tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64595306848840815132024-03-13T13:54:07.434-04:00Teaching, Training & TantrumsA glimpse into our everyday life.Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-54472569821559890502014-01-31T14:13:00.001-05:002014-01-31T14:13:35.543-05:00Life Lessons and Naked Barbies<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IjMloUo9Vns/Uuv1e34Db0I/AAAAAAAAEa4/5FT0uRt7YmE/s1600/IMG_1987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IjMloUo9Vns/Uuv1e34Db0I/AAAAAAAAEa4/5FT0uRt7YmE/s1600/IMG_1987.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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A couple years ago, I was over at a friend’s house one day
and noticed her little girl changing clothes on her Barbie, only…it looked like
her Barbie was wearing a swim suit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
asked the little girl to show me her doll and sure enough it as “wearing” a bathing
suit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend had taken a simple black
sharpie and drawn a swimsuit on each of her little girl’s Barbie dolls so that
they were never just left lying around “naked.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fast forward a few years and here I am I standing in the
doorway of my kids playroom looking at all the fun toys they have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Josiah loves cars and blocks and especially
trains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Addi really enjoys puzzles,
whipping up something yummy in her kitchen, and playing with her dolls and her
dollhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they are getting a little
older I’m trying, like every parent, to teach my kids to clean up toys when they
are finished playing with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
practice putting things back in their “right spot” a LOT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, with Barbie dolls, it’s a little
tricky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, they have these pesky
things called CLOTHES that are easy to take off but almost impossible to put
back on (especially for a 3 year old).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Quiet often this ends up frustrating Addi because she can’t clean up
“all da way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Dae4rZEPk4/Uuv1XBneZmI/AAAAAAAAEaw/kqXsKvKssok/s1600/IMG_1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Dae4rZEPk4/Uuv1XBneZmI/AAAAAAAAEaw/kqXsKvKssok/s1600/IMG_1986.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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That’s when I remembered the bathing suits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran the idea by Addi and she was so
excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me she wanted one to
have a pink swimsuit and another one to have purple one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t have anything but black sharpies on
hand so I racked my brain and decided to go with fingernail polish!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk about some fun color options!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, I’m sure some of you are already mocking me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Painting a bathing suit on a Barbie so it’s
not naked…what kind of prude is this lady?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others might be thinking, “Wow, what a great idea.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, let me remind you it wasn’t my idea
but either way I think it is perfect for our family and it helps spur on
conversation about some things we want our children to learn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, if you’ll indulge me, I would love to clear up some
possible misconceptions you might be having and share with you a few of the
real reasons why I decided to paint bathing suits on my daughters dolls.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To start, I’m not covering Barbie because I believe there is
something shameful about the human body. That’s absolutely ridiculous and I
believe just the opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think God
created us (males and females) absolutely beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very comfortable talking with my
children about our bodies and how we can delight that God made each person
unique and special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My kids (ages 2 and
3) sometimes see me change clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
don’t make a habit of it, but if they walk in the room I don’t yell at them or
cower into the closet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been
known for busting into the bathroom when I’ve snuck away to use the restroom and
have forgotten to lock the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Addi
saw me nurse Josiah until he was 9 months old and we are comfortable letting
other moms nurse around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are still
pretty young so we still let them take a bath together and during our potty
training attempts we typically have quite a bit of “nakie” time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We definitely do not foster an atmosphere
where the body is seen as embarrassing or shameful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, please don’t misunderstand, we do value modesty in our
home. We try to teach Addi not to show her panties when she is wearing a skirt
or dress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We make sure they understand
that they are not allowed to wrestle in the bathtub and we have a general rule
that they can’t wrestle with friends of the opposite sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to go into any other specifics
but the point is, I don’t feel they are going to learn much about modesty by
looking at a painted swimsuit on a doll. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead, I plan to share with them our definition of modesty
and how it differs from many people’s definition within our culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #535353; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many people seem to think that if you are modest you either hate
your body or are embarrassed by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
me, modesty is a mindset about how we should use our body in the way it was
created and intended to be used- for the glory of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Modesty begins with the desires of the heart. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A woman should examine her motives and goals
for the way she dresses. Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of
womanhood or is it to call attention to herself?<span style="color: #535353; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, </span>we
can be fully clothed and still demonstrate immodesty through our actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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When a woman dresses in a way that draws attention to her
body or acts in a way that tempts a man to lust after her, she wants to feel
good about herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wants to feel
admired and appreciated, maybe even loved by others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, what many women don’t realize is
that men don’t typically think, “Wow, she looks cute.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In reality, he is most likely neglecting to
think about her as a person at all and is picturing her naked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For a long time I still didn’t understand the significance
of this or the depth of the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believed
that their thoughts were just longings (the way I long for chocolate on
stressful days).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my mind, lust was
their problem and I should not have to change how I dressed to appease their ridiculousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, upon having real conversations with
men and asking lots of questions I realized it went much further that just a
desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most men, when they are lusting
after a woman, are not viewing her as a beautiful person created in God’s
image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead they are seeing her as an
object that can be the means to fulfilling a sexual desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are literally picturing having sex with
the woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why many times a
man’s body will physically respond to images pictured in their head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember when I first discovered the truth
about how most men think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
disgusted with men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I equated their
lustful thoughts to “mental rape.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harsh
words, I know, but in my mind, women’s bodies were being used for the
gratification of another without permission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I also grew in my understanding of scripture passages that
speak to men about lust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically,
in Matthew chapter 5 Jesus himself says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman
with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, if I dress in a way that tempts men to lust, and if they fall into
temptation, I have essentially caused them to commit adultery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart became a little more heavy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men could fall into sin because I was too
selfish to make sure that my cleavage wasn’t highlighted by the style of my shirt
or because I didn’t stop to see if my pants were cupping my butt a little too
tightly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yikes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, thankfully there are Godly men out there who understand
the depth of this issue and they strive to fight against lust not only to honor
the Lord but also their wives (or even their future wives).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many Godly men take action steps like turning
their head when an immodest woman appears in a movie, T.V. show or a
commercial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some rely on a passage of scripture
they’ve memorized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many make choices not
to hang out with women who dress a particular way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that they incapable of simply
appreciating beauty, but because of the fall, it’s natural for their thoughts
to distort beauty into fulfilling a desire to feel pleasured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fight for them is to see a beautiful
woman and control their mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
just as hard as if I were to ask you to stop reading this paragraph.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seriously, stop reading the words right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t, can you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just comes naturally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, this isn’t a battle they can fight
by themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women have to help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bible calls us to love others greater
than ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means we need to
help in anyway we can, even if we have to give up our slightly too revealing
blouse that is really soft and comfortable or our favorite bikini that took us
three years to find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t mean
we have to dress outdated or frumpy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are women all though out history who have modeled modesty and
class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women like Eva Gabor, Audrey
Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Princess Diana, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Kate
Middleton, and Jennifer Gardner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
are highly respected women who don’t use their bodies to gain power or
influence over others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In fact, many women really don’t understand that the
attention they are seeking through provocative behavior and attire is actually
destructive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It strips her of the
ability to protect and guard her own body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We can’t protect the image of ourselves in someone else’s imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we dress and conduct ourselves in a way
that leads others to see our worth, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>
is how we gain more power and respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
we must ask ourselves daily if we want to be “appreciated” for our body or appreciated
for our complete personhood (our thoughts, opinions, personality, emotions,
intellect, and beauty).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Modesty is not
about completely hiding our bodies but more about revealing our dignity and
honoring God.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eventually, when my children are old enough and mature
enough to discuss anatomy I plan on talking through he whole gamut of things
that every young lady and gentleman need to know. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know eventually my little boy will probably
point at the Barbie and identify her “boobies” but this no more surprising than
the thought of him making farting sounds in the crook of his arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good conversations and opportunities for
instruction are always upon us, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The thing is, we must be willing to take advantage of these opportunities
and not pass the buck to someone or something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few weeks ago I had a friend (a mother of
four young girls) post on facebook about how sick she was about all the naked
Barbies laying around her house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
post included something along the lines of, “I’m just going to hot glue their
clothes on so I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this quite hysterical especially since
I can sympathize with the battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
a friend of hers responded to her post by saying that naked Barbies were
healthy for girls because they need to learn about true anatomy from somewhere.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I about fell out of my chair when I read
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the last time I looked Barbie’s body
doesn’t teach anything about true anatomy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does this lady not know how incredibly disproportionate Barbie’s body
actually is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this is where little girls
are learning about true anatomy then someone needs to call up Mattel and start
complaining that Barbie doesn’t have nipples, leg hair, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my opinion, exposing our children to nude,
