Photo Story Friday: Aquarium

One of the tourist attractions in our town in an aquarium. It's nice, but it's touristy. So in the 6 years that we have lived here, I have never been there and neither has my mom-in-law. So with my mom in town, we decided that we needed to take Ladybug (2.5 years old) to the aquarium.

Oh what fun we had! Ladybug was so excited that she would not, could not stand still. She ran from tank to tank pointing to all the fish. It was dark and I didn't want to use my flash, so I adjusted for a longer exposure. Well, a moving toddler and longer exposure are never friends, so I don't have a lot of good pictures from the day. Here are a few of my favorites.

An interactive display - kids could pretend they were a Siamese fighting fish in a glass bowl

Ladybug was fascinated by all the fish!

Showing Grammy (my mom) what she saw

A shark swimming overhead in the tunnel. This was amazing!

And one tired girl! Grammy bought her a new lovey, and Ladybug cuddled with her dolphin-fish while she took a long nap!



Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

Bible Verse Craft - H

We had fun with letter H. Ladybug knows "happy face" because she had happy face stickers with her potty sticker chart. She also knows the word "happy" from Baby Signing Time videos. So after we colored the letter H, I also made some happy faces for her to color. Then we cut them all out and glued them around the letter H. She did a great job getting most of the right-side-up without help from Mama! She loves pointing at the happy faces!

And for our Bible verse we chose Psalm 9:1.
When decorating the hearts, I got out the glitter glue to see if Ladybug would like working with that. Unfortunately, she couldn't figured out how to color and keep squeezing at the same time, so I put little squiggles of glitter glue on the hearts after we glued them to the background.

For our song, I chose "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." We have a lot of fun singing this song and signing along with it!

Top Ten Tuesday

Today's topic is brought to you courtesy of Grammy, aka my mom. The official title is "Top Ten Reasons Why or Why Not to Take your 2 Year Old to the Beach." We live about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and I kick myself (figuratively, of course) for not going to the beach more often. However, taking a 2 year old to the beach is both rewarding and frustrating, as you will see below.1. There are two things at the beach that most toddlers love to play with: sand and water! It's free entertainment.

2. Toddlers don't seem to mind as much as adults when sand gets in their food.

3. You can see the wonder in the eyes of a two year old, like seeing it all again for the first time.

4. Toddlers can ignore their own tiredness because they are HAVING.SO.MUCH.FUN!
5. GREAT photo op with my adorable girlie!6. Some toddlers, like mine, have NO FEAR. Ladybug wants to rush head first into the waves. Not good!

7. When you have a freakishly strong toddler like mine, it can be quite a challenge to restrain said child in an effort to keep them safe.

8. Sand gets everywhere. Thankfully, all of our public access beaches have an outdoor shower near the parking lot so you can rinse off. Then baby powder at home takes care of the sand that sticks in all the creases and folds.

9. An hour or so at the beach is great to tire out the toddler, however, we usually have a meltdown because she doesn't want to leave, or get in her car seat, or go home, etc., etc.

10. However, if Grammy is with us, she has a death grip like no other, so she not only keeps the toddler safe, but they have fun together which does this mama's heart good! I love watching my mom and my daughter play together.


For more Top Ten lists, visit ohamanda.com

Strength

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

This weekend was a bit of a test of my mental strength. I had to be strong when I didn't want to and when I felt that I had not an ounce of strength left in me.

What do you do when you are faced with that typed of situation? Hopefully, turn to the One who can give you strength. Turn to the One who can be strong for you.

I memorized Philippians 4:13 when I was in high school. I remember that it was on a poster in our youth Sunday school room. I know you cannot learn anything by osmosis, but I do know that I sat in that room countless times and read that poster over and over.

And there have been countless times when I needed to be reminded of the truth in that verse. That's a great thing about learning and memorizing Scripture. It's in your mind, ready when you need it.

What do you need today? I'll bet there is a verse in the Bible that speaks to the situation that you are in. Search God's Word for a verse that you can learn and memorize and hide in your heart.

Photo Credit: Stock.xchng

Bible Verse Craft - G

Time for Letter G! I'm sure I found inspiration for our first craft on No Time for Flash Cards.

