Children and summer

I'm going to tell you a real life sinario, as it plays out in my own home. Picture this last day of school children get on the school bus, only to go to school get there report cards say one last goodbye to there friends and teachers get back on the bus and start back home. They leave at 7:25, and return at 9:25. My son gets off the bus runs to the house with a grocery sack full of pencils, papers,broken crayons and color pencils, half bottles of dried up glue and markers as well as hard eraser that all gets dropped into the entry way. First thing said is can tommy come over to play (insert name of you choice) when you say not today I get I'm hungry is it lunch time yet. As the day continues on I hear I'm bored a dozen or more times, fighting between him and his sister which ends with "when will he go back to school" from the mouth of babes. And that is only the first half day of summer break. I've told my husband that school is like a double edged sword you want them to go make friends, learn, become more independent, and that happens but with that comes attiude, mouthiness, rolling of the eyes, and the inability to entertain themselves, the need to have 10 to 12 children around them at all times to play with. How do we do it. As summer break is fast approaching I've got to figure out a way to mantain my sanity and make summer enjoyable for my children which doesn't include 20 hours a day of t.v., video game and computer. So here is my goals for summer, I'm going to start the super summer Challenge Think up a great number of things my children can do to earn points but keep them learning, and having fun. When they earn a certain number of pionts they will receive a reward. The activities will be a variety of things like reading writing scrapebooking playing outside, riding your bike, playing catch taking the dog for a walk, raking leaves, scooping poop (someone has to do it) cleaning your bedroom, writing a letter to a relative. writing a story, writing book reports, reading to your little sister. With every point earned, they will get a marble and get to keep all the marbles they earn at the end of the summer. Or for my older child I may use like poker chips where he can use them to work on his math, white chip is worth 1 pt, red is 3 pts, blue is 10, green is 15 or 20 whatever we decide to make them, then he can sort them and add them up as he summer goes to see if he is getting close to earning his prize. That is what I'm going to try to do this summer I will keep everyone posted as to how it is going. It's knda like my list that I made last year about things to accomplish over the summer.

Son's and Purity

I have to say that if you have never heard of Hearts at Home It's wonderful. I just got home from there national conference Saturday and I had a great time. I will blog about some of the stuff I learned later. I spend 2 days with my sister who I don't get to see very often just a couple of times a year as well as over a 1000 other women. We were entertained my Ken Davis who is a Christian Comedian and he is wonderful. This is the second time he has been at Hearts at Home. I thought it was the sweetest thing He said I love being here, to hear a whole auditorium of women laugh is like the wind blowing through a chandelier. That was so nice, I think. My hubby and I have already implemented some of the things I learned in the seminars. There is one seminar or workshop that I went to that I wasn't signed up for, that I'm so glad I went to. It was about teaching our son purity, and that particular thing has been laying heavy on my heart lately so I went to the seminar. My son is only 8 but the world today isn't like it was when I was in school. Things start to happen and be talked about by peers way earlier then when I was a child. I try not to be a mother who thinks that's not going to effect my son like negatively. In reality men were created differently from the beginning starting with God creating Adam and Eve and what right do I have to think my son will be different and in a world that has capitalized on sexuality and the visual, I as a mother can't hide my head in the sand. So my hubby and I talked about it and decide that we needed (especially hubby) start a open communication with him so that when he starts having question about bigger things he will be comfortable coming to us to talk about it. My hubby and son had there first Man to Man talk, I just can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. I'm not certain what all they talked about, but my husband said it went well and he even opened up and asked my hubby about some words that he had heard on the bus or in school to find out if they were bad words and why. That makes me so happy, we want both of our children to feel like they can come to us in any situation and talk to us without us being upset. I hate to say it but 8,9, 10 isn't to young to start with the basics, especially in a world when statically some children are starting to have relations with one another as early as 11years old. If we talk with them and educate them maybe they wont feel the need to experiment so early, and wait until they are married. I not believe that it's enough even as christian to simply say to our child God says you have to wait until marriage we have to go deeper.

Mailboxes

Who would have known that giving children there own mailboxes would be so amazing. If you what to reward your children for anything or want to think of something fun for easter maybe get something you can put there name on and call it a mailbox you will be amazed at what it brings out in them. They have come up with the idea that if the wire handle with the ribbon on it is up that they have mail, like a flag on the real mailbox. So when they put pictures or any mail in the others box they put there handle up. Elexis she yells "Mail Call". It's so cute they've spend literally hours and hours creating mail for on another.

