love to paint

I didn't really know what to expect. I requested this book after reading the first few pages. It seemed odd, different and yet potentially enjoyable. Notes from a Tilt A Whirl by ND Wilson is exactly that. It is Odd. It is Different. It is unlike anything I've ever read before. And yet, it is hugely enjoyable! It is part poetry, part philosophy, part stream of consciousness writing, and all art in words. I'm sure that seems hard to imagine based on my description. I remember reading E.E. Cummings poetry in school when I was growing up. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the purposeful and different placement and use of words. This book reminds me of E.E. Cummings. This book is published by Thomas Nelson, but it doesn't fit the mold of any of the subcategories of Christian books (in my mind). It is a book all of its own and one I would highly recommend if my description sounds intriguing. I don't think I can do it justice. It is a piece of art. You can pick up th...

So, for the past 2 weeks, my girls and I have been reading the princess devotional Bible at night and the Play 'n Learn Bible stories book. When I wrote my review of the princess devotional Bible, I noted that there weren't pictures of the stories. Overall, I liked the book, but that was my biggest concern. That concern is bigger now. I think that when it comes to Bible Story books, I would always recommend one that has pictures over one that doesn't. And unless your child knows the stories well, the way devotional Bibles jump around can be very confusing. Sami is lost! She likes the devotional Bible because it's princessy, sort of. But, she cannot sit still. And this is a girl who loves books! It's starting to drive me crazy. I wouldn't take back the review I wrote of the book, but I would recommend other books over it. Which brings me to my complaint about the other book and an interesting thing I learned!!! So, the ICB is a paraphrase and the NiRv ...

Really. I do mean Toad pee. Last night, my husband brought a toad into the office downstairs and showed it to me. I jumped. Eek!!! What are you doing?! Get that out of here! Eek!!!! My husband burst out laughing and got a huge kick out of my reaction. Then, he set the toad on the floor and it promptly--went pee. Toad Pee!!! On my carpet! My husband then told me that toads pee frequently--so of course it would pee on the carpet. Thankfully, he took it outside a few minutes later. But, I got the last laugh. Just a few minutes later, he decided he wanted a little dessert. So, he rummaged through the freezer and discovered some small brown looking bumpy balls. He thought to himself that they must just be some strange dessert I'd concocted. He popped one in his mouth. It took him a minute to realize the brown was not from chocolate as he had hoped--but rather ground beef. It was a meatball after all--a frozen meatball! Yuck! I laughed really hard when he told me what ...

I was talking with a friend this weekend and I shared with her a question a good friend of mine, Marcie, asked me a few years ago when Autumn was only a year and a half old. She asked me what I was doing for me--to keep myself interesting, so to speak, so that I wouldn't lose myself in the process of raising my kids. That question has always stuck with me. Often my husband will tell me all we talk about is the kids, money, and the house. We lose sight of our marriage and ourselves. But, that's when I remember Marcie's question and the advice implied in her question =). Don't forget to take care of you--and in the process indirectly take care of the ones you love. So, now I read and blog, and write book reviews =) among other things. Over the past two days, I read a really good book--it's an easy read, but very worth the time. The book is called Money Strategies for Tough Times. In the course of the recession, I have come to realize that there are things that...

I grew up out west in the city. I knew nothing--absolutely nothing about ticks! So, now that I live in the land where people find them every day, it often makes me anxious. I was thankful to hear from the Pediatrician yesterday that it actually takes 48-72 hours for a tick to transmit Lyme's disease. So, if they take a bath every night and I check them every night I should be good! That was a relief to me. Lyme's disease and ticks scare me. =(

We ran our errands this morning and got home late, so at 2:00 the girls were eating their lunch and it started to rain. Autumn had her swim lesson tonight and so she was very sad--for a moment. Sami said, "Let's pray." So, they prayed that God would stop the rain so Autumn could go swimming. I tried to explain to them that sometimes God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want Him to. But, I only got half of it out of my mouth and then let it go as they prayed again. At 4:15 p.m. when we left the house the sky was clear and blue. And it stayed that way for the rest of the afternoon--including Autumn's swim lesson. I guess mom is the one who has the most to learn =)

Yesterday, a dear friend informed me that it's termite mating season, so I need to watch out and not let them get in the house. I freaked out! Truly, I really freaked out. I don't know why, but the idea of termites unnerves me so much! So, I'm fixing lunch for my girls. This is how the conversation went... My sweet girls said," Well, Mommy, we need to pray." "I can't pray right now. I need to calm down first." "Well, we'll pray...(commence praying) Dear God, please kill the bad bugs. And please keep them from eating our house. Amen" "Okay, Mommy?" "Please be quiet girls, I'm still stressed." "Let's pray again..."and the prayer commences again... Dear sweet girls, praise God that they know what to do--to turn to God for their strength and comfort even at 3 and 5! I told my husband this story and he burst out laughing at the "Please kill all the bugs. and Please keep them from eating our...

