things i'm loving lately

we're slowly getting into some semblance of a routine. blaise only woke up once last night to eat at 3:45am and then slept 'til 7:30am. glorious. absolutely glorious. he's getting better at going down for his naps, but we're still working on it.
i've been baking lots more and crocheting and am currently on the hunt {which likely means i'll just ask my mom to send me some} yarn that's in the colours of angry birds which i can hopefully crochet for christmas for the boys.
we've sorta scrapped the "screen time tickets" for now, but we do only let the boys have 30 minutes on the iPad at a time. {noah would literally play all.day.long.}

anyway, i thought i'd share with you a few lovely things that i'm loving these days.

chocolate. all things chocolate. i hit this phase every time i have kids. i mean, i love chocolate in general, but this is intense. it comes on strong at the 2 month mark post-partum. i could just eat bar after bar after bar of chocolate {and i have. but not every day.}. it's ridiculous and i'm trying to curb it. but right now i'm currently loving snickers and twix. chocolate and caramel-y goodness. *drool*

lullabies. even if you don't have babies or young kids {or kids at all} get this album. re-done hymns speaking God's truth and peace to your heart. so lovely. {i absolutely love Page CXVI and would recommend all of their albums for anyone who loves hymns.}

i finally got into angry birds. it took angry birds star wars to do it for me. i think it's cute. and i secretly try and beat all of noah's high scores when i play but man! the kid is shockingly good! an addicting game made even better by using one of the best movie series of all time.

i downloaded this book to my kindle a couple weeks ago when someone posted on facebook that it was free. i thought, why not? a free book on parenting couldn't hurt and if i don't like it, i'll just delete it.
i have thoroughly enjoyed this book so far {not quite finished}. as i've entered this new phase of parenting three little boys, jamie and i have been reflecting on parenting and what life was like before kids and how things have changed since. benjamin kearns is funny and speaks frankly while also communicating some powerful truths about parenting and God's desire to refine and shape us as parents. it's not free anymore, but it is only $2.99. well worth it, i'd say.

i'm still loving the homemade graham crackers i posted about last week {just took a batch out of the oven minutes ago. the house smells lovely!}. i'm itching to pull out our christmas decorations out and get started, but that will have to wait until this weekend.
and speaking of christmas, i'm hoping to post a few entries on some of our favourite christmas things. stay tuned for more!

happy wednesday!

emptied

life is not easy. no matter where you live.
lately i've been battling lies.
lately i haven't spent enough time with Jesus.
i've felt the lyrics of brooke fraser's song shadowfeet so deeply in my spirit these past few days.

walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
towards home; a land that i've never seen
i am changing; less and less asleep
made of different stuff than when i began


and i have sensed it all along
fast approaching is the day


when the world has fallen out from under me
i'll be found in You, still standing
when the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
when time and space are through, i'll be found in You


there's distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
but i've heard rumors of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way


you make all things new


i've been grasping and trying to really see Him every day. but i fail. every day i fail in some way. i am so incredibly needy and weak that i'm not really sure what i'm doing here. in uganda. in this marriage. as a mother. {those lies can be so loud sometimes} and then i throw myself before Him and beg for more of Him. and He is so faithful.

i started reading Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper for Lent. i've read this book a couple other times and every time i am so incredibly moved as i get to know my Jesus more and fall deeper in love with Him.
at the end of each chapter there is a prayer and i'd like to share these prayers with you - probably on a weekly basis.

O Father of glory, this is the cry of our hearts - to be changed from one degree of glory to another, until, in the resurrection, at the last trumpet, we are completely conformed to the image of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Until then, we long to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord, especially the knowledge of his glory. We want to see it as clearly as we see the sun, and to savor it as deeply as our most desired pleasure. O merciful God, incline our hearts to your Word {please, God} and the wonders of your glory. Wean us from our obsession with trivial things. Open the eyes of our hearts to see each day what the created universe is telling about your glory. Enlighten our minds to see the glory of your Son in the Gospel. We believe that you are the All-glorious One, and that there is none like you. Help our unbelief. Forgive the wandering of our affections and the undue attention we give to lesser things. Have mercy on us for Christ's sake, and fulfill in us your great design to display the glory of your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.


i came across this blog yesterday and resonated with so many of her entries, but specifically one that focused on how it can be frustrating to take steps of faith and obedience and find yourself a "worser" person than before you made that step. i was encouraged as i've been feeling ugly and awful and forced to confront some pretty nasty things i see in myself {as this post shows}. when you become an awful person

valentine's day

at dinner last night i spoke to the boys about valentine's day and how Jesus loved us the most by giving his life for us.
but mom, i love Jesus more than you do because i love, love, love, love, love him.

this morning i pulled out the Jesus storybook bible and read about Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead.
childish observations are both hilarious and poignant.

he has no shirt on, mommy. {repeated at least three times by jude}
why are there three crosses, mommy?
are there more soldiers?
i see a crack above the stone. maybe that's how Jesus could get out.


as i read to them about mary in the garden, searching frantically for her Lord, i struggle {very unsuccessfully} to hold back the tears. the boys don't question the drops of water running down my face or my voice that tremors with emotion.

