Elohim

Our kids are memorizing a Bible sound off for school and we are studying Genesis right now. Here is the statement that they have memorized (even Meara my 4 year old). "God is Elohim, the mighty God, who created everything from nothing. When he speaks, things happen just as he says." Wow!

The creation story is one that many of us have heard and read for many years. We know that God created the world in 6 days and then rested on the 7th. It's so easy to read this story about God creating light and separating light from the darkness, then God creating land and sea, and so forth but have you really ever thought about all that God created in that one spoken word? Think about when we study chemistry and learn about all of the atoms that make up everything. Think about the molecules and how they are different in solid, liquid, and gas forms...It would take me a lifetime to try to understand it all and I still wouldn't get everything! Yet, God is so mighty, that in one spoken word he created everything from nothing. When He said, "Let there be light" God created white light which is made up of all the other colors of light. When He created the moon, sun, and stars--just think about what they actually are! All the details that make our world work the way it does, He created in just 6 days.

I can't begin to comprehend a God who can create so much perfect detail in one spoken word. I don't even know how to explain the wonder and awe that I feel at the overwhelming thought of it all. Yet, this mighty God, Elohim, who created the whole detailed world, created every detail of me. This mighty God, Elohim, loves me. This mighty God, Elohim, died for me. Wow!

Tuesday Tip--Legos

Wow! It has been too long since I have blogged. Life has been just a little crazy around here. Well it's Tuesday so I thought I would blog about another little tip.

This one's about Legos. My son has quite a collection of Legos started but all of the direction booklets and magazines were spread throughout his bedroom and the rest of the house getting ripped and lost. To remedy this, I found an old three-ring binder and filled it with pocket sheet protectors. Then in each one, I slipped a direction booklet or magazine. Now, my son can flip through his binder to find what he wants and I am not finding Lego booklets and magazines all over the house. It worked great and actually made him pay a little more attention to them now that they are organized. However, we have discovered that holding the notebook upside down does create a small disaster...

Tiffany's Tuesday Tip

We have a squeaky bedroom door, a new baby sleeping in our bedroom, three other children, and two cats. Add those four together and...well, it's not a pretty picture.

When one of our kids has gotten out of bed in the middle of the night, I know it because our door squeaks as they try to quietly sneak into our room. (When it's not one of the cats going in or out.) Yes, it's nice to know a kid is coming in ahead of time instead of waking up to that staring face and wondering how long they've been watching you sleep but I am definitely tired of the squeak! I will gladly put up with being tapped on, whispered to, jiggled about, or just climbed onto while sleeping just to be rid of the squeaky door.

In the past I used WD-40 on it and it stunk up the house and stopped squeaking for awhile but the squeak has returned. So the other day I remembered a Hallmark movie that I had watched--yes, you heard me right--a Hallmark movie. In it, the main character was a woman who hosted a TV show sort of like a Martha Stuart thing in which she gives her viewers tips on how to do different household projects and all that kind of stuff. She also solved mysteries on the side which is what the movie was really about. Anyway, she was in the airport and a luggage cart had a squeaky wheel. She pulled out a small spray bottle out of her purse and said it was olive oil and sprayed it on the wheels. The squeaking, of course, immediately stopped. It's a movie, right? Of course it worked!

Well, I was desparate for a solution and couldn't find my WD-40 so I tried it. I put some olive oil on a cotton pad and rubbed it on the hinges of my door and it worked! Plus, it didn't stink up my house with an awful smell. So, if you have a squeaky door or wheel try some olive oil rather than running to Walmart to get that stinky stuff. Thank you, Hallmark!

Bloggers Block

Is there such a thing as blogger's block? If there is--I think I have it. I really want to blog but I absolutely have no idea what to write about today so...I guess I will give the rundown of our busy weekend.

Yesterday we had a blast. We started off the day by going to the Bouncy Place at 8:45 in the morning for Connor's soccer party. Then we headed to downtown Seattle from there to meet some awesome friends who took us to the Seattle Aquarium. It was pretty cool to see all of the fish and otters. The best part was the octopus. We were there at feeding time for the octopus and she was showing off pretty good. Then we went to lunch at Red Robin and headed home. After taking a nap and running to the grocery store, we then went over to our friend's house for their 10th wedding anniversary bbq. We came home, put the kids to bed and then realized that we were too tired to do anything else and went to bed as well.

