and they didn't give him another one yet.  He usually starts table time with AWANA verses.  

After table time the girls let loose in the playroom.  This used to be a nice looking jean couch.  Now I refer to it as our "gym" couch.  They love it!  Who says girls are less active than boys?  More sensitive?  Yes.  Sweeter?  Frequently.  But not less active--in our gene pool anyway.

Sharing a snack.

spring beauties

My sweet Beth started talking! We've heard five simple words so far, uttered during the last three days.  

Baby has Paul's sense of humor.  Praise the Lord for that.  The rest of us are funny-boned challenged.  Waaaay too serious.

Our tulips, inherited from previous owners.  

Oh, my little girls!  I want to sneak into their bedrooms and squeeze the stuffin' right out of 'em.  

We call this table time.  It's a feeble attempt at keeping all children busy at the same time, once a day.  Peter becomes the Table Time Teacher after he's finished at least one assignment.  It's a hoot to watch.  He loves teaching and facilitating.

I love to watch him go around and around the table, complementing their work and monitoring their activities.  Sometimes he gets a little annoyed when Beth continually drops her manipulatives or her Playdoh or her twistable crayons.  She smiles and watches Big Brother pick them up.

He likes to tape her drawing paper to the table, and she likes to peel off the tape for careful study, making it the main attraction instead of the picture she's supposed to be making.   He manages a professional reminder:  "Beth, we leave our tape on the table."

I love that boy!  He has challenges, but his heart is pure.  The anxiety is a huge issue, but I see him growing in the Lord through it.  He has to talk to God far more often than most kids his age.  He needs God.  Now.

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On Decluttering

Interesting activity, decluttering.  A lot goes on under the surface.  I got rid of several bags a few weeks ago but it still seemed like the house was overfilled and always untidy.  We still had too much stuff!  So I bagged up more toys and clothes last night and took them to Goodwill today.

The toys and clothes I chose this time were given away on faith.  The first batch were no brainers--they needed to be chucked.

Ultimately, if we have faith that God supplies our every need, we don't need to keep stuff around just in case we might need it.  The decluttering rule is that if we haven't used it in the last year, we're not going to use it.


If we need it God will resupply it!  What we need more than stuff is to dwell in peace in our surroundings.  Baggage and peace don't go hand in hand.


Peace to you friends!

What's an Xbox?

I lifted the yellow sentences below from an article on The Pioneer Woman's Homeschool blog.  One of the perks of being poor?  Our media is limited, compared to others.  We have two computers and two TV's and two basic cell phones (in place of land phone).  The second computer was recently acquired secondhand for my husband's computer class work.  Without cable, the TV's are of limited use (videos/DVDs).

Entertainment – Reading is a form of entertainment in our home. Our kids are limited in the amount of time they can allot to movies, the Xbox or Wii, computers and their DSi’s. We have television, but we don’t have cable, so the only shows we get are what we rent (Netflix) or download (AppleTV).

I don't even know what these are:  Xbox, Wii, Dsi's.  I know nothing about renting Netflix and I've never heard of Apple TV.  I have enough trouble limiting our collective computer use!  I don't need any extras, so I consider our ignorance a blessing.

Screens powerfully addict, like the worst kind of street drug.  We need to diligently preserve our dear relationships, while using screen time to our advantage.  Personally, I notice when I have enough outside fellowship, I could care less about being on the computer.  Makes me wonder if I'm more lonely than I realize?    Homemakers from decades past interacted more with neighborhood women, and moved away from extended family less often.

Life has changed so much, no?  Do you have a neighbor from whom you can borrow a cup of sugar?  I suppose we do, although she'd wonder what I was doing at her front door.
_________

"Mom!  The weird homeschooling lady from next door is here!  With the four kids."

"She is?  What does she want?"

"A cup of sugar."

"A cup of sugar!"
________

Still, people of all eras struggled with something.  Balance is the key lesson for every generation.

Anyhow, back to our limited electronics.  Being able to take the kids to a restaurant would be nice, but I'm glad for comparative simplicity.

I had to put the decluttering of toys and clothes on hold to prepare for my sister-in-law's visit.  Time to get back to the task.

This concludes my procrastination-related media use for this evening.

Sleep tight, friends!