We put together this little wall for both of our children it has there Picture at the top a Daily chore chart in a glass picture frame under the picture and then the new mailbox at the bottom.

The chore chart is great also they can mark off the items as they finish and at the end of the day we wipe it clean and it's ready for the next day. The great thing is as they get older and can do more or different chores you can change the list.

The mailbox, It's amazing the House Fairy came to check out the new mailboxes and left a note for each of the children telling them that she was so proud of the work they had done on there bedrooms and if they asked there mom to help them find places for the stuff that wasn't tiddy and clean she would come back and bring them a present for a clean and tidy room. They were so excited that they went right to there rooms and started to tidy them up. I learned about the House Fairy from Flylady.com I love it so check it out. I think it may help motivate my children to keep there rooms clean. The first question they ask my hubby and me is where our mailbox was and so I will have to make up a wall for us. We have a wall for our daughter, but my camera battery has just died and I don't have pictures of hers. I will post some later especially since the chore chart frames she decorated herself, is beyond words. She is 5yrs old and definitly has a style all her own and we let her. We feel like as long as what she wears or puts up isn't inappropriate it's ok. Sometimes she doesn't match well, or something trivial like that and that is o.k with me, as long as she likes it and knows that she is beautiful no matter what.
enough of that. Enjoy the mailboxes.

To Know and Tell

I have been blogging for a year this month, so my question is what made you start your blog?
I started my blog a little bit after you. I had been thinking about for a while a year or longer. I just didn't take the time to learn it, then when my great friend started and was telling me how much fun it was and easy I thought I'm going to do it. My main focus was to give my family who live in all directions a way to see what we were doing over the miles and to be a vessel that God could us.
Question 2
Do you speak another language? If so, why or how did you learn it? I so wish I did. I took Spanish in High School, and a semester in College I remember only a few Spanish words... I can read it better then I can speak it and I don't necessarily know what the words mean, but because I have learned the alphabet in Spanish I can usually say the words!!! Isn't that weird my son thinks I'm the bomb because I can read the words even if I don't know what it's saying. That's love!!!
Question 3
Morning person, or night owl (or somewhere in between)? If I had to pick I would have to say that since my children started school I've become a morning person, all be it a cranky morning person sometimes. When you have lunches to pack and children to get dress to catch the bus by 7:20 you get to the point that even when you could and would love to sleep in you just can't. On Saturdays my hubby and I find ourselves whispering to each other at early morning hours because we can't sleep and we don't want the kids to know we are awake. You know as soon as they hear the littlest noise from moms room your sleeping in morning is over.
Question 4
Do you exercise on a regular basis? I hate to sweat ever, but I know that is the what I need to do to get healthy so I've been sweating (walking on the treadmill) regularly 3 to 4 days a week for 5 to6 weeks. It's only the beginning I'll be doing it for the rest of my life because that is what is good for me and it's good for my children to see it and how important it is.

Bonus Questions
Question 5
If money were not an object what is one thing you would like to do for another person? What my hearts desire is to do for People you can't buy, I want to lift up the people in the world who have been over looked through education or just plain opportunity. There are those who just need to be given a chance in life to prove they have what it takes, so many times we feel the need to just label them with our little label makers and toss them in the trash heap. If money wasn't an object I would do whatever it took to help them prove to themselves and others they have what it takes to make a difference in this world. I would love to buy my mother a house also. She has sacrificed her whole life for all of her children, and she doesn't really have a nice home of her own.
Question 6
What is one of your favorite attributes of our Lord God? His Love we are taught a multitude of things through Gods love for us and if the world could clear away the fog in front of there eyes I think they would be in aw of him.
Have you ever thought about adoption or foster care? I often think of adoption I feel Like my hubby and I have so much love to give that maybe be should adopt.

Birthdays

I'm so excited our oldest son turned 8 on Friday Febuary 29th, what an exciting day for him. He is so funny he got his fathers funny Jeans, but he was telling everyone he was 2 on Friday it was kinda funny.
I still remember when I was pregnaunt for him and the Doctor told us his due date was March 1st or 3rd I can't remember that so much the part I remember is when my hubby said almost immidiately "wouldn't it be cool if he was born on leap day" I tease my hubby often about that saying "from your lips to Gods ears" becasue sure enough he was born on the 29th Leap day 2000. Back to my point I'm going to post some pictures of his party.