Ladybug knows a lot of "G" words, so I had to pick one that we could use for our letter G. Grass was easy and Ladybug loves pointing to the grass. We have all of our crafts posted in the eating area of our kitchen so that we can review them when we are sitting down to eat.

We colored a letter G. Then I cut green grass from construction paper and we glued it over our letter.

For our Bible verse, we chose Ephesians 2:8 because Ladybug knows the words "grace" from singing "Amazing Grace" as one of our bedtime songs.

There were several songs that we could choose from to go along with our letter this week, but I chose to stay with the "grace" theme. We learned "Grace Flows Down," which is a praise song that we sing often in church. I am trying to teach Ladybug a variety of songs, both children's songs and praise songs. (We sing it a bit differently, but this is a great version.)

Community

Hmmm. Seems as if I have talked about community here before. Rather, the fact that I believe strongly that we need community.

Yesterday over at Musings of a Housewife, Jo-Lynne shared a great post emphasizing the importance of building a community within your blog because that is what keeps readers coming back. (At least, readers who are not related to you.) And in that post, she had her readers share their twitter ID in the comments. That way, she could follow them & her readers could follow each other too.

What a great idea! I told her I was stealing it!

I really do want this blog to be a place where we can relate to each other, not just because I have a cute kid or tell funny jokes. But because we need support to make it through this journey.

And if you are not on Twitter, here is Jo-Lynne's guide for Twitter beginners. Try it. Give it a month. If you don't find it worthwhile, then ditch it. But try it!

So, leave a comment here & include your Twitter ID. Then hop on over to read Jo-Lynne's post. She's much more eloquent than I am, really. And if you don't already follow me on Twitter, here's your chance!

Follow me, follow each other. Let's truly make this a community!

Bible Verse Craft - F

I apologize for being so far behind on posting our Bible verse craft. I'm going to try to get caught up and schedule the posts so that y'all are inundated with crafts this week.

We had fun with letter F! Ladybug loves to use glue, although she definitely does not like getting it on her fingers.
We colored an F, then I drew simple fish shapes on colored construction paper. I cut out the F and the fish and we glued them to a background. Ladybug loves her fish and loves to tell me about her green and red fish.

For our Bible verse, we chose Hebrews 12:2.Nothing fancy for this craft, but she thought it was funny that Mama drew eyes on the paper. She is getting more proficient at really coloring, not just scribbles.

Since F week was during Cousin Day Camp before the nieces went back to school, we also made frogs using brown paper lunch bags.

The nieces enjoyed this craft as much as Ladybug, and LB learned that frogs say, "Ribbit, ribbit!"

Top Ten Reasons I am Thankful My Mom is Visiting

My mom is in town for a few weeks! Yay! Here are the top ten reasons (in no particular order) that I am thankful that she is here.


1. She is retired now, so she can come for as long as she wants and she doesn't have to worry about work calling to ask questions.

2. I have a live-in nanny for 3 weeks!!!!

3. If I need to work on something (dishes, phone calls, etc.), Grammy can keep Ladybug entertained.

4. I love watching my mom and my daughter play together.

5. Mom was here to celebrate my birthday with me!

6. Mom is going to take me shopping for new clothes!

7. We get to eat some of Mom's wonderful cooking. I'm not letting her do all the cooking while she's here though. I love to cook too, and she can play with Ladybug while I'm in the kitchen.

8. She has this magical ability to be able to get chores done and keep Ladybug entertained at the same time! I need to learn this.

9. I love talking with my mom. Although we can't have real in depth conversations with a toddler in the mix, we do talk a lot when Ladybug is sleeping.

10. I love it that my mom and my husband get along so well too, and I know that he enjoys having her here as well.


For more Top Ten lists, don't forget to visit ohamanda.com.

It's Not About Me

We had a very convicting sermon yesterday, reminding me (and all of us) that being a Christian isn't all about me.

When we read stories about Jesus' disciples, we see that sometimes (most of the time) they just didn't get it. They didn't understand that Jesus came to bring eternal, spiritual freedom, not temporal, political freedom. And that's just the beginning of what they didn't get.