"'Mary!'
Only one person said her name like that. She could hear her heart thumping. She turned around. She could just make out a figure. She shaded her eyes to see...and thought she was dreaming.
But she wasn't dreaming. She was seeing.
'Jesus!'
Mary fell to the ground. Sudden tears filled her eyes and great sobs shook her whole body, and all she wanted in that moment was to cling to Jesus and never let him go."


o love that wilt not let me go,
i rest my weary soul in thee;
i give thee back the life i owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

o joy that seekest me through pain,
i cannot close my heart to thee;
i trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain,
that morn shall tearless be.


happy valentine's day.

advent ideas

ad - vent
noun
1. a coming into place, view or being; arrival
2. the coming of Christ into the world
3. the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.


this will be the first year we've actually done something intentional for advent {besides chocolate advent calendars}. i've been scouring the internet for ideas and talking to friends and so i thought i'd share what we'll be doing together as a family this year for advent.


advent envelopes
you can find a plethora of variations on advent envelopes on the internet {hello pinterest} but basically you have envelopes numbered 1-25 and open one every day. inside each {of ours} is an activity for our family to do together such as decorate gingerbread cookies or drink hot chocolate and watch The Polar Express or make paper snowflakes and decorate the windows. i adapted some ideas i found online to our not-so-wintery climate and i think the kids will really like them.


advent story books
so i kinda went overboard and ordered a bunch of books off of amazon for advent this year.

The Advent Storybook 
24 stories told by Benjamin Bear's Mama to Benjamin as he impatiently awaits Christmas. each story brings you closer to the birth of Jesus and ties it all back to God as being the central focus of Christmas. love it. we'll be reading a story from this one each night before bed.


Celebrate Advent
this is a cool book that has 25 christmas stories from around the world with corresponding tree ornaments. i'm excited to read this book with the boys and i'm sure they'll be excited to have more ornaments to hang up on the tree.




The Story of Christmas
this is your typical "advent calendar" style book. it opens up to display 24 mini board books and read in sequence, they capture the story of the first Christmas, from gabriel's visit to mary (book 4) to the three wise men gazing at the star (book 9) to Jesus' birth (book 24). each book is one of four different trim sizes and features a gold thread loop so that after it's read, it can be hung on the Christmas tree. i think we might do this one in the mornings along with our advent envelopes. 


christmas books
there are so many great christmas storybooks that i wish i could buy or borrow, but unfortunately there aren't really any public libraries here in kampala and my funds are limited but here are two i purchased this year.

Room for a Little One
this is gorgeously illustrated and a sweet story.
i think i was drawn to this because jude will often say to us before his nap or bed, "there's room, mama" and pat the space beside him on the bed.

Humphreys First Christmas
adorable illustrations and told from the perspective of one of the camels accompanying the three wise men. i think my boys will like this one.







family devotional
we have started the first of our advent devotionals. jamie's adapting this one from matt chandler's The Village Church for our boys in conjunction with The Jesus Storybook Bible.

other advent resources
i downloaded a few advent colouring pages for the boys and will probably bring them with us when we take off for a few days later on this week. you can download them for free here.
another great resource is a book called Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper. i didn't bring mine with me when we moved to uganda, but i wish i did! a friend of mine has a copy here and i'll likely give it another read-through. {note, this is not a Christmas/Advent book per se, but has a section on Christmas}.

the only thing i'm really lacking is some solid christmas dvds for kids. i'd love to hear your recommendations if you have any!

so that's what we're doing - maybe we won't get through it all, but we've got some great traditions that i'm ready to start with my little family here in uganda.

i'd love to hear what you're doing {or not doing?} this christmas!

kibosh

a few days ago i decided enough was enough.
for whatever reason, i feel a lot of guilt when my kids watch too much tv. i think mostly it's because i know i put it on for them a lot of the time because i'm lazy or selfishly want to do my own thing instead of interacting with them.
so i put a kibosh on tv during the weekdays. except for a movie night a week there is no tv allowed. on the weekends they'll be allowed to watch saturday morning cartoons and that's probably going to be it.
i expected so much resistance from them, but for the most part...nothing.
they've asked a few times and when i've said no, we've thought of another alternative and they've been happy enough with that.
because today was rainy for most of the day, they did get to watch a veggietales movie while i biked on the stationary bike. but because of this, i've been engaging so much more with them and we've been so much more creative and things like this have happened:

lots and lots of reading. we've always been big readers, but lots of reading happens around here.

we play with cars. a lot.

we do a lot of crafts. this is the boys "car garage" that they built this morning and played with for so long this afternoon.

our very own cooking show, here in uganda! {here you can see jude stirring the popcorn and noah is cutting his stove with a plastic knife while thomas the tank engine is being fried up in a wok.}

music + crafts = dance party.

i read a quote a couple days ago that said, "the grass is always greener where you water it." and so that's exactly what i'm doing. here and now. i'm watering this grass that i've been given. and it's so good.

books for kids

Books are a huge part of our lives.
I've been a book worm since as long as I can remember. I was reading (I'm pretty certain) by the end of Sr. Kindergarten because my best friend had learned to read and if she was reading, then darn it! So was I! (Competitive, much?)
And every birthday and Christmas until I got into high school and more into clothes I always got a ton of books.
Then I met Jamie.
Another bookworm.
And it seems as though we have two children who both love books as well!
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but one of the biggest things we'll miss when we move to Uganda is our library. Oh we love our library. We are there several times each month taking out huge stacks of books and maybe a movie or two.
I figured it was about time to let you all in on a few books that are standard favourites and a few that we are reading right now.
This is books for kids (stay tuned for books that Jamie and I like).