unrealistic examples of a woman’s body should not be our chief approach to
teaching them about their own bodies…ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead we need to talk to our children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just once, but all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make it regular thing so that it’s not
embarrassing or awkward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
establish this early, your kids will feel comfortable to come to you when they
are older and need your wisdom and advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, you must be cautious and use discernment about what they are
mature enough to hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some lessons you
can begin teaching even as toddlers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pay
attention to their hearts desire for attention and speak to them about not
seeking approval from others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I want to teach my daughter that she will never develop
greater self-esteem by seeking attention (good or bad) from others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m hoping to teach her that our Heavenly
Father created her in His image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That he
knit her together in my womb. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this
world her body will never be perfect, and neither will anyone else’s, so she
has no reason to compare herself with others. Every person on this planet has
flaws but God sees them as beautiful because He created them just the way they
are. Barbies, on the other hand, are plastic images that we should never even
try to compare ourselves with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope she will understand how unique and extraordinary
she really is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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As a little girl, I want to begin teaching her that her body
is special and, because it is special…it’s not for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If everyone who joined the Army received a
purple heart, that very distinguished honor would soon not seem as special
anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the same way, if she gives herself
away to anyone willing to show her attention, she will soon lose confidence
that she is beautiful and worthy of true love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I pray that she will have enough self worth not to seek attention from
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that one day she will be
married to a man who will love her for every aspect of who she really is and
that he alone will enjoy her intimately.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In regards to my son, I hope that I can teach him to respect
and honor women with his thoughts, his words, and his actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope to see him one day pursue a woman who
sees herself in the image of God and is choosing to honor the Lord with her
body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray that both of my children
will pursue purity of their hearts and minds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, in conclusion, I’ll finally answer the question, “Why
did I paint my daughter’s Barbies?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well…because I wanted to, I think it looks adorable, Addi likes it, and
because I know it will spur on edifying conversations among my kiddos and I.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>Ephesians 5:15-17 <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Be very careful, then, how you
live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because
the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's
will is.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>1 Peter 3:3-4 <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Your beauty should not come from
outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and
fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>Philippians 2:3<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Do nothing out of selfish ambition or
vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>Hebrews 10:24<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #383a3a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds.</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-74402397758893254052014-01-07T17:15:00.002-05:002014-01-07T17:15:52.253-05:00The Plagues<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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made a crafty illustration of each plague. Check out the description below if you would like to replicate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is what our final page looked like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Afterwards </span>Addi was easily able to walk through and tell me the story of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moses, Pharaoh, and how God used the plagues
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<br />
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2. We used a green coke lid, googly eyes, and a color pencil to make a frog.<br />
3. I placed some poppy seeds on the paper and we sealed them in with contact paper.<br />
4. We used construction paper to make the fly and contact paper to make clear wings which we hot glued to the construction paper.<br />
5. We glued a cotton ball and white pom pom to look like a sheep.<br />
6. I drew a hand on the paper and then I gave Addi some bubble wrapping paper with a tiny amount of red paint on it to make boils.<br />
7. Addi colored a cloud with rain and then we attached dried white beans to make hail. <br />
8. We used stickers of insects to illustrate the locusts (however, I'm noticing now that she must have peeled off all her other insect stickers because there had been a whole lot of them- ha ha).<br />
9. We colored a sun first and then we colored black over it to represent the darkness.<br />
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-83632149629320317932014-01-03T17:04:00.000-05:002014-01-03T17:06:05.566-05:00Moses<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">The next lesson that I had the privilege of teaching was on the story of God rescuing Moses as a baby. We read the story and then each kiddo was assigned a character to act out. We had so much fun. I captured a few shots of our little "play" on my phone and later that afternoon I made this funny <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151728942752257&set=vb.722902256&type=2&theater" target="_blank">video</a>.</span><br />
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This year instead of attempting to teach Addi preschool all by myself I have been collaborating with two dear friends who have kiddos about the same age. There have been several bible study lessons that I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching. The first one was about Joseph. I had made a worksheet with random clip art pictures representing some of the primary events including Joseph being given a colorful coat by his father, Joseph's dream about the sheaves of wheat (symbolizing his brothers) bowing down to him, his jealous brothers sell him into slavery for 20 pieces of silver, Joseph's journey to Egypt and living in Potiphar’s house, Potiphar’s wife lies about Joseph so he goes to jail and meets a butcher and baker, and how Joseph helps the Pharaoh by interpreting his dreams.<br />
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As we walked through the life of Joseph by reading bible passages the kids colored their color sheets. Then, I cut up the pictures and had the children glue them in sequential order to help reinforce that they were actually learning Joseph’s story.<br />
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We also made Joseph puppets out of paper bags and strips of colorful paper but my picture did not turn out very well.</div>
Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-9830198478725761182014-01-01T23:57:00.001-05:002014-01-02T00:00:33.613-05:00Choo-choo Josiah's Two Train Party<br />
Josiah, my little buddy-bear, turned 2 and since he is in love with trains we thought it was only appropriate to have his party at our local park that has a train everyone can ride. We bought tickets for all the kids and parents coming to the party; however, we were not counting on the sudden summer thunderstorm to pop in and "rain on our parade." The kids played on the playground while we grilled hot dogs, and when the rain started we all ran under a pavilion to open a few presents. This was not the party I had planned, but I feel we all still had a good time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cake table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Condiments and sides train.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday Crossing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-prltVAfQIp0/UsTsnDISt4I/AAAAAAAAEYs/p-ttyLxWrfY/s1600/IMG_1934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-prltVAfQIp0/UsTsnDISt4I/AAAAAAAAEYs/p-ttyLxWrfY/s320/IMG_1934.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday boy in his "Choo Choo - I'm 2" t-shirt.</td></tr>
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Since we got all rained out, we decided to go back another day and take a ride together as a family.<br />
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-22788314125738054112013-07-16T11:18:00.001-04:002013-07-16T11:18:37.561-04:00Letter of the Week- Letter Z<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well, friends, this post concludes our Letter of the Week adventure. And I can't lie...I am thrilled! It has taken me almost 3 months just to finishes the last four letters of the alphabet because I'm so burnt out. I wanted to teach my kids that you need to finish the things you begin so we did. We finally finished the alphabet. We had lots and lots of fun over the past 10 months and I would gladly do it again, but for now, I'm thankful for the break and for summer fun we are already having.</div>
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Click on the link below for my Letter Z week curriculum.</div>
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Addi got to use a q-tip to paint stripes on her zebra.</div>
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As we are trying to get better about patterns we made a "Zebra" bracelet (alternating black and white beads).</div>
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We found this fun little book series about a Zebra who loves all different types of things.</div>
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Addi made her last letter activity: Zig Zag Z</div>
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Josiah and Addi both practiced their handwriting skills and drawing zig zags. Josiah was doing great...until I turned my head for just a second.</div>
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We made a few zoo animal puppets. I only got a picture of the lion because my camera battery died on me. Bummer!</div>
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We used our puppets to act out some of the things we read in our zoo books.</div>
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Finally, we wrapped up letter Z week by introducing a-z connect the dot activities. Addilyn actually did really well. I was so proud of her.</div>
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<br />Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-92203416270019745052013-07-10T00:25:00.001-04:002013-07-10T00:25:15.168-04:00God Just Wants My Joy<div>
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<i>Today I want to introduce a sweet college friend. Lindsay is an amazing woman. She's a military wife whose husband has completed several tours overseas, a mother of two energetic boys, and will soon be having a darling little girl. She is an encouragement to me because of her dedication to her family. She loves the Lord and I'm so grateful she took the time to share what He's been teaching her recently.</i></div>
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The thing I love (and dislike) most about motherhood is the way it consistently makes me confront my own selfishness. It never fails that whenever I sit down on the couch and <i>just</i> get settled into the cushions, one of my children will shout that he needs to be wiped, that he needs another snack or to fix something broken, and I have to get up again. <br />
<br />
Ugh. Selfishness. It’s always there. Early in the morning when my 3-year-old walks in the room and says “I need breakfast” it’s there, and at 11pm when he’s coming back downstairs for the eighth time, three hours after bedtime, asking for a different blanket, it’s there. My desire to do what I want when I want is a battle more often than I’d like. I’m thankful that God is willing to refine me through my role as a mom, but boy is it ugly! <br />
<br />
But that’s what becoming like Jesus is supposed to be--- horribly difficult but ultimately good. Necessary pain. …. Right? Well, that’s what I thought until a recent conversation with my oldest broadened my perspective.<br />
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“Ethan, it’s time to get dressed and go have fun with friends. We’re going to play in a fountain, have some lunch, and we can even get some cookies afterward!” <br />
“Noooooooooooooooooo! I must stay NAKED!!!” (Imagine writhing in the floor with kicking and screaming.)<br />
“Ethan, did you hear me? I said FRIENDS and COOKIES! I have lots of fun planned for us today, and I would really like for you to cooperate, so you can have fun, too.”<br />
<br />
I paused. What in the world did I just say? I want you to cooperate so that you can have fun. Isn’t that what God tries to tell me on a daily basis? I fight obedience for crazy reasons, even when God has been nothing but good to me. Twenty years as a Christian and I’m still the equivalent of a spiritual toddler. <br />
<br />
But God had more to show me later that day when I watched my boys laughing hysterically during a wrestling match. Watching them play and squeal was so delightful and so refreshing! And that’s when it hit me: <br />
<br />
God desires my joy. Just as much as He wants obedience, He wants my complete contentment. And He wants my obedience so that I can actually have contentment. I’ve had head-knowledge of that for years, but my heart didn’t until I was a parent. <br />
<br />
Growing up in a church that emphasized the sacrifice and trials of Christian life, it was easier to understand “peace that passes all understanding” than it was to embrace actual joy. When I think of Biblical heroes, my mind immediately recalls the anguish they faced while following God’s will. I think of Abraham being called to sacrifice his son, Job’s undesired mission to Ninevah, Paul’s imprisonment, John’s exile, Jesus’ crucifixion. The list isn’t short, and I expect following Jesus to be difficult and painful, albeit full of unexplainable peace. The old saying “If God didn’t spare his son, why would he spare me?” comes to mind.<br />
<br />
But when I find so much joy watching my boys giggle together until they can barely breathe, I more fully understand the heart of God. My heart feels like it might explode when I see them enjoying life together. I am truly the happiest when they are happy. So, how much more must God want our joy? How much more does He utterly delight in our happiness and contentment? <br />
<br />