This morning we took our time getting out of bed and then visited with Kevin's parents a bit. Kevin made us all pancakes and after saying goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma we had church in our living room. We read out of second Peter and sang some songs together and prayed together. I did some laundry while the kids cleaned their rooms and then after feeding the baby I went to have my hair done. When I got home I helped Kevin finish packing while the kids played outside then he left for his four day trip.

Now, I am putting the kids to bed after the girls took a bath and we are going to get up for school in the morning. We have to leave by 7:45 a.m.

And so we end one busy week to begin another...

First Laugh

There is just something magical about a baby's first laugh. It makes all memory of the screaming, spit ups, and poopy diapers sort of disappear. Kyla laughed last night for the first time. It was so adorable but she hasn't quite figured out how to do it again. She is the most ticklish baby I have ever seen. I was playing with her when she was laying on the changing table and tickled her ribs just right and the first laugh followed.

I think every mom needs one of those secret cameras that you see spies use in TV shows so that these special moments that come and go so quickly can be recorded on camera. You know, the ones that look like a button, earring, or necklace. So often I find myself trying to manufacture the moment again so that I can catch it on video. And as soon as the camera comes out, the kids stop doing their normal thing and the only thing they can say is, "I want to see myself. Can I see now?" Maybe I'll invent Momcam jewelry for moms so that we can start catching the real firsts in our children's lives. :) Unless anyone out there thinks that disposable pots and pans is a viable option--then I just might work on that invention first.

Morgan's Writing

My oldest daughter Morgan decided to write a paper about each of her siblings. She wrote it from their perspectives. I thought it was so cute. Here is what she wrote:

Hi, my name is Connor. I whine all the time. I love Kung Fu. I like to eat p.b.j. sandwiches. I like legos. I entered a lego contest. The end.

Hi, my name is Meara. I am crazy all the time. How crazy am I? Very crazy! I call my sister Morgan Mommy sometimes and my brother Connor Daddy sometimes. I always fall asleep before my CD is done. The end.

Hi, my name is Kyla. I am grumpy all the time. My sister Morgan thinks I am as cute as a princess. I was two months old when my sister Morgan wrote this. My hair is dark like my sister Morgan's hair. The end.

It is fun to see my younger kids through her eyes. Morgan is adorable and I love seeing how much she loves her brother and sisters.

We'll Laugh Tomorrow

I had to apologize to my children this morning for my lack of self-control. (I hate it when that happens!) We were all ready to go out the door to church when I couldn't find my keys. My son finally said, "Okay, I hid them!" He went to show me where he put them and remembers in detail how he hid them, but they are not there. Without going into the embarrassing details, let's just say I lost most of my self-control at that point.

I don't know if he put them somewhere else, or if I picked them up last night and put them somewhere. We have looked all of the logical places for my keys and still have not found them so I guess it is time to make a white chocolate mocha and do some deep cleaning.

At least I found the important thing that I lost momentarily--my self control. I had just talked to my kids about the fruit of the spirit last night during our devotions. I guess I was the object lesson this morning to illustrate my statement that I made last night, "We all need to work on growing all of the fruit of the Spirit." Though I am incredibly frustrated at the moment; tomorrow I will probably laugh about this--if I've found my keys by then...

Wonderful Words

Kids say the funniest things. I thought it would be fun to write some of the things down that my kids have said recently.

We have a new baby in the house--Kyla. Kyla has a very healthy set of lungs. One day she got especially upset and was crying the cry that eventually did not have much sound left but you could tell she was crying because her mouth was wide open and her whole head was red. My 7 year old daughter said, "It sounds like she's running out of batteries." (Sometimes we wish she would run out of batteries.)

Yesterday, I was getting after my son for putting his clean pajamas in the dirty laundry. My almost 4 year old daughter, Meara, decided to contribute to the conversation as she often does. "You have to smell it. If it smells like you then it's dirty and if it doesn't smell like you then it's clean."

Connor, my 6-year-old, is trying to figure out his mommy and new baby. The kids had a friend over for awhile and they were all at the table eating lunch. The baby started fussing so I picked her up and told the kids that I was going to change her diaper then I'd be back. As I was walking down the hallway, I heard my son say to his friend, "My mom knows when the baby needs a diaper changed, or needs to eat, or needs to sleep. I don't know how she knows..."

