Have a kid who doesn't want to go to church?

I'd be naive to think that every kid who shows up in my Sunday School class or Wednesday night program wanted to be there. Some suck it up and behave well (and generally end up enjoying themselves), but then there are others who misbehave as a way to get out.

Tonight, I had to call a mom and talk to her about her son, she told me he didn't want to be there and that's why he was behaving the way he was... I told her I'd like to see her deal with the problem on her end so that we wouldn't have to pull him from the program while I'm on maternity leave. She hung up on me. Somehow (in her mind) the problem that she has with him not wanting to go while she wants him to be there should rest solely on the shoulders of my staff.

I disagree. Her answer was to just go ahead and pull him from the program. *sigh* I love this kid and did not want to see that happen. I believe that he is learning about God despite his bad behaviour and wish that she would have reacted differently and partnered with me in order to see a change in him. If you want your kid to go to church (or school for that matter) but behaviour is a problem, the answer is not to reward them by giving the child his way. Rather, you make him realize that inappropriate behaviour will not just make the teacher and the parents miserable, it will also make life miserable for him. Even this college student isn't too old to learn this lesson. And fortunately, for him, he had a smart momma. Sure wish the mom I talked to this evening had the same sense.

One meal down... and other preparations

(Or lack thereof.)

At this point, I am just three weeks out from welcoming our third little one, Cruz.  Can I say how ready I am to be done being pregnant at this point?  I am looking forward to no longer having this little one lay sideways inside me; making me extremely uncomfortable. (Good thing he'll be a c-section baby because he is definitely not head down.) Anyway, while I am ready to no longer be pregnant, I am not feeling ready at all in any other sense of the word.

The baby crib is not yet set up; I haven't thought about packing a bag for the hospital.  Infant toys have yet to be pulled out of the attic and washed and we have yet to sell our Santa Fe and purchase a minivan.  (I'm not terribly worried about this one yet... I do know it's possible to slam the doors shut and get three car seats all the way across the back, but it's not easy or convenient.) I won't go into all the ways we were prepared for the other two.  But I do wonder if it's this way for other moms their third time around or if it's just me.

 

I do realize that part of my lack of preparation is that I have other children vying for my attention that might otherwise be spent preparing for Cruz (and I want to give as much to them as is possible since they will probably very soon feel slighted themselves.) But there's also the lack of people reminding me to get things done.  Very few people have asked what things I need, which frankly, has allowed me to forget to actually think about what I need: breast pump (the last two times I've borrowed one... and it's going to be more necessary this time around for me to actually have one than the previous two times), diapers, pacifiers (please God, let him take a pacifier!), warmer clothes in small sizes (since Diego was a summer baby). To be honest, there's not that much I do need in the way of actually purchasing items, so it makes sense that no one has asked.  Except that... without people constantly asking me, I somehow have completely forgotten that I ought to be preparing for this little guy until now. 

So, this week, I am trying to get on the ball.  And I started by making a meal that I love and can freeze: Poppy Seed Chicken.  It's simple and way yummy. The ladies at the United Methodist Church in Udall often make it for funerals (which is where I first had it) and boy is it good comfort food!

Here's the recipe, give it a try sometime:

6 cups of cubed, cooked chicken (I bought a rotisserie chicken late at night for $2.99 Manager's Special and just deboned that.  Easy and cheap!)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom

Mix these ingredients and put in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Then mix:

1 stick of melted butter

2 sleeves of crushed Ritz crackers

2 tablespoons of poppy seeds (I usually use a bit less- poppy seeds are on the expensive side.)

Spread cracker mixture over the chicken mixture, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. 

So, now I have one meal in the freezer prepared for this baby.  I also bought lots of paper plates and cups because (let's face it) I barely get dishes done when I don't have a new baby at home, so that will be one less thing to worry about. 

Now, to begin crossing other things off my list.  It'll get there, right?

Autumn Apples

Do you remember learning this Johnny Appleseed Prayer as a child?  I do and my momma says she does, too.  So, the week we studied apples and the letter A, I had to teach it to my kiddos, too.  They loved it... it's such a sweet little song (and to think that Disney put this one together! -albeit in 1948).