While an unbelievable amount of sacrifice is required while mothering tiny humans, I find so much encouragement realizing that God desires my heart to be full, bursting with laughter and enjoyment of the life he’s given me… not merely trudging through with sighs and martyrdom. I can’t claim to know the secret of <i>always</i> feeling happy to serve when my body is exhausted, but the knowing that He isn’t seeking to make me miserable to make me holy is revolutionizing. <br />
<br />
God just wants my joy. And that makes Him much, much easier to obey. <br />
<br />
"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. <br />
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; <br />
just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.<br />
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, <br />
and that your joy may be made full." <br />
John 15:9-11Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-54568335895256069552013-07-05T14:42:00.000-04:002013-07-05T14:53:28.675-04:00Lonely<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Back in May I was sharing with my small group that I felt so blessed because I just knew God was working in my heart. You see, I am normally very tempted towards anxiousness, but recently I’ve not been struggling with this at all. I had shared with them that although our family has goals and we are looking forward to the future, for the first time (maybe ever) I am perfectly content with my life and what God is doing, how he is doing it, and even okay with the time frame he’s doing it in. Whoa!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, I think Satan heard me boasting in the Lord and decided it was time for a little attack to shake things up. Over the past month or so I have been struggling with loneliness. This is something I’ve struggled with on and off for my whole life but within the past month, these feelings have just grown exponentially.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wrote several posts about being busy. Some of you may have been wondering what could possibly be keeping me THAT busy. Or maybe you are wondering if I was keeping myself that busy, how in the world could I possibly be lonely.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyone who knows me could testify that I am pretty good at being intentional with friendships and over the past two years since I’ve been a stay at home mom I’ve been trying with much more intensity. I try to use my gift of organization to create opportunities for friendships to deepen. I’ve organized and hosted clothing swaps, busy bag parties, recipe exchanges, prayer meetings, bible studies, board game nights with other adults, birthday parties, wedding showers, baby showers, play date groups, and more that I can’t even think of right now. I’ve tried serving others through baby sitting, taking meals to others in need, hosting multiple people in our home for meals at least once a week, and running errands for others. I pray for others a lot (even when I don’t follow up with a card to let that person know). And I try being intentional in pursuing others through email, Facebook, texts, and phone calls on a regular basis for no particular reason at all except just to say hi.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope it’s apparent that I do all of this because I love Jesus and I love people. God calls us to love him and to love our neighbor as our self. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of loving others greater than himself and he also promises to never leave or forsake us. He is our ultimate forever friend. However, God did not create us to live alone on this earth. His desire for us is companionship. We are not created to be independent but interdependent. No man is an island and especially for believers, we are called to live and be part of an active community not only for the glory of God but also for our sanctification. This is good news for me since I love spending time with people. I love deep relationships. I love getting to know how God has worked differently in every single individual. If you tried to find me on the introvert-extrovert spectrum, you would most likely see me dangling off the end of the extrovert side.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the outside I may seem secure, independent, too busy to establish new relationships, or even like I have it altogether. But let me be real for a moment. Let’s peel back the onion layers and look at the inside. If I’m being truly vulnerable I must admit that in reality, I am still lonely.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How can this be?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, when you put this all together it does really makes sense. If we love others in the way we want to be loved it would stand to reason that I am doing all the things I listed above in hoping that others will reciprocate. You see, there’s an underlying motive (because Satan is tricky like that). For me, I plan events to meet women with similar interests as mine. I serve, pray, and pursue others to develop a deeper love and respect for them not chiefly because that’s what I am called to do but because that’s what I want someone to do for me. Can you say twisted, manipulative, and selfish?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What’s so amazing is in the midst of finally realizing this was taking place in my heart, I saw God’s grace through this simple blog <a href="http://lisajobaker.com/2013/06/what-wemoms-can-do-for-each-other/">post</a> that was shared by a friend on Facebook. The entire things is about what moms can do to encourage one another so that we are not lonely. After reading this it hit me, I’m not the only lady who struggles with this!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m sure we all long for a friend who loves us the same way we love her.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, with that said, let me pause here and explain something. I do have friends. I have some really good friends who are incredible blessings in my life not because of what they do for me but because of who they are and who God has created them to be. I have friends from high school, college, and each of the places I’ve ever lived, worked, or gone to church. For the most part, I do try and keep in touch with many of them, even if it’s only on Facebook. I have friends living on six different continents. I have friends who live in over half of the United States. I have close girl friends that I can talk girl stuff with. I have friends from church who understand my convictions. I have friends who like the same hobbies I do. I have friends who are moms and even some who are grandmoms. I have my husband, who is my very best friend. So how can someone whose identity is rooted in Christ, with many good friends, and even with several really deep friendships ever feel lonely?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">S. I. N. Yep, yet again- sin is the culprit. After much though, I figure it really just boils down to my sin. Discontentment. Unmet expectations. Greed. Whatever you want to call it, the fact of the matter is that I am grumbling and complaining about an aspect of my life that I have no control over. I am basically looking for someone to pour into ME and help ME so I don’t always feel so weary from pouring into others.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am looking for a woman who passionately loves the Lord and see how he is working in every aspect of life. Someone who wants to talk more about what He is doing instead of the weather, the latest trends in books, clothes, or movies, or the shortcomings of others.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am looking for a woman who respects her husband, speaks in a positive way about him, is real about struggles they have but never slandering him when seeking counsel. Someone who values spending time with her husband but does not make it an idol so much so that she can’t sacrifice time with him to invest in others.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m looking for a woman who has children and can understand the struggles and joys of motherhood. Someone who has similar thoughts about discipline, education, health, etc. No two sets of parents are going to raise their children exactly the same, but having some common beliefs about childrearing would be helpful when I need advice.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am looking a woman who loves other people. Someone who is thoughtful and intentional about serving others and putting their love into action. This includes their family, their church, their friends, and the lost people around them. Someone who also strives to make sure others are included and will sacrifice comfort even if that means a few extra people join in what ever activity they are doing.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am looking for someone who will reciprocate efforts to maintain and deepen friendship. Someone who will pray for me, text me, call me, or just stop by to see me without needing something (to do these things just because they want to spend time with me or are thinking about me). Someone who will answer her phone (even it’s just to tell me it’s a bad time). Someone who will occasionally sacrifice “husband time” for “girlfriend time.” Someone who won’t forget that my kids and I would like to be invited to play dates too (or goodness gracious, even over to someone else’s house to play).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Basically, I’m looking for someone who doesn’t exist. This is a reality for everyone of us. But here’s what we all need to realize: Although none of our friends will ever be able to meet every single criteria we have on our list of expectations, we have Christ who will never leave us or forsake us and who will NEVER let us down. In addition, we need to look at the friends we DO have and be thankful for each of their strengths and giftings. We need to stop giving Satan the small victories, we must push aside any self-pity we may be feeling, and delight in the Lord who loves us and is working ALL things for the good of those who love him!</span></div>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-74386664414319145422013-07-05T11:31:00.000-04:002013-07-05T11:32:25.597-04:00Fit to Burst: Abundance, Mayhem, and the Joys of Motherhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia;">A friend and I were talking one
day. I was telling her how I’ve been
told by several married ladies without children that they are not really
looking forward to motherhood because of how all their mommy friends speak
negatively about their daily hardships.
This of course broke my heart because although I have some extremely
difficult days, the joys of motherhood far outweigh the trials. This was back when I wrote Be A Grace-Filled
Communication Pioneer and the follow up post to that. It was at this point that she told me, “I
think there’s a book that just came out about that same topic.” And believe it
or not, there was! Fit to Burst: Abundance, Mayhem, and the Joys of Motherhood
by Rachel Jankovic. I read the excerpt
online and ordered it immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia;">Now, sometimes (okay, many times) I
do things a little backwards. I read this entire book and LOVED it, and then I
realized this was the second book she had written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, as I write this review please show me
grace because I have not read her first book, Loving the Little Years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I plan on ordering it very soon and I’m
confident I will enjoy it just as much as I did this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia;">With humor and sincerity, Rachel Jankovic
encourages mothers to let Scripture define our theology of motherhood instead
of the way we were raised, what our cultures deems as appropriate, or even how
we feel in the moment. She provides analogies
and illustrations in every chapter that just about any American mom can relate
to. The chapters are short and simple
but packed full of phrases, quotes, examples, and helpful tidbits that I want
to tattoo to my forehead so I don’t forget them. She
covers a variety of topics from mommy guilt, getting our strength to endure
from God, how to handle hungry kids and a home that just won’t stay clean,
keeping perspective about nutrition, how to best help your husband love his
children well, living a humble and vulnerable life in front of others (even
when it’s a mess), and even how to have a sense of humor in the midst of
discipline. I really just can’t wait to
get my hands on her first book.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-11286281682742825272013-06-04T20:50:00.000-04:002013-06-04T20:50:17.040-04:00Letter of the Week- Letter Y<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well, we are almost done with our letter of the week series. Like I said in the Letter of the Week- Letter X post. We read a lot of books but I forgot to take a picture of them before we returned them to the library. Here is our curriculum and a few pictures of the fun we had.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRvDn3mDgMo/Ua6K0Z4vQxI/AAAAAAAADro/2EyT2bT-JL0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-04+at+8.58.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRvDn3mDgMo/Ua6K0Z4vQxI/AAAAAAAADro/2EyT2bT-JL0/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-06-04+at+8.58.40+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L8daeg9u_XM/Ua6GCe7Yb_I/AAAAAAAADqI/f4jf_GnLAnc/s1600/IMG_1609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L8daeg9u_XM/Ua6GCe7Yb_I/AAAAAAAADqI/f4jf_GnLAnc/s320/IMG_1609.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s_GGmj2ejOg/Ua6GGWzN9RI/AAAAAAAADqQ/m9NxcViZja0/s1600/IMG_1610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s_GGmj2ejOg/Ua6GGWzN9RI/AAAAAAAADqQ/m9NxcViZja0/s320/IMG_1610.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen yogurt dots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Addi loved the yarn weaving activity.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a4U7mbVmXq4/Ua6GR7xtpTI/AAAAAAAADqY/vD5Flpe03ew/s1600/IMG_1612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a4U7mbVmXq4/Ua6GR7xtpTI/AAAAAAAADqY/vD5Flpe03ew/s320/IMG_1612.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MxacfA15LsM/Ua6GyUyzmUI/AAAAAAAADqg/L_0W_JiUQ_M/s1600/IMG_1613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MxacfA15LsM/Ua6GyUyzmUI/AAAAAAAADqg/L_0W_JiUQ_M/s320/IMG_1613.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eY1V9EOD0GQ/Ua6GzpgzM0I/AAAAAAAADqo/eQS3vCi-EKE/s1600/IMG_1614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eY1V9EOD0GQ/Ua6GzpgzM0I/AAAAAAAADqo/eQS3vCi-EKE/s320/IMG_1614.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are our water balloon yo-yos. The kids LOVED them. We made more the next day!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DoUMWQf4ToI/Ua6H983b1-I/AAAAAAAADq4/PfDEkrkAQLg/s1600/IMG_1595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DoUMWQf4ToI/Ua6H983b1-I/AAAAAAAADq4/PfDEkrkAQLg/s320/IMG_1595.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vyy0qcmH7hY/Ua6JdWHZa-I/AAAAAAAADrQ/ip8pKJlL5SU/s1600/IMG_1601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vyy0qcmH7hY/Ua6JdWHZa-I/AAAAAAAADrQ/ip8pKJlL5SU/s320/IMG_1601.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<br />Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-78332492157933360892013-06-03T13:56:00.000-04:002013-06-03T13:56:04.903-04:00Letter of the Week- Letter X<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Click on the link below to see out Letter X activities for the week.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I0oWG9gGsrY/UaX81wZlq_I/AAAAAAAADpo/x5alEaFjHQc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-05-29+at+9.14.19+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I0oWG9gGsrY/UaX81wZlq_I/AAAAAAAADpo/x5alEaFjHQc/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-05-29+at+9.14.19+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Addi was great at drawing the letter X. we had them on everything all week long.</div>