And we are a lot like them. How many times do we offer to serve some person or cause with the motivation of getting attention. "Look at me. Look how good I am to selflessly give to someone else." I admit it, I think that at times.

And our deacon who shared this sermon also criticized Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools as perpetuating this self-centered mentality. Twitter started with answering the question, "What are you doing?" And when we answer that question in a tweet, we are expecting that other people care enough that they want to know what we are eating, where we are going, and when we use the bathroom.

This is an especially difficult message today. This is the one day of the year that I want to be self-centered and I usually indulge myself a little. It's my birthday. And even telling you that is a bit self-centered.

So, instead of wishing me a happy birthday, tell me how you can do one thing today that will serve someone else. Try to do that one thing without your own agenda getting in the way. (I know that as moms striking a balance of doing for others while taking care of self is tough, but that a different post.)

What Do You Say?

What do you say when someone asks how many children you have? Or if (when) you are going to have more? What do you say?

If you haven't suffered the loss of a child, your answers won't be difficult or painful. Or maybe the answers are difficult for a different reason.

Maybe it will be easier someday to say "just one." But even after almost 5 years, I still feel like that answer betrays the memory of our first born. And how do I explain to people that we are not having any more children because I cannot bear the anxiety that another pregnancy would bring because I have a child who is already in heaven? (Although, I think that I have grown enough in the past few years that maybe, just maybe, I could allow God to be in charge.)

When I answer honestly, and in a way that I feel honors Susie, the questioner becomes uncomfortable. I see the mental squirming. The person doesn't know what to do with such honesty. The loss of a child just isn't talked about enough to make people comfortable with the topic.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. And today, October 15th, is a special day to remember the babies that, for whatever reason, were not able to realize the potential that was within them. No matter what time zone you are in, light a candle from 7 to 8 pm tonight to remember the babies who are no longer with us. Even if you personally haven't suffered this loss. I'll bet you know someone who has.

Light a candle. Say a prayer. Be thankful that God holds these innocent ones close to Him.

I still don't know how to answer the question though. If you have suffered the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or death in infancy, what do you say when you are asked about your children?

Top Ten Things We are Doing to Stay Healthy

I hate being sick. And I hate seeing Hubby or Ladybug sick. And I dislike over-using medicine. I would much rather live by "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" rule. So here are ten things that we are doing to stay healthy this fall and winter.


1. Washing hands often. With soap and water. My personal opinion is that the anti-bacterial gel is fine as a supplement to hand-washing, but not as a replacement. Wash your hands with soap and water, people!

2. Drinking lots of water (and green tea for me and Hubby).

3. Getting adequate sleep. While it's not always possible to get a full night's sleep every night, we do try to make sure we catch up on our rest when needed.

4. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables, especially those high in Vitamin C. In addition to oranges, pineapple, broccoli, bell peppers, potatoes, and kiwi are high in Vitamin C.

5. Playing/working outside. Not only is exercise helpful in staying healthy, the fresh air and sunshine is good for your general health. I read recently (can't find the link) that Vitamin D helps our bodies use Vitamin C in a more efficient way. So get your sunshine whenever possible!

6. Avoiding crowds as much as possible. We still go to church and Ladybug goes to Mom's Morning Out. Those are our typical social outings anyway.

7. There really is something to the advice to eat chicken soup when you're sick. Here's a great post at Kitchen Stewardship about canned broth vs. homemade chicken stock. I already have a lot of stock in the freezer, so we'll be eating lots of meals made with it, not just soups! I made her homemade rice-a-roni recipe yesterday and it was fabulous!

8. Taking a daily multi-vitamin and Vitamin C tablets. As much as I would love to think that we get total nutrition from the food we eat, I know that we don't.

9. Staying home when we are sick. Seriously, don't spread your germs around! Keep them to yourself!

10. Washing our towels and bed sheets more often.

What other tips do you have for staying healthy in the flu and cold season?


Fore more Top Ten Tuesday lists, don't forget to visit ohamanda.com.

Who Is Good?