100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs by Stephen Elkins I like this book. A lot, actually. There are so many collections of children’s Bible stories and songs out there. Before I became a mom, I remembered only a small handful of songs. So, I had a lot to learn! This book is a collection of 100 Bible stories from throughout the bible and 100 songs to go with them. There are several unusual stories included that I haven’t found in other children’s Bible Storybooks. The songs are surprisingly very appropriate! What I love most about this book is that the stories point towards God—not towards Man. Someone once said to me that the Bible is supposed to point us towards God, not Man. So, not all of the details of every story are included—and there’s a reason for that. I can see that in this book. When the author retells the story of Samson, which is surprising to me, he notes that Samson was strong when he obeyed God, but he wasn’t strong when he disobeyed. He doesn’t mention Delila...

Wow. So, 2 weeks ago, my husband showed me how to use the weedeater. I had always been afraid of it, but I realized I just had to get over my fear. So, For the past week and a half, I've been weedeating almost every day for a half hour to an hour when the kids go to sleep either during their afternoon nap or at night. I've been trying to edge our yard and we have these tall grasses that have invaded all the borders of our yard. Eek! I can't believe how long this is taking me! We only live on 1/4 acre! And I'm still not done. It seems so silly! I got a half an hour in at 8:10 until 8:40 and then it started raining. I still have about 1/4 of the fence left. All the edging is done--thank goodness. Now just to finish that last section of grasses along the fence!! If only it would stop raining long enough for me to do it =)

I have to say, I think Bangs are one of the most annoying things when you're growing them out--whether you're 5 or 35! =) I keep reminding myself that I'll be glad I did this in 6 months! And just a funny side note, did you know in Australia, they're called "fringe" not "bangs". Kind of funny!

So, we got a new devotional Bible for the girls in the mail today. It was a very pleasant surprise—it was different than what I expected. God's Little Princess Devotional Bible is a collection of Bible stories with short reflections, activities, scriptures, and lessons for parents to read to their little girls. It is most appropriate for ages 5-7, but could be read to a 4 year old if they have good reading comprehension and can understand a story without pictures. Most of the stories from the Bible in this collection, focus on a woman in the Bible. This book is a little different than every other collection of Bible stories that I have for my daughters. First, almost all of the stories each focus on a woman or at least include a girl or woman in the story—so, many people that are included in other children’s Bibles are not in this book—like David and Joseph. But, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This book was not intended, it seems, to give little girls a sense of all th...

Molly is a smart puppy, I know that. She knows she's disobeying. She know she wasn't supposed to chew on the cherry tree that she chewed through and killed. You can see it in her eyes. I had to chop it down. It was easier than getting upset about it day after day until it literally would have fallen over. Dogs only have their own desires to satiate. I think I would describe Molly as a little bit of a strong willed dog--in that she wants to please some--it will keep her in check in the house--but outside she will not listen and listens instead to whatever she wants to do. It reminds me of why God gives us boundaries. Inside, I can manage Molly and I like to be around her. Outside, I don't and the girls think it's funny when she runs around but not when she nips at them. Outside is where she nips the girls during playtime. Outside, she digs holes, tears up the grass, and poops wherever she wants--so the girls can't play outside without shoes anymore. Sinc...

One funny and one rough thing for Eli. 1) He's definitely Italian. He gobbled up his first taste of meatballs and noodles with sauce tonight. He loves meatballs!! 2) He's cutting teeth and has a horrible cold. He cut one yesterday, one today, with a second coming through (in 1 day) and a 4th on its way probably tomorrow or the day after. Poor little guy! It's really fun to see him start interacting with the world around him. He points to things and reaches out for the things he wants. He's really starting to try to communicate! I can't wait till he is 15 months old. For some reason, that's been such a pivotal point for both of my girls--they just seemed to suddenly understand so much more!

It was very ironic to me that as I was reading the book I'm reading for my devotions in the morning, the author mentioned Victor Frankl. The Noticer also mentioned Frankl. I've been trying to articulate why the Noticer is so unsettling to me for 2 days now. I'm going to try once more =) In the book I'm reading as part of my devotions (the 7 hardest things God asks a woman to do), the author relates how Dr. Frankl observed that it was hope that sustained people who seemed likely to die more than physical strength. It was hope that portended what would happen to them in the future. He also observed that the last human freedom that is left when a man has nothing else is the ability to choose how we will react to his life and situation. This is very much in line with the whole point of the Noticer--that you choose your perspective and that changes your life. But, in the 7 hardest things, the author juxtaposes Frankl with the Biblical truth--- That the Bible reveals t...

As I was reading some blogs on Amazon, I found out that Thomas Nelson has started a blogger review program (hence the little symbol on the side of my blog). I went to the website (http://brb.thomasnelson.com/). You have to have a blog and be willing to post a review on your blog and a commercial website like Amazon or CBD of the books you request. A fun new thing to do!

Okay, two bewares. 1. It surprises me when I read "Christian" books that aren't about Christ at all. I just read the Noticer by Andy Andrews. It is categorized as Christian Life/Self-Help. There isn't anything Christian about it. Christ is never mentioned. The premise of the book is basically that what you think about your life, that is what it will become. It's similar to The Secret (which I haven't read but have heard about) that came out a few years ago. It's also similar to the theology that Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyers preach. My heart is so grieved about it! I wrote a review (only 1 of 2 one star reviews on Amazon). I went back and read a lot of the reviews. No one even mentions God in their reviews. People genuinely believe that if you change your own perspective then your life will be great. Whoa. No. That's not the answer! Christ is the answer! He died for us--sinners! He died to take away our sins--to save us. When he is a...