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X is for xylophone.</div>
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X is for X-ray. We looked at some we had in our medical files form when I sprained my ankle and some copies of our dental X-rays. </div>
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Next we made our own version of an X-ray with chalk and q-tips.</div>
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Next we went on a letter X hunt. We found lots of things that looked like an x but didn't want to take picture of every single thing. Addi made an X with her whole body and also with just her legs. </div>
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After explaining the concept of X marks the spot, we went on a treasure hunt. I wrote clues on paper and while the kids were playing in one room I hid the clues all over the rest of the house. Of course I had to read the clues. I tried to make them challenging so she had to really process through it but simple enough to get without me helping her. They were things like:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Your next clue is hiding in a place where we keep food cold. (Fridge)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>If you were to wash your hands you would find your next clue. (Bathroom Sink)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>When you blanket gets dirty, mommy gives him a bath. Where does you blanket take a bath? (Washing machine)</i></span></div>
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The last clue was a "treasure map." Please don't judge me on my 3 minute drawing of our living room. We talked about how X marks the spot and tried to find which spot the X was showing us.</div>
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When Addi found out "treasure box" she was thrilled to find out the treasure was snack for her and her brother to share. Ha ha ha.</div>
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I usually include pictures of the books we read, but for letter X and letter Y week there are no pictures. Simply because I forgot to take a picture of them before we returned them to the library. Whoops. Oh well.</div>
Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-78294573047447098102013-06-03T11:39:00.004-04:002013-06-03T11:39:51.180-04:00Fighting for Faith: After loss and in the midst of uncertainty.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><i>This week I would love for all of you to be encouraged by my dear friend Kate. She has been through struggles I cannot even fathom and her faith in the midst of trials is astonishing. I love hearing the story of how God has transformed her heart and is continuing to work in her. Because we both stay so busy we don't hang out as much as I would like but she's the type of friend you always feel comfortable with and can always pick up exactly where you've left off. She is such an encourager and even on difficult days the joy of the Lord radiates from her. So, here are some words to think on from Kate.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span>Kate is due in November of 2013!</div>
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As you can see Nathan is thrilled with the news:)</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I am honored to be the mommy of a two year old little boy on this earth, a baby that God is knitting together in my womb, and four precious children that I never had a chance to meet on this earth, but that I will worship Jesus with one day. I also have the privilege of taking care of some other children in my in home daycare. We have a busy, loud house and I love it!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">After an abortion at 19 and then (10 years later) three miscarriages, God blessed my husband and I with a healthy, sweet, funny little boy that we not only got to take home from the hospital but also get to raise and point toward Jesus every day. He brings such joy to our lives and I am so thankful to be his mommy. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Here we are, 2 years later, walking the same road of another high risk pregnancy. Things are going a bit differently this time around. I have some health complications (other than miscarriages) that make pregnancy challenging and that can cause health problems for the baby growing inside me. And although I am not doing things differently than I did with my first born things are just not going as I would like. My phenylalanine levels have been too high since week 8 of this pregnancy and I am now in week 16. Nothing seems to be bringing them down and whenever I think that they must be going in the right direction they go even higher than they were before. On top of health concerns for this baby we also have a few (minor) health concerns for our son, we are packing up and moving houses in the next month, and there are job transitions and changes that come with moving as well. This is a season of change, transition, and uncertainty. And God is teaching us through it all to trust Him more deeply.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">In the midst of all the uncertainties and questions swirling around in my mind and heart I have to ask myself one thing day by day (and really moment by moment.) Am I trusting God in this? Am I resting in Him? Am I clinging to Him? (Ok, three things!) Honestly, in this season and in this pregnancy (much more than in the last one) the fight for faith is harder for me. I am so prone to worry and be fearful about all the unknowns. Taking every thought, every fear, and every worry captive is difficult and I am learning now more than ever that I must do battle and fight for faith. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">So here is what fighting for faith looks like for me these days. I definitely do not have it all figured out (or even close to figured out!) and some days are better than others but here are some things that have been helping me to trust The Lord in everything that is going on. I have to stop and pray a lot throughout the day (and night) and with kids that means saying "ok, mommy needs to ask God for help now" and just praying right there as we are playing or eating or whatever we are doing. (I need to be doing this more with them anyway throughout our day, but thats another blog for another day!) There is a lot of confessing my need for Him, a lot of confessing my sinful, anxious heart when I am fearful, and a lot of seeking out, clinging to, meditating on, and praying specific promises in the bible and a lot of praying that The Lord would change my heart by His word. </span></div>
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<i>Jeremiah 15:16 says, Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. </i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">My prayer is that this may be true of me, that I would find His words, be nourished by them, and that my heart would remain joyful in The Lord no matter what the circumstances are. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Here are a few verses that I have been fighting for faith with in this season:</span></div>
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<i>Isaiah 41:10 - fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. </i><br />
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<i>Psalm 121 - I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. </i><br />
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<i>Psalm 139 - For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. </i><br />
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<i>Psalm 27 - One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. <br /> <br />Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. </i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">There are many others, but I will just list these! I am thankful that every promise is yes and amen in Christ Jesus. I may not know how this pregnancy or any circumstance is going to turn out in my life but I do know that this is true. </span></div>
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<i>Romans 8:31-32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? </i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">He is giving me exactly what I need and what is best for me. He is showing me now more than ever my need for Him and I would not know Him or trust Him in the same way if it wasn't for each of the circumstances He has walked us through and is currently walking us through. It is a hard battle to fight for faith and at times I am weary, but it is worth it. I am not promised that I will meet this baby on this side of heaven but I am promised that Emmanual, God with us, is with me in this. He is not leaving me or forsaking me and in that I can rest.</span></div>
Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-24377222545357306102013-05-30T14:39:00.000-04:002013-06-03T11:44:01.345-04:00Benefit of the Doubt<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">I
remember about six years ago I went to a women’s fellowship at our church and
someone spoke on the topic of loving others. There was one specific
thing that has stuck with me every day since then. If we are to be
unified we need to make sure to love others by always assuming the best about
them, giving them the benefit of the doubt, and never questioning their
motives. This was not easy for me. I have always been skeptical
of others and imagined what others thought about me (which led to great amounts
of insecurity). Instead, we should focus on our identity in Christ
and whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil 4:8-9).</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">I have
been trying to put this into practice and it has dramatically changed my
relationships with others, but I've noticed one thing recently, I’m not yet in
the habit of this with my children.</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">Let me
be the first to point out that Addilyn is stubborn (and she definitely gets
that from me). She likes to make decisions and she likes to be in
control. Although these traits can be used in a positive way, it is
very hard for a 3 year old to understand appropriate boundaries. For
a few months now we have been trying to foster a since of independence (and
problem solving) but also helping her to understand that she is not the boss,
she needs to ask for help, she must still submit to authority, and she will not
always get her way. Great lessons for a 3 year old. Great
lessons for us all. However, in my pursuit to teach her this, I
noticed that I don’t give her the benefit of the doubt. I often
assume her persistence in something I would not typically approve of is simply
defiance.</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">I’ve
told my husband on numerous occasions to pay close attention to Addi when she
is playing or completing a task. Many times if she is doing
something that seems silly or inappropriate to us, she usually has a pretty
good reason for it. For example, the other day, Addi was moving a
dining room chair across the kitchen floor and into the living room. I
asked her why she was moving the chair and she responded, “I need
to.” I followed with, “Why do you need to?” And her response was, “I
just do.” Now, normally I would keep at this and ask a few more
questions or just tell her to stop and return the chair to its proper
place. However, I was distracted with a mess Josiah was making and
let her continue with what she was doing. While taking care of
Josiah I noticed he had a poopy diaper. I stood up and turned around to
go get a diaper and there was Addi, standing there and smiling (with a diaper
and wipes in hand) and said, “Mommy, I help you change
Siah?” She had finished moving the chair, so she could stand
on it to reach the diaper bag (hanging at the top of the coat rack), so that
she could bring me a diaper and wipes because she knew that her brother had a poopy
diaper and she wanted to be helpful to her Mommy. *Sigh</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">She
could not communicate all of that as clearly or in as much depth as I would
have…because she just turned three years old. Three. I am 27 years
older than her. Why on earth do I expect her to act like me and know how
to communicate like a 30 year old?</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">Now, I
don’t want to use this as a means to justify sinful actions, but just to remind
myself of her age and her capabilities. I also think it is good to
challenge your kids and push them to become better in areas. So, for
example, continuing to have the dialog so that she can learn to articulate her
plan. I pray that God will give me the patience to listen to her
form a thought, and maybe stutter through it, or repeat things that don’t make
sense. Either way, this can be a way I can love her and promote
peace and unity in our home.</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">Just for
kicks, I wanted to share with you several other examples all from the same
exact day.</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">Every
morning the first thing we do when Addi wakes up is take off her pull up and
put on her panties. This particular morning however, we got into an
argument because she didn’t want to put on panties.</span><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“Addi,
please go take off your pull up and put on panties.” </i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“Mommy,
I have panties but I need a pull up.” </i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“No,
hun, you are not a baby, you are a big girl. You don’t need a pull
up. Go put on your panties.” </i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“I
HAVVVVVVE panties!” (Accompanied by crocodile tears). </i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“Addi,
I know you are upset, but you need to listen and obey mommy. Go get
your panties right now.”</i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">She
walked away crying and I heard her dresser drawer in her room open and close so
I assumed she was changing. I went to get Josiah out of his crib and
noticed the poor thing had a blow out. After changing him, I
returned to their bedroom to remove Josiah’s sheets. I figured if I
was going to wash his sheets, I would go ahead and change Addis sheets
too. Her sippy cup was lying on her bed and had evidently been
dripping for a while creating a huge wet spot. “This is the exact reason
we don’t allow cups in the bedroom,” I thought, becoming angrier at her
disobedience. About 20 minutes later I found her panties I had asked
her to put on lying in the floor. I called her in the room to speak
to me. Fighting to maintain a calm tone of voice, I said,</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“Addi I
told you to put on your panties. “ </i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“Mommy,
I have panties.” </i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>“No
Addi. You panties are right here.” I held them up to show
her. “Here let mommy help you.”</i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">And then
it hit me like a ton of bricks. All the dots were starting to
connect. I had a flood of understanding the second I touched her.