As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good...." Mark 10:17-18

How many times have you been to a funeral and heard that the deceased was a "good person?" I know I've heard that phrase used a lot in that setting.

Or how many times has someone said they don't need Jesus, don't need this "religion stuff," because they are a "good person?" Too many times.

If God is the only One who is good, then what hope do the rest of us have? That's exactly Jesus' point in this passage! That no matter how good we think we are, we can't be good enough for God. What we do under our own power will never win His favor or His love. And it certainly won't get us to heaven. That can be pretty disheartening.

If we can't get to heaven under our own power, then how do we get there? Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) We have to come to a point in our lives where we recognize that we can't do it alone. That we need Someone else to pick up the pieces for us. We are too weak, too tired, too demoralized. We NEED Jesus. Everyone single one of us, whether we realize it or not. Whether we want to admit it or not.

Are you there yet? Do you understand that no matter how much you try you cannot do this alone? That you'll never be the "good person" that you are trying to be without help from Someone?

If you do want to be good, then turn to the only One who is truly good. After all, He has made you in His image. He loves you and doesn't want to be separated from you.

Are you ready to follow Him?

Mission Complete!

The redesigning and redecorating is done! Thanks so much to my friend Kaylea for my new blog design. (If you're reading this in a feed reader, please click on through so you can admire her handiwork.) (And if ask "pretty please" nicely, she may eventually start doing some freelance blog design. I think she should because she's so talented!)

I might have a bit more cleaning up in the sidebars, but I think it's close enough to finished you can now commence with oohing and aahing. :-)

And thanks to all of you, my wonderful friends, for making this blogging hobby so enjoyable for me!

Celebrating Eternity

I woke up this morning thinking that it was Saturday. I was very excited about that. Not for the normal reasons that one would be excited about the weekend. I was excited because I thought it was Saturday, October 10, 2009. The day of Lori's memorial service and home-going party. Yes, I am looking forward to my friend's funeral.

Call me weird. Why in the world would a "normal" person be excited to attend a funeral service, especially for someone who was struck down in the prime of life by cancer? Because I want to celebrate that Lori is with our Lord Jesus with the other people who love her. I want to be reminded that this world is not our home. And I need to remember that all who have faith in Jesus Christ will be with the Lord in heaven for eternity.

Eternity is a long time. It's much longer than the time that we have on this earth. Lori was convinced (as I am) that she would be with Jesus forever, no matter what the cancer did to her. Her family holds onto the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Hope is believing what we cannot see.

Faith and hope are best friends; they go hand-in-hand. When you have faith in Jesus, you can be assured that your hope for eternity with Him will be fulfilled. Maybe you're asking why eternity with Jesus is a big deal. Maybe you don't get all this Jesus stuff.

There are two facts that you need to understand. First, there is an eternity. Second, you can choose to spend eternity with God or without Him.

Why is eternity without God a big deal? Imagine your worst possible day. Then multiply that by a million. That is what every day without God will be like. Imagine that you pull a hang nail past your first knuckle, that someone pours lemon juice on it, then rubs a rusty nail over it. It would be the worst pain that you could ever imagine, and there is no medicine to fix it. It throbs and it hurts and you have no relief. Ever.

If you are not sure where you will spend eternity, talk to someone about this. A trusted Christian friend. A pastor. Heck, even me.

You are not guaranteed another day. You could die today. I'm not trying to be morbid, just realistic. Start talking with someone and get this figured out.

Pardon the Dust

My friend Kaylea is helping with some blog redecoration this week. (She's doing most of the redecorating, I'm just rearranging furniture!) Pardon the dust - I'll let you know when everything is finished so you can ooh and aah!

(Thanks, Kaylea!)

Top Ten Things About My Daughter

I know that I recently blogged about the Top Ten Things that Ladybug is saying, but she is also doing so many cute (sometimes slightly annoying) things that I have to share more.


1. She recently started using definite articles with everything. Instead of "where ball?" she now says, "Where the ball?" "Clean the poop." Last week, I told her that we would be going to see my friend Penny, and when we got there, Ladybug asked, "Where the Penny?"

