Boys will be boys...

Or so I've heard. I have to admit I don't have nearly as much drama with boys as I do with girls. Thursday I sat for E.L. and we started out playing a video game that he got for Christmas. He didn't want to stop but just as I was about to put my foot down, the game did it for me when the extension doohickey thing (real technical...) ran out of batteries. Hehe. "Aww what a shame, guess we'll have to wait for your Mom to get home to replace the batteries!...Do it myself? Oh no I don't think I should mess with it...yeah I know guess we'll have to wait til next time." ^__^

I took E.L. to eat at a resaurant. On our way out of the house we saw some friends of his from the neighborhood. I asked who they were and he just got...sour. E.L. is always hyper. I cn handle hyper. But throughout the ride to the restaurant and through the meal he had a horrible attitude! E.L. never has an attitude! Where'd that come from? Everything I said to him seemed to be offensive. The same food he always gets was messed up in some way and he pouted and whined through the meal. So I told him we weren't moving til he told me what was up.

Turns out one of those kids isn't so friendly to him. In fact I'd go on to say he's somewhat of a bully sometimes. Again no details because I basically promised confidentiality. However when we got home, E.L. wanted to go play with his friends. Guess who was there? I actually had a good talk with this kid while E.L. played with the younger of the two. and he more or less told me how it is for him at school. The pattern is obvious. He gets teased at school, he comes home and channels it to someone else. I sat there on a bench while they played and aside from one little comment that I quickly nipped in the bud, everything went smoothly. Still it's something to watch out for. That particular child went back inside after about twenty minutes.

I've learned from my own bullied history that most bullies have their own set of problems. Kids just aren't naturally bad. There's always a cause for bad behavior. Just like E.L.'s pent up anger at this kid caused him to have an attitude. Just like that child's pent up anger from being picked on at school comes out at another in his neighborhood. It's sad but that's how it's always been. It's the way of human nature. But that doesn't make it right. It's not my business, but that's never stopped me from having an opinion :) That's just my own take on it but enough of that.

After they played for an hour or two I could see both of their faces turning pink from the cold. (It wasn't bad but it was chilly.) So I told E.L. we had to go home and the other boys went back to their house. It worked out because as soon as he'd gotten settled in a chair his Mother came home. She's aware of the situation of course and that alone made me feel better.  I love taking care of E.L. and I think he's an awesome kid. Next week he's going to be with me during my college orientation. I actually think he'll get a kick out of 'being at college' and I'll be sure to pump him up. Goodness knows I'm already jumping out of my seat from excitement myself.

That's all for now, God bless you all and have a great New Year!

Christmas Shopping!!!

Not me! Nope, this past Thursday E.L. shopped for his Mother! When I went to thir house Thursday I didn't really have a plan. At all. Not very smart of me. But since school is out it was a little different. He had no homework and it was perfectly okay to play games all day. BUT: I got to thinking...about shopping...and well...it was better than playing on the ipad...

So I hatched a master plan. I mentioned that we should really think about what he was getting his Mom for Christmas. Oh I know! Let's go Christmas shopping!!! He tried to act too cool for shopping but please, who doesn't like to spend money? So off we went to the store. I wanted to get him excited so I told him he could spend $5 dollars and when he asked to hold it (I didn't have cash) I let him carry the credit card instead. When we finally had the perfect gift, I let him take it to the cash register, hand it to the cashier and swipe. the. card. Well if that didn't instill excitement. Of course now I've created a monster but it was worth it! We then went to another store for wrapping paper and some extra goodies to go along with the gift. Again he got to swipe the card.

E.L. was really well behaved. This is probably because at the beginning of the day I proved to him that I knew Santa by showing him the number in my phone. He's convinced, and well he should be. But I promised that if he was good then we would go to McDonalds for ice cream. So we did.

We got back to the house and hurried inside with the goods and I attempted to show E.L. how to wrap presents. Let's just say his Mother will have fun getting into her gifts. We wrapped everything separately so that she had 3 gifts under the tree. After that we spent the rest of our time earning coins for Club Penguin's Coins For Change.

E.L.'s Mother also got me a Christmas present! Gift cards to my two favorite stores! (Books A Million and Michaels. Just in case you ever think I deserve a little present ^_^) Rest assured they will most likely not make it to the end of December...or even to Christmas!

I probably won't be posting again until January so everyone have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!



Oh and btw. We survived...guess the Mayan's got it wrong...perish the thought!

The Big Sister Blues

So a child that I have in AWANAS has recently become a big sister! So exciting! However, being an only child for roughly 8 years has gotten her used to being the center of attention. But now...dun dun dun...enter the new baby brother! At first she was fine, proudly proclaiming her big sister status but after 6 months, I can see the bitter baby brother big sister blues coming out. So when she said something to me about it this past Sunday, we had a little sit down and chat meeting.