She DID have panties! She had slept in them all night and was
soaked clean through!</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">The
night before was our small group night. She was supposed to be in
childcare. We had put her in pajamas but planned for her to play and
then get into a pull up before actual bedtime. However, she and her
brother had few meltdowns, which made Josh and I to decide to put her and
Josiah to bed early. I forgot to put her in a pull up. She
tried telling me, but I did not listen! I assumed the worst about
her. I did not give her the benefit of the doubt. She had
a reason for saying and doing what she did, but I was not paying attention.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">The rest
of the day I was much more attentive to this. Especially when she
kept asking me to carry her around the house. I could not figure out
why she was acting so needy but through a series of questions I discovered she
had a cut on the bottom of her foot and she didn’t want to walk because it
hurt.</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">After
naptime Addi was continually begging for snacks. She had already had
two and I could not figure out why she was so hungry. Eventually, it
came out that Josiah stole her peanut butter and jelly sandwich from her plate
and she had not actually eaten her lunch like I thought.</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #3e3f40;">Later that
evening, bath time shed light on another example. Addilyn will, on occasion,
throw a huge tantrum about not wanting to take a bath. That evening was no
exception. Through many tears, she told me, “It hurts my hair.” By
the grace of God through the lesson I was learning I was able to translate that
to “ I don’t want to take a bath because I know we will wash my hair. And,
since I have tons of curls that get tangled easily, it hurts when we have to
brush it out.”</span><span style="color: #3e3f40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3e3f40;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I share all of this with you to encourage you to take a
moment. Listen to your child. Ask questions and assume
that there is a reason they are acting the way they are. If we can
apply the same principle to our children that we do other relationships we can
show them grace, love, and mercy and ultimately show them a picture of Christ.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-57068878067390224622013-05-28T12:08:00.001-04:002013-05-28T12:08:36.950-04:00The Lorax<div style="text-align: center;">
Well, our little Addilyn Grace is now 3!!! We had a joint birthday party with her little buddy down the street who also turned 3. Here are a few pictures of our fun party!</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YHiqrIY2EIo/UaLe2NmR25I/AAAAAAAADnI/QmDdk-4X7gg/s1600/IMG_0601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YHiqrIY2EIo/UaLe2NmR25I/AAAAAAAADnI/QmDdk-4X7gg/s320/IMG_0601.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome sign.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GrTDEOcQWOA/UaLcV2THraI/AAAAAAAADlo/p5SGfpwgnq0/s1600/IMG_0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GrTDEOcQWOA/UaLcV2THraI/AAAAAAAADlo/p5SGfpwgnq0/s320/IMG_0559.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Birthday Girl with mommy and daddy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EuFzpjif3YU/UaLcb8omSeI/AAAAAAAADlw/_v01AmiSudw/s1600/IMG_0568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EuFzpjif3YU/UaLcb8omSeI/AAAAAAAADlw/_v01AmiSudw/s320/IMG_0568.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the backdrop for our "photo booth." Her shirt has 3 Truffula Trees on it and she was so excited about them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8ey4eaEDSk/UaLdG9S_2OI/AAAAAAAADmQ/iQMtnlP6EsM/s1600/IMG_0583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8ey4eaEDSk/UaLdG9S_2OI/AAAAAAAADmQ/iQMtnlP6EsM/s320/IMG_0583.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The food table.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P6_oldvyhtU/UaLdAi7EYdI/AAAAAAAADmA/nG3LdR8Qdwg/s1600/IMG_0585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P6_oldvyhtU/UaLdAi7EYdI/AAAAAAAADmA/nG3LdR8Qdwg/s320/IMG_0585.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truffula trees, barbaloots, and a swomee swan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WOThnZjTRP8/UaLdGRLs1BI/AAAAAAAADmI/bSv_H3SlP_w/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WOThnZjTRP8/UaLdGRLs1BI/AAAAAAAADmI/bSv_H3SlP_w/s320/IMG_0586.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We planted wheat grass seeds!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WN58CT-jy-0/UaLfnI64ydI/AAAAAAAADno/lGE5XX6YKHo/s1600/IMG_0724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WN58CT-jy-0/UaLfnI64ydI/AAAAAAAADno/lGE5XX6YKHo/s320/IMG_0724.JPG" width="320" /></a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nEKN8go7m14/UaLd11JZJDI/AAAAAAAADmo/023vb_5iXDU/s1600/IMG_0593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nEKN8go7m14/UaLd11JZJDI/AAAAAAAADmo/023vb_5iXDU/s320/IMG_0593.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truffula sprouts. My friend had grown wheat grass and I made truffle puffs from a lei.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XKjj7inI6sE/UaLcczV1mUI/AAAAAAAADl4/61Y9uNPfWpc/s1600/IMG_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XKjj7inI6sE/UaLcczV1mUI/AAAAAAAADl4/61Y9uNPfWpc/s320/IMG_0554.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two layer Lorax cake.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BlatFRpb_2I/UaLdz6xAqaI/AAAAAAAADmg/E_OLerLxxD0/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BlatFRpb_2I/UaLdz6xAqaI/AAAAAAAADmg/E_OLerLxxD0/s320/IMG_0589.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truffula Tree cupcakes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BySuXaa4rTo/UaLdlfWonEI/AAAAAAAADmY/y4i7GvJ_gDE/s1600/IMG_0588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BySuXaa4rTo/UaLdlfWonEI/AAAAAAAADmY/y4i7GvJ_gDE/s320/IMG_0588.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lorax juice.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QHP_SyVVsE/UaLeRU_g8AI/AAAAAAAADmw/Pjn00yNQeqI/s1600/IMG_0594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QHP_SyVVsE/UaLeRU_g8AI/AAAAAAAADmw/Pjn00yNQeqI/s320/IMG_0594.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few themed snacks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dmpktqyrFlM/UaLeauEDGWI/AAAAAAAADm4/C4ejHBco2II/s1600/IMG_0595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dmpktqyrFlM/UaLeauEDGWI/AAAAAAAADm4/C4ejHBco2II/s320/IMG_0595.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh_2Li2AkJM/UaLfRtvgNzI/AAAAAAAADng/VP3WnK-O-Sg/s1600/IMG_0681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh_2Li2AkJM/UaLfRtvgNzI/AAAAAAAADng/VP3WnK-O-Sg/s320/IMG_0681.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Story time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HUrhZxDLjOc/UaLfvEta_3I/AAAAAAAADnw/t162be6vTOc/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HUrhZxDLjOc/UaLfvEta_3I/AAAAAAAADnw/t162be6vTOc/s320/IMG_0732.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun items for the photo booth!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-30230962353229663492013-05-23T23:58:00.001-04:002013-05-23T23:59:29.665-04:00Ever raise your voice when frustrated?I was completely encouraged by <a href="http://www.handsfreemama.com/2013/05/22/the-important-thing-about-yelling/" target="_blank">this</a> bog post today and I felt the need to share it with all of you. I hope you can gain something out of it, I know I certainly did.<br />
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<br />Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-89558906589320235782013-05-14T13:37:00.000-04:002013-05-14T13:37:03.497-04:00Letter of the Week- Letter W<div style="text-align: center;">
Letter W week! Please click on the link below to see our curriculum.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CnJ2Bh_EKpo/UZJ1PEET3II/AAAAAAAADdY/CzI-7QqbMBQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-05-14+at+1.41.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CnJ2Bh_EKpo/UZJ1PEET3II/AAAAAAAADdY/CzI-7QqbMBQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-05-14+at+1.41.28+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Making a watermelon...</div>
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...and carefully counting the seeds.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ku0Ku95_IzY/UZAvjKg0r7I/AAAAAAAADZU/aVOaRmIDsYU/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ku0Ku95_IzY/UZAvjKg0r7I/AAAAAAAADZU/aVOaRmIDsYU/s320/IMG_0475.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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W is for whale.</div>
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W is for weather!</div>
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Changing the weather wheel.</div>
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Watering our plants (seeds).</div>
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"Wind art." Blowing paint with a straw.</div>
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And last but not least, washing windows!</div>
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<br />Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-48954535549715985862013-04-30T09:02:00.002-04:002013-04-30T09:03:45.714-04:00An Opposite WorldSo, as I mentioned last week we have been extremely busy. Instead of writing a blog post of my own this week I wanted to point each of you to a "must read" that I think will encourage (and may even convict) many of you. Happy reading friends!<br />
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<a href="http://womenlivingwell.org/2013/04/having-babies-in-opposite-world/" target="_blank">Having Babies in an Opposite World</a></div>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-52018655901244235522013-04-22T15:06:00.000-04:002013-04-22T15:06:38.545-04:00Delight in the Lord and Rejoice in the Interruptions<br />
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Life is crazy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crazy busy that is!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t there just seems like there is always something to do, somewhere to go, and someone to see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For an extreme extrovert like me, I usually thrive in this kind of environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, for every party we host, for every function we attend and for all the people we visit, a to-do list evolves and tasks begin to intrude upon the time I can spend with my husband and children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dishes and laundry do not disappear during the busy seasons of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children still need to be feed, toilets still need to be scrubbed, diapers still need to be changed; groceries still need to be bought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The little things don’t just go away when you are busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things still need to be done even when you are planning a birthday party or having a yard sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The necessities of life will vie for your time even when family is in town visiting, you’re throwing a baby shower, or when you suddenly have a funeral to attend.</div>
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The month of April has been this kind of busy season for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that said, I just wanted to take a moment to boast in our loving God who has shown me more grace than I can even begin to describe in the midst of our crazy schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am thankful that even though I’ve had much less sleep then what I think I need, He has ordained circumstances so that I have had some amazingly awesome quiet times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been studying Philippians to prepare for an upcoming bible study and the things the Spirit has been teaching and convicting me of have been so rich.</div>