2. The highchair that we have is a small one that can be strapped to any regular kitchen chair. Ladybug has decided that she doesn't want to use the tray anymore, so she is eating at the table now, still in her high chair, just without the tray. She's becoming a big girl.

3. The newest body part that Ladybug can name is "the pit." She knows that we "clean the pits" in the bath, and her new favorite game is "find the pit" on Mama.

4. She is staying in her own bed (mattress next to our bed) for longer periods (yay!). One night, it was 3am before she climbed into bed with us. (Again, yay!)

5. Hubby has determined that Ladybug will be a play-by-play announcer when she grows up. She has to tell us EVERYTHING she sees, and she will REPEAT until we acknowledge what she has said.

6. Ladybug is also in this not-so-cute stage of saying, "ow, hurts," to everything. Especially if she doesn't want to do something. If I try to nudge her in a direction that she doesn't want to go, "Ow, back hurts."

7. Ladybug is also called "the door czar." Anytime their is a door to be opened or closed, SHE has to be the one doing the opening or closing or a tantrum ensues.

8. Ladybug regularly conducts physics experiments. She tests gravity to make sure it is still working. She also tests the viscosity of water and other liquids, and looks for the effect that water has on food items.

9. She is also learning that Mama does not like bugs. I am trying to teach her that bugs outside are okay as long as they leave me alone. She still likes to squash every ant that crawls near her on the sidewalk.

10. Another way that she is becoming a big girl is that she climbs into her car seat by herself. And don't you dare help her or rush her. Oh, the tantrum that will ensue!


Although, some of these things are annoying when they happen, I love the big girl that Ladybug is becoming. I know she won't be a "baby" much longer, and I want to treasure these things in my heart.

For more Top Ten Tuesday posts, visit ohamanda.com.

Random Beliefs Meme

It's been a while since I've posted a meme, and the lovely Beth at Life with Two Little Vikings tagged me for the Random Beliefs Meme.

“Here’s the idea. Post a collection of 10 things you believe, ethical, philosophical or theological. You choose how much to connect them or make them coherent: do you want people to know where you belong, or do you want to mix and match to keep them guessing? I encourage you not to aim for a totally coherent credal statement of faith, and I also encourage you to put one or two in about controversial topics.”


1. I believe that my husband is my soul mate. I knew it from almost the beginning of our relationship. I am so very thankful that God chose this man for me.

2. I believe that chocolate and peanut butter is the world's most perfect food combination.

3. I believe that love is as essential to the human spirit as is water, food, air, and shelter.

4. I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. Adam and Eve are the model for marriage. One man. One woman. (Genesis 2:23)

5. I believe that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to heaven. No "making your own path." Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)

6. I believe that if more people operated by the Golden Rule, the world would be a much better place.

7. I believe that "I'm sorry" is not said often enough in today's culture.

8. I believe that the laugh of my child is the most perfect sound on earth.

9. I believe that prayer can be just as healing as medicine.

10. I believe that we (read: I) need to remember to "not sweat the small stuff." Life is too fleeting to spend time worrying about the small stuff.


I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you decide to do this meme on your blog, please let me know!

FYI

Just a few links to share with you...

Do you read Southern Plate? Oh.my.word. You must! Christy posted an a-ma-zing recipe for Caramel Apple Puff Pastry Pinwheels this week. Yum!

Impress Your Kids featured a guest post written by yours truly this past week. Head over there to share how you teach your kids to pray.

I posted a Fearless Friday (hosted by Home-Ec 101) post on my recipe blog for Homemade Flour Tortillas. They were easier than I expected, so I'll definitely be making them again!

All Who Are Weary

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

These verses speak to so many situations, but I always think of those who struggle with long-term illnesses when I read this passage. Including cancer.

My friend, Lori, lost her battle with cancer Wednesday afternoon. Although it was a short battle (diagnosed only 3 months ago), she now rests from this weary journey. She was confident her faith and in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and I know that He welcomed her home with loving arms. I rejoice at her home-going, but I miss her already.

Rest well, my friend. You deserve it. Can't wait to see you again. Give my Susie a kiss from her Mama and tell her I love her.