Here's what I told her:
1) Mommy and Daddy don't love the new baby more than you. They love you both equally.
2)Mommy and Daddy have to pay extra attention to the new baby because babies have to be taken care fo more than big kids.
3) If you feel left out, ask your Mommy if you can help with the baby.
4) You are not a baby. You are a big girl and you can do lots of things your baby brother can't. Your Mommy and Daddy take you to all your activities and stay with you through all of them, so they are definitely still paying attention to you.
5) Lastly, you can show your Mommy and Daddy what a big girl you are by doing things without being asked and helping them by not complaining when things don't go your way. That will be a big help to them and you will be showing them that you are not a baby and can be a big girl. (Sometimes I fail to follow my own advice >.>)

All in all I think the conversation went well. But yeah, I wonder if there's anything more I can say in the future...I mean I'm a walking talking dictionary of cliches...Do you have something you say to the big sibling when the get the baby blues? Let me know.

Christmas, Coins, and The Polar Express

So today was Polar Express day. But first: The REAL Christmas story.

E.L. doesn't like to read, I've mentioned that before. But most of the time, once he's settled down he'll allow someone to read to him. Today I read him the Christmas story, stopping every few verses for commentary. I must stop, though and say this:

God is amazing. Really He just is. I can't even begin to express the joy I feel when reading the story of Christ's birth. From the moment He was born, He was destined to die...and that just blows my mind. I am so in love with God when I read what He did for me. Because if it had been up to me, if I'd only one son in the world, I wouldn't be able to do what He did. But I'm human, and He's God.

Anyway, we read The Story. Some parts, E.L. couldn't quite understand. Especially when I explained that Jesus was put in a feeding trough (I believe my words were: food bucket) but overall I think he really liked it.

Then we ate lunch: Chicken nuggets. And we played on Club Penguin. Club Penguin has a charity ever Christmas where kids donate virtual coins to help real charities around the world. I talked to E.L. about kids around the world and even nearby that don't always get Christmas presents. They may not get to go to school. They may not have enough to eat, and they may not even have a place to sleep at night. When it all sank in he was set and ready to donate his coins. He was really proud of himself as he donated coins to build safe places, provide medical help, and protect the earth.

Here's a quote from last year's coins for change:

As a result of Coins For Change 2011, Disney Online Studios will donate

$640,000 USD to fund medical clinics, health care, surgical treatments and nutrition programs.

$620,000 USD for schools, libraries, playgrounds, education programs and support, and a group home.

$740,000 USD to support wetlands, rainforests and wildlife conservation programs.

Pretty cool, huh?

Now, for the main event: The Polar Express! I LOVE The Polar Express! Absolutely LOVE it! From the time I was in Kindergarten it has been a personal tradition to read The Polar Express at Christmas time. And when the movie came out? Well of course I watched it!

When E.L.'s Mom gave me an itunes card for my birthday it sat in my account for a month until this week when I bought The Polar Express movie! Yay! A worthy investment I'm sure.

As always the fort went up in his bunk bed and we made a snack mix of sorts from mini marshmallows, m&ms and rainbow goldfish. Hot Chocolate was also had! (cups with lids, cups with lids)

Of course I’ve seen it a million times and could quote the movie by heart. E.L. has also seen it once but he still enjoyed it and had a lot of fun watching it. If you haven't watched The Polar Express movie (or read the book for that matter) then there's no time like the present!

AWANAS

We had another new clubber! It is so great to see new kids joining in and having fun while learning about God. Unfortunately, this flu epidemic has really taking it's toll. We only had eight children show up last night and we were also short on teachers due to illness. In other news, I have been teaching a few girls how to knit. I love knitting and now so do they! I gave the three girls a decorated canvas purse with a ball of yarn and knitting needles to get them started (all out of my yarn stash). They're really excited! I don't remember being very excited in the beginning of learning how to knit but I was definitely excited when I finished my first scarf. And I was even more excited when my sweet Mother wore my (ugly) scarf! That's all for now.

In the belly of a whale eating Christmas cookies!

What a strange and terrifying phrase! But that's what EL thought of when I described the day ahead of us!

On Friday we read the story of Jonah. I love Jonah's story but I have to say that the children's story book kind of made it sound...happier...at the end than the real story. I think it's important to be accurate so when we reached the end and the story told us that Jonah was very happy, I went...no.

Jonah was not happy. In fact he was pretty peeved at God. The Bible says that he several times mentioned wanting to die! Wow Jonah...the guy has some issues. I think that Jonah's lack of understanding in the end is one of the main reasons that we can learn from Jonah. He knew God would spare Ninevah but was still angry when he did. He didn't think anyone but he and his people deserved to hear the word of God! Does that sound familiar? Often we ourselves are found thinking who does and doesn't deserve Jesus and that is wrong. Because none of us deserve Jesus and that's what makes the Gospel so great!
EL and I discussed how we could learn from Jonah's mistake. Who should we tell God's message to? Everyone! Some of the main points were:
God saved Jonah and God saved me.
God is everywhere.
God's word is for everyone.