I think Apple week has been the most fun so far.  We started the week early by going to pick apples with my mom and sister and (of course) baby Finley.  Now, I thought I was being smart.  Earlier in the week, our home school group had gone out to an orchard I'd been to before in Butler County (on a Wednesday- so we were unable to go with them) only to arrive and be told their apples weren't ripe for the picking.  Now, to me, if you're going to schedule a group of kids to come and pick apples in your orchard, you had better call and cancel (or at least give the moms who are driving all the way out to pick apples the option to cancel) if your apples aren't ripe.  But from what I understand, they didn't.  So I got back on pickyourown.org and found another orchard in Sumner county that did have apples to pick.

We had a lovely time. 

The morning was nice, we got some lovely pictures. 

The kids were enjoying themselves immensely until my mom noticed that my kids were knee deep in poison ivy!  In fact, as we were quickly rushing back to the car to leave, we noticed that all the trees had a lovely blanket of poison ivy under them!  Ack!  Very fortunately, we were able to wash up quickly and none of us (including my highly allergic mom and sis) ended up with a rash.  However, I wouldn't suggest anyone try the place unless they are particularly fond of poison ivy.  So, does anyone else know of a place next year for us to try who will let people know before they arrive that they don't have apples ready to pick... and also that doesn't think that poison ivy makes a lovely ground cover under their trees?  I'd love your suggestions on that one because I love the idea of making apple picking a yearly event but would like to find a new location in Sedgwick County or the surrounding area.

Some of our activities during Apple Week included:

Making Apple Crisp

Eating Apple Crisp topping before it had a chance to make it on the crisp.

Making Applesauce (Next time I'll remember to have jars ready for canning so we don't end up having to eat applesauce at every single meal for a week.)

 Taste-testing a large variety of apples- (From l to r) Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Gala.

 Our winner ended up being the Jonathan -the kids favorite and my second (my favorite was the Honey Crisp).  I was pleased with this consensus because Jonathans are great for baking with and they're so affordable... of course, maybe the kids like them so much because I buy them all the time and it's what they're familiar with.  (Either way, I'll take it!) How about you?  What's your favorite apple?

L-l-living and growing in Jesus

Our fourth week of school included studying the letter L and leaves and trees.  Our curriculum had us start the week by looking at a tree and all of it's beautiful leaves and talking a bit about how the roots get water from the ground that feed the leaves.  Then I was supposed to choose a leaf and tell the kids that leaf didn't want the tree to be its boss anymore; that it wanted to be its own boss and go where it wanted to go instead of staying on the tree.  Then I picked it off the tree and brought it inside with us.

Over the week, we watched the leaf shrivel and dry up because it wasn't living and growing on the tree anymore.  We observed the leaves that were still on the tree and how they were still nice and green.  And we talked a lot about how just like the leaf gets its water from the tree.  That we get water from Jesus when we live and grow in Him.  We talked about how we can live and grow in Jesus by talking to Him, reading the Bible and learning to obey Him.  And we talked about how some people decide they want to be their own boss instead of living and growing in Jesus and how their lives are just like that leaf- without the water they need to continue to live and grow.

Again this concept seemed to me to be beyond what I thought Diego could really understand... even with all the great visual illustrations.  But last week, I had a rather lousy night at work.  Many of the kids I work with in our Wednesday night ministry are from... how shall I say it?  Well, most of them live in great poverty and are not typically church goers and many of them come from broken homes without shining examples in their lives to look up to.  One of the younger boys in our program decided to get himself into a great amount of trouble which meant I had to discipline him.  *Sigh.*  I told him because of his behavior he would have to miss a night of Wednesday programming because he needed to learn to listen to and obey his teachers and that he would not be able to have a tootsie roll (our regular prize to kids who keep their seat belts on the whole way home).  As he left the vehicle, he ended up punching the door and calling me some choice words. 

Anyway, when I got home, Diego was still awake in his bed and I went in say goodnight and ask for some extra hugs (which I needed that night).  We talked a bit about why I was sad and then he said, "Mami, I think that boy is just like that leaf and wants to be his own boss.  He needs to let Jesus be his boss."  From the mouths of babes... my goodness, of course! We ended up praying for the little guy to make Jesus his boss and I said goodnight.  Thank you, God, for Diego's insight and understanding!  Thank you, God, for helping remind me of the reason I do this job that takes me away from my own kids one night a week!  Thank you, God, for allowing me the resources to train my kids up in You!