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In addition, I am thankful for the interruptions I’ve had recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, you read that correctly, I did say interruptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few months back a dear friend of mine asked for a group of us ladies to pray that she would be willing to be inconvenienced. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wow, What a great prayer, I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Willing to be inconvenienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm, oh to think on all the times that my heart responds in frustration (anger) when I am interrupted in the middle of a conversation, a project, or let’s be honest even in the middle of a shower. When my plan or even just my comfort is compromised I am so easily tempted to react in a way that dishonors the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, all that to say, recently, despite the jammed packed schedule and my endless to-do list I am realizing that I AM thankful for the interruptions I’ve had (most of the time).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing my personality and I can confidently say that this is not of myself, but genuinely a gift from the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I am thankful that God is currently giving me the grace to stop writing this blog post to help Addi redress her doll who’s shirt just won’t go back on right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past few days he has given me the wisdom and discernment to stop folding laundry long enough to transform a bed sheet into a parachute, to sword fight with my “pirates” using the wooden spoon I was placing in the drawer from the dishwasher, to march in a parade around our living room, to play in the dirt on a sunny day, to scoop up my kids in my arms and dance to a silly song they’ve made up, to genuinely enjoy in the little things of life and the magnificent blessings God has poured out on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Time goes by much too quickly, especially when we fill it with tons of events and activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, this week no matter what else you have going on, I want to encourage you first to delight in the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make time to be in the Word and in prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secondly, rejoice in the interruptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn all those little “inconveniences” into memories you will cherish forever.</div>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-445913006138346362013-04-15T13:20:00.003-04:002013-04-15T13:21:08.750-04:00Mommy Guilt<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>This week I have to joy of introducing my friend Charlotte. Charlotte, and her family were part of my church for several years (her husband lead our small group for awhile) but about a year ago they moved to another state. I'm thankful that we can still keep in touch and love one another through prayer, email, and the occasional phone call.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hi!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My name is Charlotte, and I am mommy to two precious little girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My oldest is Cara (3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a wonderful little ball of energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am entertained daily by her incredible imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is challenging and strong willed, but she is a blast!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My youngest is Anna (8 months).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a word that I think describes her very well: sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is such a calm, happy little girl. I love watching her discover the world around her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two ladies are a source of indescribable joy for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I LOVE being a mommy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, this is not to say there are not days where I want to cry and pull my hair out, but I see being a mommy to these two little ladies as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gift and a calling.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And aside from being a helpmate to my hubby, I see being a mom as my primary ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have two precious charges in my care who do not know Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is my desperate plea daily that God would awaken their souls to newness of life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray they would love Jesus with their whole beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So my goal is to point their hearts to our Rescuer, our Savior, our Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as any mom can tell you, there are a million things that can happen in any given day to distract us from this high goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And personally, I have found that mommy guilt is one of the biggest traps I so easily fall into.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We moms are not perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We mess up a million times a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We snap at our kids. We can be lazy, preoccupied, ungrateful, unmerciful, critical . . . . You can fill in the blank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mothers are sinners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will not be perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that is where scriptures such as Philippians 1:6 come in to play: “And I <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a</span>m sure of this, that <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">he</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">who</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">began</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">good</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">work</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">you</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">will</span> bring it to completion <b>a</b>t the day of Jesus Christ.” And Romans 8:1: “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">is</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">there</span>fore <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">now</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">no</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">condemnation</span> for those who are in Christ Jesus.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the Christian mom, the mom who places her full hope in Jesus Christ, we are no longer dead in our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ has breathed new life into our hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are clothed in HIS righteousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And because we are His, He WILL continually be rooting out sin in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But moms, this is a GOOD thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is stripping away what causes death and cultivating what brings forth life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is as a Father with his children, disciplining us for our good and His glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But sometimes we are very quick to wallow in our sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see the sin, we grieve over it, and we sit there, powerless, in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All we can see is how we messed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It paralyzes us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are overrun by guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moms, this should not be!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When God the Father looks at us He does not see our sin any longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sees His Son, the perfect Lamb---the ONLY acceptable sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moms, there is therefore now NO condemnation for us in Jesus!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is continuing a GOOD work in us!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is freedom, ladies, and we should walk in it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we turn from our sins and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit to be the mothers God has called us to be, our children will see and be pointed to the sufficiency of the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has impact for eternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they see their moms just sitting in guilt, this will also have an impact on them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we live as if we are condemned, we are saying our sins are too big for our God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We certainly don’t want to communicate that to our children!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then there is another area of guilt: when we feel guilty for things we have no business feeling guilty for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can happen when we compare ourselves to other moms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look at what that mom over there is doing with her kids and feel we need to be doing the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dangerous ground to be treading, mommies!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, God has created each of us differently with different gifts and abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are not called to be doing what that mom over there is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are called to use the gifts God has given you to raise your kids to know and fear God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t mean we don’t learn from other moms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Titus speaks of older women training younger women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We NEED other moms to encourage us, give advice, cheer us on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned so much from other mothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, I would not have much of a clue about godly parenting if not for the example of other women in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we are not to try <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to be</i> these other moms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But in addition to trying to be like other moms, I also have my own ideals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can feel like a pole-vaulter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am looking at the bar high up in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to not just clear it but to soar ever so gracefully over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I get ready, I race towards that high bar, I plunge my pole into the ground, my body soars into the air, I can see that bar . . . but I miss—I don’t even get close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My body plummets back down to the ground, and I land flat on my back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stare, looking back up at that high bar that seems a million miles away, and despair washes over me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot reach that high bar no matter how hard I try. So I sit in my guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel guilty for not reaching all these lofty goals I set for myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel guilty for not reaching my version of a perfect momma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I am learning that my version of a perfect momma and God’s version of a perfect momma are rarely the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was talking to a dear (and very wise) friend the other day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sharing with her how I had been struggling so much with guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she shared with me some very wise counsel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So friends, if you are like me and struggle with guilt, read carefully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Joy and guilt cannot coexist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I am so busy feeling guilty about everything, my girls are not going to have a joy-filled momma.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is HUGE, ladies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all see how our children pick up on our attitudes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are living under the weight of guilt, it is like we are carrying around a boulder on our backs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so busy trying to live under the weight of this rock that very little of our energy is focused on being a mommy that shows our children the beauty of the Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Matthew 11:30, Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not meant to be carrying a boulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, we are to be focused on the truths and promises of His Word, and we are to be walking in these promises. We are to be meditating on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith who gives us everything we need for life and godliness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ladies, we are clothed in Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When God looks at us, He sees the shed blood of His Son covering us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’s blood is strong enough to cover all our failures, and He is powerful enough to transform us into the moms He calls us to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not about us, girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is about Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that brings JOY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when we are living in this joy, our children will see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will see what the Gospel is truly all about—sinners made perfect through Jesus’s atoning blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that, my friends, is the best news we will ever hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what brings joy indescribable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is what we hope for our children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To know Jesus and to walk in this joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, sweet sisters, don’t sit in guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Live a life that adores, treasures, and finds its rest in Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what we want our kids to see and know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what will have an impact for eternity.</span></div>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-48877078310116443742013-04-10T21:00:00.000-04:002013-04-10T21:00:27.955-04:00Easter Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My husband and I want to be very careful about making sure our family focuses on the real meaning of Easter and the significance of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. But, as I'm sure you are all aware, Easter in our culture has become focused around many other things including candy, the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, baby animals, and anything and everything pastel. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We want to guard closely the hearts and minds of our children, but we also want to make sure that we don't remove them from the world that we desperately hope they will be laboring for Christ in. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ten days before Easter we read the entire story of Easter (from the time of Jesus's entrance into Jersulem on Palm Sunday until his assention to Heaven). Each day we read from either a different children's bible or from a different translation of the Bible. We read from the Beginner's Bible (New Testament) - by Zonderkids, The Beginner's Bible - by Karyn Henley, The Jesus Story Book Bible- by Sally Lloyd-Jones, and the ESV, NIV, and NASB translations.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the time Easter Sunday came around Addilyn was so excited she was shouting at her brother, "Josiah! Jesus is ALIVE! Jesus is ALIVE!" Oh, the joy that overwhelmed my heart in that moment was beyond description. However, by the time we got to church her phrase had changed and now she was telling everyone, "Jesus is higher." I'm not sure if this was because we sang Hosanna in the Highest or spoke about how Jesus had risen, but either way she just had to tell everyone "Jesus is higher!" What a funny two year old. All this to say, despite my lack of motivation, God used His word to penetrate my kids heart and I loved it!!! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Other activities for we did this week just for fun were:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Resurrection Rolls</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #262626;">Resurrection Rolls are the perfect treat to make with your
