Overheard in My House Today:

This morning, as I was changing Micah's diaper, he was "exploring" his anatomy as he often does.

Elijah spots this, and out of obvious concern for his brother's well-being says "No, no, Micah. Don't pull your pee-pee off!"

He is his brother's keeper, what can I say.

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Parenting Theology

I have a confession to make. One of the areas I struggle most with as a believer is in being submissive to God's authority. Particularly submitting to Him what I percieve to be mine. My money, my time, my children, my opinions. After all....I didn't ask to be created. Why should I have to give Him anything? I know, I know....He is God and I am not. He is worthy of my obedience because of His love and sacrifice for me. These are the things that I know in my head, but not always in my heart. I am stubborn by nature and I want to be independent. In the end, my head usually wins out and I am able to comprehend His sovereignty just enough to obey. For now. Next time I will struggle with submitting again.

Elijah is clearly experiencing the same struggle. Only his battle is not with the Lord. It is with me. He has recently become very familiar with the words "That is mine!" (Imagine it being said in a very whiny, loud tone with Micah screaming along because Elijah has just ripped a toy out of his hands). Those of you who have gone through this phase with your children know how irritating this is. Very often the toy in question is not his, as he claims it to be, and it almost always held little attraction for him until his little brother picked it up. We have been over and over the sharing concept with little success.

Last night Elijah had been sitting at the kitchen table, putting together a puzzle while I made dinner. He has been putting together 24 piece puzzles for awhile now and had just started working on 100 piece puzzles (with the help of his daddy, of course) this weekend. The puzzle he had been working on prior to dinner was a "100-piecer" and it was about half-way done. I was sorry to interupt their fun, but dinner was ready and the completion of the puzzle would have taken too long and dinner would have been too cold. We explained to Elijah that we would set the puzzle aside and once we were done with dinner, he and daddy would continue to put it together.

That did not go over well.

He pouted in front of his dinner as the rest of us ate up. Micah devoured his and was even treated to a chocolate kiss that he received at church that morning. This sent Elijah over the edge. Not only was he not playing with his puzzle, he did not get a chocolate kiss. He began to melt down at the table. So I began to use what was nearest and dearest to his heart at that moment to try and get through to him. I started taking the puzzle apart and putting it back in the box. I explained that as long as he continued to throw a fit, I would continue to take pieces apart and if I reached the end of the pieces before he reached the end of his tantrum, I would put the puzzle away and he would go to bed.

He looked at me red-faced and angry and said "No put the puzzle away! That puzzle is MINE!"

That is when it happened. I looked at Elijah and said "There is NOTHING in this house that belongs to you! Your father and I give you everything that you have and if we want to we can take it ALL away!"

And a light bulb went off in my head.

I love my children more than anything on this earth. I would give them everything I have, including my life. There is nothing I would withold from them, should they need it or ask for it. But nothing in this home belongs to them. They are at the mercy of Mark and I to provide for their every need and want. Fortunately they have parents who are willing to oblige. For them to behave as though anything they have is theirs to use or abuse however they choose is wrong. Without us, they would not have those things.

God loves me more than anything on this earth. He would give me everything He has, including His life. But nothing on this earth belongs to me. I am at the mercy of my Father in heaven to provide for my every need and want. Fortunately, He is willing to oblige. For me to behave as though anything I have is mine to use or abuse is wrong. Without Him, I would have nothing.

Finally I get it.

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Guaranteed your kids will love them, or your money back!

Hello Internet friends and family!

I can not tell you how excited I am to report that the family is all well and good as I type this. It has been the longest couple of weeks. Whatever illness my children procured lasted longer than any other I can imagine. It morphed from stomach bug to head cold, and it stayed in their noses until very recently. Don't get me wrong....they still had enough energy to be bouncing off the walls of our tiny little home, but I had to keep a tissue on stand-by at all times. Those of you who attend church with small children will also understand that because of my boys' snotty noses, they were banned from the church nursery and all playgroups during this time. So we saw an awful lot of the inside of our apartment and not much else. Yesterday we were finally able to make it to womens' Bible study after having missed the last two weeks and it was like streams in the desert for this socially-deprived mommy. I love my children, but they just do not carry on a conversation like my girlfriends do! (Plus, just between you and me....they are REALLY lazy about getting their Bible study lessons done, so they rarely have much input)

I have so much to accomplish today before running out the door tonight to celebrate my future Sister-in-Law's birthday, but I wanted to post before I dug into my To Do List.

As I was making breakfast for my kiddos, I had a small epiphany and thought I would share it with you. I, like half the moms in America, received Deceptively Delicious for Christmas this year. I have made well over half of the recipes in the book and have loved most of them. I make her recipes, not just for my kids, but for all of us as a family. Since they are full of healthy ingredients, they are naturally low in Weight Watchers points (which I am still going strong on.....10.5 lbs lost as of Monday!), and we are all getting our veggies.

Anyway...back to the point of my post. One of my kids favorite recipes from the book is the pink pancakes. As I was making them for them this morning, I thought....what a perfect thing to make for Valentine's Day breakfast! Then I thought....why don't I share that with my Internet friends and family so they can make them for their kids, grandkids, neices, nephews, whatever....so without further delay....here is the recipe for Pink Pancakes from Jessica Seinfeld:

3/4 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1/4 Cup Beet Puree (if you're wondering where to get beet puree, it's simple. Buy a can of beets. Puree them in a blender. Done.)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Cup Pancake Mix (like Bisquick)
1/4 Cup grated apple

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Put the pancake mix and grated apple in a bowl (I just grate the apple right into the bowl and eyeball it because I like the live on the edge like that), then dump in the mixture from the blender. Mix until just combined. Now just cook them like regular pancakes. I serve them either plain (no syrup, no nothing), or if I'm feeling like giving my kids a little treat, I sprinkle a little powdered sugar on them.

My kids devour these! I never have leftovers because they always eat them all. They are a complete meal in and of themselves, but I still serve them with fruit on the side because I want my kids to remain in the habit of eating actual fruit and veggies, not just the ones pureed in their food. Sometimes I even give them some turkey sausage. I think on Valentine's Day I will make them into heart-shaped pink pancakes!

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What Kind of Coffee Girl (or guy) Are You?

I STILL have a house full of sick people (although I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel), so I haven't been at the blog, but I thought I would leave you with this....

I think it's fun. Click on the link to find out what kind of coffee you are!

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And you're dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

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