For those of you who gave up looking at the recipe blog, I have finally started it up again. So if you need some ideas, head on over. Cami has posted some too that are so good! If anyone else wants to add some recipes...please do! And for those who aren't contributers and you want to, let me know!
canihavetherecipe.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Trying to overcome my struggles
I'm going to admit it. I have always had a big struggle with comparing. And the worst thing is I usually compare my weakness to others strengths. I don't know why I do it, but I do. The most frustrating thing to me is when I compare my boys to other children. Why? Every kid has struggles, no kid is perfect. But for some reason I seem to think they are. When my kids are more wiggly at church, I notice the ones that are sitting perfectly still. When my kids are refusing to do chores, I think to myself, I bet other kids are doing their chores. When Corbin isn't reading Harry Potter books, I think, all the other kids his age probably are. AHHH! Stop.
Well, last night, I started reading from a wonderful book my mother-in-law had called Teaching Children Joy from Linda and Richard Eyre. This book holds the secret to overcoming my struggle. My favorite paragraph made me think so much and is why I am writing this down today. I have to write it so that I can remember better. Linda Eyre writes "I.Q. vs. J.Q."
"We started our school because of our strong disagreement with the common supposition that the greatest thing that a child can posess (or that we as parents can help him to attain in order for him to 'succeed' in today's society) is a high I.Q. Too much stress is placed on young children's abilities, on being able to put together numbers and letters quickly, on manipulation skills. The world at large seems to be overly aware of 'How soon will my child read?' Or 'Just listen to him count or recite.' While these things do have their place, we strongly believe that real happiness, contentment, and ability to cope with the world lie in a child's J.Q. (joy quotient). Ponder, for a moment, the quality of a child's life once he has obtained confidence in his own ability to make decisions, to enjoy and be aware of nature, to understand another person's ill feelings, to set a goal and accomplish it, to share with and serve his friends, and to see himself as a totally unique individual with a great deal to offer to others. Each of these are joys that can be taught, and we are of the opinion that the ideal time to teach them is before the age of five and before the beginning of formal education. With a foundation of these 'joy' concepts, the other abilities often associated with I.Q. will come quickly and naturally. By teaching a child joy, we can give him both a calm spirit and an active mind."
Joy, that's what I desire most for my kids. I am now trying my hardest to not compare. I am proud of all those parents out there who do an amazing job with their kids. But now, it is time for me to be proud of my kids. Teach them what really matters. In time, they are going to learn to read, they are smart boys and I know they will succeed. Now is the time to enjoy each moment and let them be kids, let us laugh together, play together, and learn together! I want to help them develop their talents individually, they each have something the world needs and only they can do it!
And to Justin, thank you for being so good at this, you were so meant to be their dad!
Well, last night, I started reading from a wonderful book my mother-in-law had called Teaching Children Joy from Linda and Richard Eyre. This book holds the secret to overcoming my struggle. My favorite paragraph made me think so much and is why I am writing this down today. I have to write it so that I can remember better. Linda Eyre writes "I.Q. vs. J.Q."
"We started our school because of our strong disagreement with the common supposition that the greatest thing that a child can posess (or that we as parents can help him to attain in order for him to 'succeed' in today's society) is a high I.Q. Too much stress is placed on young children's abilities, on being able to put together numbers and letters quickly, on manipulation skills. The world at large seems to be overly aware of 'How soon will my child read?' Or 'Just listen to him count or recite.' While these things do have their place, we strongly believe that real happiness, contentment, and ability to cope with the world lie in a child's J.Q. (joy quotient). Ponder, for a moment, the quality of a child's life once he has obtained confidence in his own ability to make decisions, to enjoy and be aware of nature, to understand another person's ill feelings, to set a goal and accomplish it, to share with and serve his friends, and to see himself as a totally unique individual with a great deal to offer to others. Each of these are joys that can be taught, and we are of the opinion that the ideal time to teach them is before the age of five and before the beginning of formal education. With a foundation of these 'joy' concepts, the other abilities often associated with I.Q. will come quickly and naturally. By teaching a child joy, we can give him both a calm spirit and an active mind."
Joy, that's what I desire most for my kids. I am now trying my hardest to not compare. I am proud of all those parents out there who do an amazing job with their kids. But now, it is time for me to be proud of my kids. Teach them what really matters. In time, they are going to learn to read, they are smart boys and I know they will succeed. Now is the time to enjoy each moment and let them be kids, let us laugh together, play together, and learn together! I want to help them develop their talents individually, they each have something the world needs and only they can do it!
And to Justin, thank you for being so good at this, you were so meant to be their dad!
Levi is no baby
He doesn't even want to think about being our baby, he is much too big. The last couple of months we have seen him grow up so much. He loves playing with his brothers and he loves anything that involves big boy stuff. Yes, even super heros. He's got the theme of heros down, da na naaa, na na na naa naaa.... really, from a one year old??!
The latest words he has been saying are, "mommy, eeee" (mommy, see)
He even eats better than his older brothers. Last night at dinner, Justin was trying to give Corbs and Tay fun bites, which included star wars characters flying into their mouths. Levi decided he could do that for himself. He made great big airplane noises into his own mouth.
The last couple of days Levi has been playing with this gun, practically non stop. He hands it to me, puts the bullets in, has me shoot it, then he runs and grabs them off the wall and comes back for more...seriously, non stop...
Anyone need some baby toys, they are just collecting dust??
The latest words he has been saying are, "mommy, eeee" (mommy, see)
He even eats better than his older brothers. Last night at dinner, Justin was trying to give Corbs and Tay fun bites, which included star wars characters flying into their mouths. Levi decided he could do that for himself. He made great big airplane noises into his own mouth.
The last couple of days Levi has been playing with this gun, practically non stop. He hands it to me, puts the bullets in, has me shoot it, then he runs and grabs them off the wall and comes back for more...seriously, non stop...
Oh we can't get enough of this boy!!!
Anyone need some baby toys, they are just collecting dust??
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why fear?
The other day I had just picked up Corbin from school and was driving home. For the first time on the radio I heard about the earthquake in Haiti, I was heartbroken. The numbers of death I had heard were awful. Corbin could tell I was bothered and he asked me what was the matter. I told him about the earthquake and that so many people had died and were without homes. Why I told him, I don't know, because ever since then he has become so scared at night. He asks us if there will be an earthquake or fire tonight, we try to reassure him that we will be okay and that we are all together. The other night he was extremely nervous about going to bed. He climed up in our bed and didn't want to leave. Justin asked him if he thought praying to Heavenly Father would make him feel better, Corbin said yes. After the prayer Corbin told us he felt better and he knew that he would be protected. But he was still deep in thought and after a moment he asked, "Why did Heavenly Father create Earthquakes and fires?" Um...well, Fire can be used for good or bad, He gave it to us to help keep us warm, but we need to make sure that we are responsible and never play with fire. Luckily, that answer was good enough.
In this life, we know there is good and bad, love and hate, joy and sorrow. There are some really tough, scary times ahead, but there are also wonderful, joyful moments too. That's what we need to look forward to! Why live our lives in fear? We can make it through the hard times. All we need is to be prepared. And that is what we are trying to focus on in our family right now. Do not fear, have faith, and be prepared.
In this life, we know there is good and bad, love and hate, joy and sorrow. There are some really tough, scary times ahead, but there are also wonderful, joyful moments too. That's what we need to look forward to! Why live our lives in fear? We can make it through the hard times. All we need is to be prepared. And that is what we are trying to focus on in our family right now. Do not fear, have faith, and be prepared.
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