I love my kids and can't wait to hear what they're going to say tomorrow. :)

A New Old Recipe

Isn't it great when you rediscover a great thing? I found a recipe the other day that used to be a favorite and then for some reason it got put into the recipe box and forgotten for years. In fact, my kids didn't remember ever having eaten it so I know that it's been quite a few years. I think the recipe came from my Grandma and it is for Taco Soup. I used our leftover taco meat to make it and it worked great! The kids all liked it, which makes the recipe even better. Here is the recipe in case you would like to try something new and easy before it's not soup weather anymore.

Taco Soup:

2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion finely chopped
(brown the meat in a pan with the onion and drain)
Add
1 20 oz can cut up tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1 15 oz can pinto beans (drained/rinsed)
1 15 oz can corn (or 1 cup frozen corn)
1 envelope of taco seasoning mix

Serve with shredded cheese on top and corn chips or tortillas. (Sour cream would be great on top too.)

Alone...

Well, this is the first night that I have been home by myself with all four kids. My husband is gone for the night and I am so glad that it is only one night. Kyla, our one month old, is missing her daddy who usually puts her to sleep in the evenings. I finally gave her a bath and tired her out enough that she is sleeping. Now I have to go do the dishes or we will not have a good day tomorrow.

There has to be someone out there who could invent disposable pots and pans. I would be their biggest fan for sure. I had the kitchen clean yesterday and after one meal it looks like a tornado hit or like a whole army ate here. I love being able to throw away paper plates, paper cups, and plastic-ware. I know it's not good for our environment but I tell you what, it sure does help out my personal home environment. So, if anyone out there invents a frying pan that I could throw away after I use it, please let me know. I will be your first customer!

Great thought...

I am reading the book "The Shack." I have heard a lot about it from a lot of different people. I am not very far into the book yet but I definitely appreciate the author's writing skills. I love reading well written words. I guess that makes me a nerd...Anyway, here is one quote from the forward that I like:

"I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships so will our healing, and I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside."

What was I Thinking?

Why did I start a blog when I have a newborn baby? Did I think that I would suddenly have lots of extra time to sit at the computer? I don't know...but I do know that I am going to set a record for the shortest blog entry tonight. Kyla is very grumpy today and I missed my moment to blog earlier when she was finally napping because I couldn't remember my password to sign in. I think I lose some of my memory every time I have a baby. If that's true, then I don't have much left...

NAK

A friend of mine recently taught me a new term--new to me anyway--NAK. It means "nursing at keyboard." I must admit I am getting quite proficient at typing one-handed. It seems the only time I have to sit at the computer is when I have to sit down to nurse the baby. I found out that there are other tasks I can accomplish while nursing if I have to like shopping at WalMart with all four kids just for a box of diapers. I wouldn't recommend this but if you don't have a choice--the toy aisles can be very entertaining for the other children for the 20 to 30 minutes it takes to nurse the baby. I can also race Mario Kart on the Wii, help my three year old in the bathroom, and sleep while nursing the baby. Now I don't necessarily think this is a talent worth bragging about. It is amazing though how we adapt to life changes. We just do what needs to be done.

I remember when we had our first baby almost eight years ago--I was overwhelmed and sleep deprived. I had a hard time keeping up on housework. Now I have a newborn, a 3 1/2 year old, a just turned 6 year old, and an almost 8 year old. I think I keep up on the housework better now than when I only had one. Maybe this is an example of practice makes perfect. I am by no means perfect (just ask my husband :) but I have definitely improved and matured and grown as our family has grown.

And now, I have to burp the baby which is a two handed job at this point so I will have to sign off for now.

Valentine's Day

Today was Valentine's Day. We celebrated by going to Costco--our first whole family outing since Kyla (our fourth child) was born two weeks ago. We had pizza for dinner to celebrate and I am going to share a box of chocolates with my husband and kids. Kevin (my husband) and I told each other how much we loved each other and we gave the kids bubbles and sweethearts. It may not sound like a very "romantic" day but it was a day of being together and appreciating each other. After all, isn't that what Valentine's Day is about? It seems like every holiday we celebrate has us feeling like we should buy stuff to show the important people in our lives how much they mean to us. I think spending time often goes much further towards accomplishing this purpose than spending money--and it's much easier on the budget.