Hope you all have a great weekend living and growing in Jesus!

/M/-/M/-Moon

The week after we studied the Sun (and the concept that Jesus is the light of the world), we began to study the moon (and I am the light of the world).  I was so amazed at how my four-year-old was able to catch on to this concept so well when it's such a hard spiritual lesson to grasp.  First, we locked ourselves away in our upstairs bathroom that doesn't have a window. (What? You didn't know that we had an upstairs bathroom? That's because we've lived in this house for 4 years now and it's still not finished with the remodeling phase and so only immediate family members have ever been allowed to enter it.)

A random school picture brought to you by the letters d-i-e-g and o. 

Anyway, back to being locked away in a dark room.  I took a globe, a flashlight, and a mirror into the room with me.  Yes, I had to bring a mirror into the bathroom because our bathroom doesn't have one... not finished yet, remember? We talked about how the sun gives light to the world like the flashlight pointing on the globe.  Then we discussed how the mirror didn't make light of its own, but how it could reflect light from the flashlight.  We talked about how this is why the moon isn't as bright as the sun and only gives us a little bit of light and then we talked about how we are like the moon and can't make our own light, but if we are close to Jesus then we can reflect his light in our lives.  And then we sang This Little Light of Mine about a million times...er, we didn't stay in our dark, unfinished bathroom for the singing bit.  In the evening or over lunch break, I often have the kids share with Jesse what they're learning... (it's my way of evaluating what they've actually learned and what I need to repeat again).   I was amazed at how well Diego could explain these concepts to Jesse right away. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to teach both of my kids about the Lord and I pray for the days when they will both make personal decisions to follow Jesus.  Sometimes, I begin to wonder: How long is it going to take Diego to grasp it and make that decision?  But Jesse and I met through an organization called Youth For Christ and one of the things I love about that ministry is their vision- part of which says they want young people: to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  So, when I'm in a hurry for Diego to make a decision, I remind myself of the importance of not making a rushed decision that isn't carefully weighed.  I want Diego to understand what he's committing to and Who he's giving his life to- so in the mean time, I am so thankful that he is learning so many great concepts of who God is and what it means to live in Him.

Wow, this post just took a much deeper turn than I had originally intended.  But my main goal is to record my thoughts and our days to (hopefully) one day share with my kids.  (I don't scrapbook... and the kids baby books' are dreadfully underfinished.) So, I guess it's okay.

M is for Meatloaf... I know, not very exciting, but really easy to do and throw in the oven while we venture off for 30 minutes of soccer practice. 

And Mosaics... I loved how careful and thorough Eliana was when making her Letter M Mosaic.

And of course the Moon- which we had to figure out how far it was away from earth and then how far away that was from the sun.  Do you see our green earth in one corner of our paper and our moon down at the bottom right of the paper?

Eliana and I held the sun down on our picnic blanket (and may have taken a short nap)  While Diego and Jesse took the earth and moon paper and measured out 300 some yards at the park.  Another excuse to get outside and also a perfect way to get Jesse involved in a piece of our school- which we really like since he can't be there for the whole thing.  Why must Papi go to work?  Oh, we have to eat?  Oh, yeah... thank you, Papi!  We love you and miss you when you're at work!

S is for Sun and Soccer!

Well, I'm utterly behind and have so much to show you!  I'm going to try to lump days by weeks... and since it seems that my weeks wrap around letters right now, that's what you get.

Have I told you that I love the My Father's World curriculum?  I really do!  I love that I can pull Eliana in for much of the lesson and that she has fun learning at her own level.  I love that there's a spiritual lesson that wraps around our letter of the week. Sun- Jesus is the Light of the world.  (Even 2-year-old Eliana can tell you this- I love that!)  I love that lessons only take about an hour and a half- sometimes two depending on how focused the kids are in the morning -sometimes just an hour.  I love the outside projects that it forces us to do... especially now that it's getting cooler. I'm grateful for the excuses reasons to return outside again.