To add to the list of things EL does not like: Art! He hates it! Or so he says... So when I brought out our 'Jonah in the belly of a whale' craft, it was with great reluctance that he participated. I encouraged him to color the paper whale however he liked and he opened up saying that he didn't think he was 'good' at art! Not good at art??? That's what they told Picasso, Van Gogh, Pollock! And that's what they tell kids who don't color the sky blue or stay within the lines. So to his horror and my amusement I began to color my whale purple. That's right. Purple. So he followed suit by grabbing a bunch of crayons and coloring his with a smorgasborg of colors. "I still don't like art." he says, but I think we're getting somewhere.
I understand that schools teach accuracy, following directions and more by making kids color properly and stay in the lines. But when it's being used for a Bible lesson, I'm not too concerned if their whale isn't gray/blue. I'm more concerned with making sure they understand the story. In my opinion, if a child is having fun then let them! If they tell you that the blob on the paper is their Mommy, do not question it! If their sky is green and their grass is red then praise them for being creative! Don't berate them for being inaccurate.

One thing EL DOES like is cooking! It's funny because he rarely eats what he cooks. So today when we made Christmas cookies he really had no interest in the eating part. In fact, he thought it was too messy. But he brought out the cookie cutters anyway and began really getting into making shapes. This is where my mistake came in. Anyone who has ever made cookies has most likely made the mistake of making them too thick...
EL was devastated when I pulled out all his hard cookie cutter work from the oven to reveal one giant pan shaped cookie. But I informed him that if we were quick...we could fix this! While the cookies were still soft we pressed the cutters back into them and removed the scraps from around them. Now we had shaped cookies! We ate the scraps as a reward for our quick thinking.

After our cookies we had luch and watched the Veggie Tales Jonah movie. I absolutely love Veggie Tales and if you haven't seen it, I reccomend it for every parent in the world!

Some of the things I love about the Veggie Tales Jonah:
It's Veggie Tales, which means it's going to appeal to everyone who loves the Bible, songs, and great humor.
It gave new light to a story that I honestly, until seeing veggie tales, had not thought of before. It's not often that a cucumber gives a new perspective to a Bible story...
The funnies were hilarious! But the serious parts were still treated with respect.
The music is adorable and impossible to get out of your head
They ended the story just like in the Bible, on a sad note.
Kahlil!! "I am a caterpillar. Actually that is only half-true. My mother was a caterpillar, my father was a worm...but I am okay with that now." So cute!

And finally we played beyblade. Is it bad that I'm actually learning more about it and understand the tv concept? Probably. Is it even worse that I've started encouraging my little spin top throughout the battle? Most definitely. Ah well. It can't be helped...

AWANAS, Children's Choir, and Youth

Today we had the Children's musical at my church. One of the girls had a solo that she was having a little trouble with and I had been helping her out. I'm happy to say she did wonderfully. All of the kids did. During this time, I've really learned a lot about some of the children in our church. I pray every day that they are led to follow God in all they do. I have to say the very reason I have chosen to stay at my church is for the sake of the kids there. They are so impressionable and I worry about anything that might hinder their spiritual growth. It may sound silly but I love each and every child that comes through the doors of our church.

At AWANAS we had a new child join us! It was great watching all the kids immediately accept him. So far in the Children's ministry I haven't noticed any real division among the kids. Generally that's how it seems to go. In the youth group, however, so many students feel like they don't belong.

I stood up in a church meeting and spoke my mind about a few things I'd been feeling about a month ago. It takes a lot for me to do that but I knew I had to say something. I was bullied in church as a middle schooler and even into high school. The girls in my youth group felt like they were better than me and wanted little to do with me except to make fun of my appearance, lack of social skills, etc. and now, when I look at the youth group it pains me to see history repeating itself. I've talked to several different teens in the youth group who ALL feel like the other students judge them! I know how easy it is to judge someone. It would be a lie for anyone to say they haven't been judgemental at one time or another. It is HARD work to keep thos judgemental thoughts out of our heads and even harder to keep them out of our actions! All it takes is one ugly glance or one sneer to make someone feel like they don't belong. It's so EASY to hurt people who already have doubts about their self worth and let's face it. I don't know many teens who DON'T have doubts.

That's all for now. I am proud of the children for how well they did in their musical and the youth will also be a part of the adult musical in two weeks. It will be awesome!

Praise God for my church and my family, praise Him for these children for theirs is surely the kingdom of God!