What I'm most thankful for this year

This is baby at 12 weeks - we're at 17 weeks now and still waiting for the all-day sickness to go away, but still very thankful.

New Websites

It's always fun to find new kids websites. Angelina Ballerina has a new website! My girls, especially Rose, are big fans. That site led me to:

PBS Kids Sprout - they have the cutest website. Rosie just came down with a fever of nearly 102, and fell asleep watching Noddy video clips.

There are lots of healthy kids recipes, with names and designs based on favorite characters:

• Freeze Dance Pops
• Barney's Purple Hummus Dip
• Brussel's Mini-Quiches
• Jay Jay's Chicken Salad Plane
• Banjo's Banana Splits

And after you've tried them out, you can upload a picture of your kids making or eating them. My kids are gonna love that! You can also upload photos for various parts of the Gallery. And there are pages of video clips of sign language words from The Good-Night Show.

There are also pages of simple (and I mean really simple) crafts. No, you might not think they're beautiful, and they might not make good Mother's Day gifts, but they'll keep your kids occupied with simple household materials and lots of creativity. Some favorites:

• Bottle Cap Ladybugs
• Sponge Sailboat
• String Telephone
• Picture Puzzle

• Name Art

And finally back at those creative, veggie loaded, kid-friendly recipes, I clicked a link to:

KidsHealth where there are even more great recipes with sections of recipes for kids with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, celiac disease, and that are vegetarian. as well as educational games and experiments, information on childhood illnesses and accidents from kids' or parents' perspectives, a whole sections of "How the Body Works" videos that Ethan might totally love (though the one I watched seemed a bit slow-moving) The teens section of the site has some good stuff, but also lots of information you would expect from a public school type setting in regard to private matters. There's also a "Growing Up" section that you may want your kids to avoid before turning them loose on the site, on the other hand, it could be helpful if you are needing to discuss puberty and related issues.

Have fun exploring these new sites or just enjoying the links that I found. See you later!

Trustee Family

Brian e-mailed me this fantastic article, "Turning the Tables on Family." It resonates with a vision of faith and family for future generations that is sometimes lost in the muddle of daily living. This is purposeful connecting and instructing with an eye toward our children's chidren's children. Sometimes we think too small.

A while back, Brian also shared this from from Al Sanders' Crisis in Morality:

"Max Jukes, the atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from the union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars.

"But, praise the Lord, it works both ways! There is a record of a great American man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly girl. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice-president of the United States, 80 became public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. His descendants did not cost the state a single penny. 'The memory of the just is blessed' (Prov. 10:7)."

Preschool DVDs

For her Opinion Saturday this week Mary at Owlhaven asked what DVD’s and children’s shows you feel are worthwhile for preschoolers. Here is my response. You can add yours here. Let me know if you leave her a response so that I can read it too!

My children LOVE Miss Pattycake DVDs from Integrity Music. She is a perky lady with a bright green jumper and funky hats that loves to sing songs and share the gospel in a way that toddlers adore and understand. When my firstborn was just 27 months old he could explain the true meaning of Easter thanks to this lady's explanation of it in "Egg-Strava-Ganza!" Anyone who can accomplish that in such an engaging way has my thanks. We got to see her live last September and my 5, 3, and 1 year old were all thrilled. My fourteen month old refused to leave her lap during picture time! She woke up every morning asking for "Pat." Check out her website http://www.misspattycake.com/.

We also enjoy Praise Baby for young toddlers and Cedarmont Kids music videos for older toddlers and preschoolers, as well as the Beginners Bible video series. no list would be complete without Steve Green's Hide 'Em In Your Heart and my kids also love the Donut Man. There you have it. My list of preschool gems.

Today's proverb

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. Proverbs 25:26

The children are quick and eager to learn proverbs set to music. I am eager to teach them as many as they can hold. The new mission: to determine how many tunes I can make up, and they can memorize, in one week. One a week? One a day?...

Potty Song

This is Rosie's new favorite song. We've even made motions, which I think boosted its appeal.


G C E F EE D
1-2-3- Let's hear some pee (Hold one, then two, then three fingers up, then cup your hand behind you ear)

G B D EE D C
1-2-3- In the pot-ty (Hold one, then two, then three fingers up, then point down in the potty)

G C E F EE D
1-2-3- Let's hear some pee (Hold one, then two, then three fingers up, then cup your hand behind your ear)

G B D EE D C
Flush it down in the pot-ty (Make a flushing motion, then point down in the potty)


I'm pretty sure I made this one up from scratch, but if you've seen it somewhere before let me know.
Copyright 2007

Best of the blogs

My husband Brian at Growing Vertical has a great post on Christian marriage in response to a question from a coworker.

Kelly at A Spacious Place had an article on pornography with some shocking statistics that are a must-read for every wife and mother.

Funniest reads of the week go to Kim's Day at the Zoo and Lindsey's bathtub story.

And how could I end this list without a beautiful read from Ann at The Holy Experience of Listening.

Out of the mouth of the babe

I wrote this down right after it happened, but then I lost the note. So this is my best reconstruction...

Brian and I were discussing the fact that God is not bound by a time-line like humans. He transcends time. I commented that "he even rewound death" at times, bringing the dead back to life. About this time, Anna Kate starts chiming in from the background, " I know what rewind means." Certain that she is about to explain the workings of a VCR, we continued our conversation. But she was not deterred, and again insisted, "I know what rewind means." So I gave in, and said, "what does it mean, Anna?" And then I got a surprise.

"To rewind death means to take it away. And it not be there anymore. And we don't go there. And that's what Jesus did."

I was speechless.

Of course, not everything she says is that profound.

Last evening's devotions were the story of Mara, and the children of Israel's repeated search for good water. Brian read how they found a place with good water...Anna Kate enthusiatically took over,"and they had a picnic, and they roasted marshmallows, didn't they? And they made smores. I think they made smores!"

You never know what that girl's gonna say.