Unfortunately (or fortunately- we  were really dry and I acknowledge that), it did rain for most of the week we were studying the sun... which means we never got around to making a sundial.  (Maybe when Eliana hits Kindergarten we'll have better luck.) And we couldn't lay our grapes outside to make raisins... which meant they stayed in a bowl in a sunny window... which wasn't too sunny so by the time they actually had attained a raisin like status, they also had molded.  Ew!  ( I don't have a picture of them... we threw them away and I gave the kids a handful of raisins from the pantry to eat instead.  I guess you kinda have to make do.)

So, we made spaghetti and sun tea and practiced making the letter s in shaving cream (which was a much happier experience than trying to write s with a pencil... his little four-year-old hands really struggle with keeping a pencil under control). 

As you can see, playing in shaving cream is fun (once you get past the mess). Eliana loves the tactile letter projects we do, even though sometimes she gets a bit off subject.  She was much more into smearing it around the table than actually making an s, but that's okay because she was involved in school, which makes my life easier when I'm not having to come up with something else to keep her occupied.

And we also started Diego's Soccer during S week... very appropriate. Right?  And let me tell you, as much as I was pushing to get him involved in some kind of sport this fall, I was with hesitation that I would be bored out of my gourd having to watch practices and games.  But I am having so much fun!  Four-year-olds trying to play soccer is about the best you can get.  Between kids picking up the ball, scoring on their own goal, or ending a game a couple minutes early because of on-the-field meltdowns (er...other people's kids, not Diego) we've had our share of laughs. 

And Diego is having fun, whether it's running up and down the field rather aimlessly (as he has a tendency to forget to watch the ball)

or his new favorite activity while not on the field.... practicing writing his letters in the dirt with a stick. 

He likes the kids on his team, the Gorillas, and if you have a chance, you should ask to hear his team cheer... funny little monkey sounds.  Brings a smile to my face every time.

Puzzles and Creation

We finished our third day of school today.  Okay, calling it a day may be a stretch at this point because I put a load of laundry into the dryer before I started today and we were finished a few minutes before the buzzer on the dryer went off, but still.

My Father's World Kinder curriculum starts off slow with 10 Intro Lessons.  I've decided to condense them into 7 days since the main thing we're learning about is creation.  We'll end with Rest on Sunday.  Sound good?  (I at least hope I get some rest that day!) 

Here's one of the things Diego and Eliana have been working on the past few days.  (That's Diego's 2... he's working on cutting.) Or maybe I should say: I'm working on letting him cut.  Our Parents As Teachers' Rep, Ms. Michelle, has been after me for quite some time to buy the boy a pair of scissors.  So, for school I bought him a pair.  Of course, Eliana wants to cut out her numbers too, and I (of course) am a mean momma and tell her "no!" (I chalk it up to seeing way too many bad, self-inflicted haircuts on kids and I am bound and determined that's not going to happen to mine.  Nope, if any one is going to give them a bad haircut it will be their father!)

So, obviously there are parts of the lessons that Eliana does with us but there are times when I need to work one-on-one with Diego for reading and calendar math. (The reading lessons so far have been fairly easy-letter recognition things which he pretty much has mastered- this is one of the reasons our little school moves so quickly.) So, at the home school fair I picked up some puzzles and activities specifically for Eliana to work on while I am working with Diego.  So far, this has worked out not so well.  He would like to do her puzzles and she would like to do his calendar work- especially the straws! "I yike straws!"

However, today after nap, I did let him work on her number puzzles and pegs that I picked up for her and this made him happy.  (And tomorrow, I will let her put the straw into our place value chart so that she can be a happy camper, too!)

I think we're going to try and head for the zoo tomorrow.  It's been such a long time since we've gone- I just can't handle the heat of summer!  Tomorrow is Home School Day at the zoo (if you go, this will explain the large number of denim jumpers) and we're going to meet our new home school group there.  I'm sure looking forward to getting to know that group.  Growing up, our own home school group, The Lighthouse Fellowship, was an invaluable resource to my mom (and her sanity!) and such a great source of fun and friendship for the kids, too.  We met the group last Friday night for the first time and I'm already excited about the friendships to be formed- such a smart and sweet group of kids, and such a nice group of ladies (two of whom will be providing playmates for Cruz in the next couple of months)!