little ones to share the meaning of Easter. One of my sweet neighbors knew I was feeling a little burnt out from preparing lessons but knew I really wanted to celebrate the true meaning of Easter. She not only brought me all the supplies for this activity, but also supplies to make a crown of thorns with crackers, peanut butter, and pretzels (but I don't have any pictures from that activity). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;">Anyway, here are the ingredients and directions.</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One can of crescent roll dough</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8 large marshmallows (or one for each roll you’ll be making)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Melted butter</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cinnamon sugar</span></span></li>
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<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;">Read John 19 while the oven is preheating to 350.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unroll the crescent rolls and place on a rimmed baking sheet
lined with parchment paper. Explain that this is like the cloth they wrapped
Jesus in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents
Jesus,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">all white and pure because He was without sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Roll the marshmallows in the melted butter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This symbolizes the embalming oils.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bOrFVPR5VOo/UV3P41-WGNI/AAAAAAAADWE/ZC1JMoO5LWw/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bOrFVPR5VOo/UV3P41-WGNI/AAAAAAAADWE/ZC1JMoO5LWw/s320/IMG_0045.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Roll the marshmallows in the cinnamon sugar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is like the spices used to prepare his body for burial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wrap the marshmallow in the crescent roll cloth, pinching the
dough together securely. This represents how they wrapped Jesus’ body.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Put the rolls in the oven (symbolizing the tomb) and bake for 12
minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #262626;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626;">While the rolls are baking, read John 20:1-18.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Open the tomb and remove the rolls. When they’re cool enough to
handle, break one open and discover what happened to the marshmallow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JESUS IS RISEN!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">City Easter Egg Hunt</span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Egg hunt and other plastic egg games at our house!</span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">YMCA Easter craft party!</span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">YMCA Easter egg hunt.</span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We hid eggs all over our yard and invited all the neighborhood kids to come hunt. Josiah was a GREAT egg-hider.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And, just for fun, I thought I would share some pictures from last year. Here is a picture of my sweet Addi-girl using the holes in a plastic egg to add glitter to her paint sample egg garland we had made.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And here she is making her tissue and contact paper cross (that hung in her bedroom window until October). Ha ha!</span></div>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-85551849293921576082013-04-08T07:32:00.000-04:002013-04-08T07:32:14.046-04:00Knowing God- the best methodology out there!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Hey everyone! This morning I have the pleasure of introducing to you one of the most Jesus-loving and intentional friends I know, Kari. In everything she does, she has a biblical basis for it. She always is trying to discern how God is working within every detail of her life. She humbly sets a great example for those of us who were not raised in that type of culture but long to set that example for our own children.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hello all! I am so thankful to have this opportunity to share. My name is Kari. I have a little man, Titus, who is 6 yrs. old, and two daughters, Eliana (4 1/2 yrs going on 17) and Leala (who just turned 3 and is just happy to be here). :) My two princesses stay busy spinning in tutus and playing "house" in which their story lines usually involve rescuing and caring for orphans from a distant land. In the midst of all that precious playtime come selfishness, fits, and tears :). My first born has a super sensitive heart toward the things of God and would tell you his role as a man is "to protect and provide." He loves learning, legos, listening to the Bible, and loves his friends and family. Since Titus has hit age 6, though, we have begun to shift our understanding of how we discipline and train Titus. Not all of his mishaps these days are out of "defiance" like they used to be when he was 5 and under. A lot of his mishaps recently are from a simple lack of character. Ex. He is jumping around being goofy, trying to get attention, and in the process he knocks his sister in the head with his knight sword. Or he doesn't knock anyone with anything but we notice he is being overly silly with the purpose to get all eyes on him. Or he responds to a simple dilemma with lots of emotional crying. Titus has entered a new age and stage in life. He understands "respect and authority" and generally seeks to honor God in how he relates to adults. But, new things are happening...New attitudes, new ideas, new struggles, new emotions, and new hurts. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span>This is the background that God is using to shape me in my recent views of child training.</span></span> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is a lot that Mommies can learn and share with others in regards to methods of child training. Yet methods often change and flex even as we assess each of our own children's needs that correspond to their ages/stages. The One who never changes is the "method" (per se) that I want to write about today. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The most helpful place I can ever point a Mommy to is God Himself. One God, who exists in three persons- the Father, Son, and Spirit, whom we have been created to enjoy intimately. There are so many times as a Mom that I literally put my hands in my face during my kids squabbles and just cry out to God for help. Both kids are being selfish, neither wants to consider the other, pointing them to a Scripture proves ineffective to work sorrow or true change, and when i try the Christian hedonism route- "but THIS would make you most happy"...they both plainly declare, "then I don't WANT to be happy." (Cross arms and pout). </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Well, they are right. My children were born into a world of sin where even their own hearts don't desire God. God is the only One who desires God, and God is the only One who causes us to desire Him. For "there is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God." Romans 3:10-11</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">In and of themselves, they are right...they DON'T want to be happy. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Hmmm...options now. I could simply discuss the issue privately instructing what sin each one needs to "put off" or what righteousness to "put on" instead, spank each one for being sinful toward each other, pray for restitution and forgiveness, reaffirm their acceptance as my son or daughter, and afterwards simply put away the game they were playing that was so tempting to them. OR I could do all of that but make them go back and work out a way to play the game peacefully. I could just realize that everyone is tired and put everyone to bed early....show mercy with no spankings, but game over. Or I could choose a host of other approaches. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Yet, at this point in the day, with this particular squabble, I realized by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, that using those "methods" today wasn't going to be a tutor to bring them to Christ. The way this day had gone, I didn't feel like those usual methods would effect true repentance or heart change with my two older children, and that's what we ultimately desire as parents, heart change, right? </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Sigh. The life of a mom- "what do I do?" I called my husband at work for his godly and wise ideas, and he didn't pick up. Thus, the question remained, "What do I do?" as children are sitting in front of me already dictating to me the consequences they DON'T want. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">In these moments there often isn't a book answer. Thankfully God gives us many of these moments so we can't take pride in thinking we have it all figured out. Yes, we should study the Scriptures and have resources to know how to train and discipline our children. Yes, we should read books by godly authors and sift through their logic to discern if their methods are reflective of God's heart. Yes, we should be diligent to enact the things we learn with raising our children to teach them to love God and love others. Yes, we should refuse to coast and just "do what our parents did" with no thought or seeking the Scriptures. As the Scriptures say, "let everyone be convinced in his own mind." Rom 14:5. John Piper just asserted in a sermon I listened to that "we need more convictions" in the church "not less!" Yes. Yes. Yes. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">And YES, you will have moments still when none of these methods work or moments when you look at your child and realize that the stage he/she is in at this very moment is...different. And though you may have had resources and felt confident when he was 5yrs old, a logical and yet sensitive 6 yr old is now looking you in the eyes, and you feel resource-less. And those are the moments I write about today. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">I feel the difference in my heart in parenting when I have had a week where I have really walked by the Spirit because I have been close to God through His Word and prayer. Those are the weeks where I really realize my desperate need for God. When that kind of humility drives my "parenting ship," the results are helpful, encouraging, and fruitful. I STILL may not know how to handle a fit or a disagreement, but I am ok with not knowing because I know that God is ultimately their heart changer, not me. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">My exhortation to Mommies today is simple. It's just two words,"know God." God is the only One in these moments that can help you. </span><b style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Know Father God.</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"> Oh, Father God! You delight to give us the kingdom. You patiently endure with us. You discipline us with brokenness in Your own heart. You sing over us while smiling. You give us not only the things we need but the things we want. You lavish and You withhold. You already know the deep places we fear to let others in. You are forever wise and have ALL the answers, yet intentionally do not tell us those answers some days. You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in goodness and truth. You forgive sin yet never let the guilty go unpunished. Oh Father, we love you. Cause us to know You, Father God. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Know Jesus.</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"> Jesus. (Sigh, pause, and smile.) Our Teacher. Our Lover. Our intercessor. The One whose hands are the lifter of our heads. Our ultimate example of selflessness. The One who came to serve not be served. The humble One who deserved it all yet never demanded it. Our healer. The One who is full of grace and yet simultaneously full of truth...who knows the perfect moment to say the perfect words to that exact person. The One who took my place, took my punishment, and took my condemnation, so I can live like I never did any wrong. Your work on the cross silences my accusers. Wow. My good news. My Lover. My Savior.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Know the Spirit.</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"> Mysterious Spirit! Your whispers delight my soul. Your comfort outweighs any other. Your ministry to my soul is unexplainably precious. Your conviction often comes through encouragement. You praise Christ at work in me when the crowd is silent. You work change...softly and tenderly as Jesus calls, You work. You give gifts that enable the body to thrive. You tell me what to do when I feel frozen. You calm my rage and calm my fears. You are a Spirit of peace. With you I am safe, for your purpose is to glorify the Son. Spirit of wind. Spirit of fire. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Mommies, come, let us return to the Lord! Let us press on to know the Lord! He is our Lord, our God, our Maker! And as we go to the secret places with our God, we will often hear a voice behind us saying, "this is the way to parent, walk in it." And it may look different than what we read in our parenting book that day. And other days we will hear His silence in those difficult parenting moments. Yet, frustration will not result in our hearts, rather a soft smile will spread across our faces. Perhaps that day, it's not about us having a champion parenting moment. Perhaps that day it's not about our kids having the perfect parenting parent. Perhaps God just wants us to see, "wow, that's what I look like when I am selfish." Perhaps God wants us to simply feel humbled by not having all the perfect parenting answers. Perhaps His silence means something amazing that we will never know this side of Heaven. And our hearts will then be kept in perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Him because we trust in Him. Because we know Him. "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” -Hosea 6:3</span></span></div>
Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-22067881209996694662013-04-04T14:44:00.000-04:002013-04-04T14:44:21.254-04:00Letter of the Week- Letter V<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
One week closer to the end of the alphabet. Here's what we did. Enjoy!</div>
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Introducing the letter V!</div>
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All sorts of books on vegetables, volcanoes, and anything else we could find that started with the letter v.</div>
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V is for volcano! We used construction paper, crayons, and tissue paper to make a volcano that had lava coming out the top and flowing down the mountain!</div>
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I am so thankful for friends who are willing to share their really cool homeschooling stuff. One of my neighbors, and a mom to three boys, let us borrow a "volcano" that her boys had made. We added a little baking soda and vinegar to make our own eruption and the kids loved it more than I can even begin to describe. Check out how excited they are by the expressions on their faces.</div>
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V is for Vegetables!!! We used the top of some celery to paint flowers in our Capital V Vase!<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SoLg8dYlvQA/UVSbOcKvlzI/AAAAAAAADTQ/DX4RSbz5tZ8/s1600/IMG_9982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SoLg8dYlvQA/UVSbOcKvlzI/AAAAAAAADTQ/DX4RSbz5tZ8/s320/IMG_9982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also went on a field trip to a "Seed Store" as Addi now calls it. We researched which vegetable seeds would be the most likely to survive in our area and the proper way to plant it. Now, I in no way, shape or form have a green thumb. Quite the contrary in fact. Just about any plant I've ever had, I kill it in record time so I don't know if this activity will actually produce the results I'm hoping for, but I thought we would at least give it a try!</div>
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Addi found her lettuce seeds packet.</div>
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And then we recruited a few friends to help us plant them.</div>
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Hopefully in a few short weeks we will see some vegetables starting to grow!</div>
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<br />Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-60649661820993144172013-04-04T14:14:00.000-04:002013-04-04T14:18:12.732-04:00Letter of the Week - Letter U<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Letter U week was unbelievable! Ha ha. Click on the link below to view our curriculum and check out our pictures to see some of the fun things we did.</div>
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Handwriting practice.</div>
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Up, up, up!</div>
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A few letter U themed books.</div>
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Pointing UP!</div>
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Crawling UNDER!</div>
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Using an umbrella!</div>
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United States of America puzzles!</div>
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-17969271585338056672013-04-04T12:18:00.000-04:002013-04-04T12:21:39.083-04:00St. Patrick's Day Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My family history definitely includes some Irish heritage (if you could't tell by my red hair). And even though we are not Catholic, we still enjoy a few St.Patrick's Day crafts and activities. My sorority was founded on St.Patrick's Day and green is my favorite color which makes this an even more fun holiday for me so why not let the kids have a lot of fun with it too!</div>
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Here is Addilyn's Leprechaun Beard.</div>
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Who can resist pepper painting when it makes such perfect four leaf clovers?</div>
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And of course we had to make something with mint in it. How about <a href="http://www.familyfeatures.com/feeds/food/FeatureDetail.aspx?ID=3300" target="_blank">Chocolate Mint Brownies</a>...yes please!</div>
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Most fun of all is the annual city parade. We of course, had a blast!<br />
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Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459530684884081513.post-48619523048380437622013-03-31T22:32:00.000-04:002013-03-31T22:33:32.453-04:00Eating Vegetables<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>This week I have the pleasure of introducing you to Cary! Cary and I have attended the same church for quite a few years but we never hung out on a regular basis until recently. She's one of those ladies you admire from afar and wish to spend more time with. Last fall we finally both pulled out our calendars and have been able to plan a few fun nights together. I'm so thankful for her vulnerability and desire to maintain an eternal perspective. I hope and pray you are each encouraged by what she has to share!</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RP-oISvV6HU/UVjuq98yJ5I/AAAAAAAADUk/S6IExtGfOUs/s1600/Mohawk+Joel+in+bathtub+(B&W).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RP-oISvV6HU/UVjuq98yJ5I/AAAAAAAADUk/S6IExtGfOUs/s320/Mohawk+Joel+in+bathtub+(B&W).jpg" width="213" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My name is Cary and I have one son, Joel, who is almost two. He's a fairly easy-going toddler and my husband and I (both introverts) are pretty convinced he'll take after us. He warms up to people pretty quickly and isn't clingy but he prefers to hang back and watch before jumping in. It's really fun to watch the wheels turn in his little head and try to see how God has uniquely made and gifted him.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You need to know a little background about me to fully appreciate the situation I've chosen to write about for this blog post. Until the last few weeks, I did not eat any vegetables. EVER. As in, I had very strong gagging reactions to them as a child and my mother, for a variety of reasons, decided to not to push me to learn to eat them. So I have gone basically the last thirty years without consuming any vegetables. No corn, no carrots, no salads, no sweet potatoes, nothing. I believe that multivitamins are one of God's biggest gifts for picky eaters and I marvel at the way he designed our bodies to be able to survive and thrive on sub-optimal diets. I do not recommend this lifestyle but I do want to say all of my blood work while not eating vegetables was completely normal, I am in decent shape, I had a healthy pregnancy, and if you are worried your child will become malnourished from not eating vegetables, I am living proof that it probably won't happen.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now that is out of the way, you can understand a little bit the amount of fear and trepidation I felt when introducing vegetables to Joel as a baby. How was I going to expect him to eat something I didn't? To my relief, he gobbled up all of the pureed beans, peas, carrots and squash I gave him. However, as a toddler he has been much more reluctant to eat vegetables in their solid form.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When he first started refusing vegetables, I could feel my blood pressure skyrocket. Then fear, panic and anger took over. Fear that I was failing a mom. Panic that I didn't know how to handle this situation. Fear that Joel would be doomed to repeat my past. Anger that I couldn't control this little person anymore. Fear, panic, anger. All sins I struggle with that go back to the lie that any of us are ultimately in control and could be enough, do enough, or even eat enough vegetables to be perfect. It sounds ridiculous when I write it out like that but I find myself believing that lie over and over again. My idol of control has me placing my assurance in how well I can manage the little things and has me blinded to the most important things in life, most of which are ultimately out of my control anyhow!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This scenario with Joel tempted (and still tempts) me to become exactly the type of parent and person that I desperately don't want to be. In my life I don't want to fight for good things, only to miss what is best. I don't want to have a this-world-is-all-there-is mindset. I don't want to be like the Jewish authorities in John 18 who took Jesus to Pontius Pilate but wouldn't enter the governor's headquarters for fear of defiling themselves. They wanted to make sure crucifying Jesus didn't technically break any laws about appropriate behavior and get in the way of their ability to celebrate Passover. They followed all of the rules they were taught for right behavior and loved the praise of men. They did everything "right" but missed the most important thing right in front of them: Jesus. They were literally more worried about appearing righteous and controlling all of the little externals of their lives, even as they were putting the Son of God to death. Talk about missing the big eternal picture!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, I want Joel to obey and eat vegetables but what I have learned is that I don't want to care more about his external obedience than about his heart. Obedience is important and can reveal what is going on in the heart, but I have been challenged by Dr. Tim Kimmel's book <u>Grace Based Parenting</u> to remember that not every thing is a moral issue. I think this is another way of paraphrasing Ephesians 6:4 about not exasperating your children but instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. I don't have <u>Grace Based Parenting</u> on hand to refer to a specific page (I checked it out from the library), but here is a quote from Dr. Kimmel's website:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Kids inside homes where non-moral issues are elevated to a level of <em>big</em> problems don't get to experience the kind of acceptance that makes a heart feel securely loved. Instead they live with a barrage of nitpicking criticism, receiving put-downs because they are curious, anxious, excited, helpless, carefree, or absent-minded. When we receive our children as they are, we reflect the kind of love that God has for them. It's the kind of love that will carry them through the good times and the bad times for the rest of their lives."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have recently started occupational therapy to learn how to eat vegetables so I can set a good example for Joel and provide healthier meals at home. Honestly, it is not going easily or quickly. I am reminding myself that Joel will need to look beyond my example and even beyond himself for the truest example of how to live. I don't want to artificially turn the issue of eating vegetables into a moral issue. I want him to be obedient but ultimately I want to care most about his character and heart for God so that he knows that is truly the only thing that matters. Like it or not, he will take many of his cues from me and I want him to know that I love him, that I will show him grace, and that every day I will radiate a true and authentic love for Jesus.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wasn't raised in a home where I saw an unabashed love for Jesus spilling into every area of life. I'm not sure exactly what that looks like in the context of Joel eating vegetables, but I'm guessing it looks more peaceful and less anxious, more full of grace and less temptation to anger, and more thankful to Jesus for providing both physically and spiritually. I am trying to redeem meals and figure out how to make them about Jesus. Recently I have started reading to Joel from T<u>he Jesus Storybook Bible</u> over a meal. It is a good reminder to me that even if he isn't eating the foods I wish he would eat, he is being nourished by the Bread of Life. And that is exactly the mother I pray to be able to be for him.</span></div>
Josh, Amanda, Addilyn, and Josiah Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02685038699246532409noreply@blogger.com1