Some of our standard favourites and ones that we read on a regular basis are the following:

The Jesus Storybook Bible

I love reading this one. I've been known to cry reading almost all of them one or two of the stories. We've made our way once through all the stories and now we're back for round two. The pictures are gorgeous and I have never read a Bible story book like this before. The small caption is "Every story whispers His name" and it's so true. In every story that's in this book, the end always ties it back to our Redeemer and Saviour Jesus and it's so completely beautiful.

Big Truths for Little Kids

We had put this one away for awhile but I recently pulled it out again and as soon as I did Noah said, "Oh I love this book, Mommy. I really love this one." Basically it's a book full of catechisms to read through with your child and then there's a story that follows each set of questions. There aren't very many pictures and I haven't started the "story" part of the book, but I imagine we'll get into that shortly with Noah as he can handle books with almost no pictures these days.

The Story of Easter

I recently purchased this board book and I love it. It tells the true story of Easter with great pictures for kids without getting too graphic or sugar coating it either. I've read this with both Jude and Noah. This is one that will stick around in our kids library.

First 100 Words

We received this one when Noah was a baby and now it's a favourite of Jude's. Most kids love this book for the colourful pictures that they can identify. Jude now points to almost everything in this book and can name it (which all of a sudden helps me realize that he's got over 100 words. that's crazy.). He'll sometimes sit and point at the page with pictures of babies/kids and shout "baby! baby! babeeeeee!"

And here are our current library faves:

Boy of Mine

Oh this one may have to be purchased. I absolutely adore this book and so do both boys. It's a board book and a sweet one to read before bedtime. It's part lullaby, part poem. Noah practically has it memorized and Jude looks at it and says, "boy - mine!" We all love it. (That's it. I'm convinced. I'm buying it.)

Benny the Breakdown Truck

This is an adorable British series and I love that they call a tow-truck a 'breakdown truck'. There's also a 'bonnet' instead of a trunk and 'petrol' instead of gas. I love it. Noah's really into cars and tow-trucks and so this series may be one that becomes more popular in our household. 

Hands are not for hitting

I got proactive about Jude's habit of hitting (and blogged about it here) and looked up some books that I could read to him about proper uses for our hands. This one is simple and corrects bad behaviour in a positive way by showing what hands are for (hugging, saying hello, etc.). 

Little 1

This is a sweet book about numbers. I think I may like it more than Noah does, but it's both beautifully illustrated as well as sweet and educational. Bonus! 

I would love to know books your kids like (and books you like reading to them since they usually want them read over and over and over again) so make sure to leave a comment.

research

my personality, in general, is one of a researcher. when i'm insterested in something or passionate about something i research. i read, read, read - books, magazines, articles, blogs, anything i can find on that particular subject/thing/issue.
when i was pregnant with noah i read a lot. i read books on pregnancy, birth, and labour. i asked people for their birth stories and found some online too*.
i read books on parenting philosophies including everything from babywise to attatchment parenting.
jamie's nana even wrote out her birth stories for me which i absolutely and completely loved!
i loved hearing the horrible worst-case-scenarios and the oh-my-gosh-it-was-perfect stories. i wanted to know everything.
but at some point all the research combined with some PPD made for one overwhelmed, anxious and paranoid mama who didn't have any confidence in her own maternal instinct.
research is so great and valuable, but at some point you need to take what you've read, glean the principles and mold them to your situation. because your situation is completely unique in at least some way and it's going to look different for everyone.
it took me going across the globe to africa, away from all my precious books and dependable internet for me to learn how to trust my instinct and my God-given ability and privilege to be noah's mama. picked out specifically for noah and he for me. noah was 6 months old at the time and it was the best thing for all of us.
since then i've occasionally referred to books or online resources for different questions i've had but nothing like my initial frenzy of reading.
but now i find myself compeltely depleted of wisdom and knowledge of how to navigate these murky waters of preschoolerhood that i find myself in. so it's back to the books.
this time, however, i'll be able to take it all in with a grain of salt and figure out how to balance what i know of my child with the principles and ideas presented.

also, funny story: on my way out of the library as i'm wrestling to keep two very rambunctious, hungry and somewhat cranky boys under control i am sure the librarian was totally chuckling to herself as she scanned these books out for me. it also might explains why she was so helpful by putting my many books into my bag for me (never once has a librarian done that for me). regardless, i was thankful.

thanks to those so far who have recommended ideas and books to me. i'm likely going to at least skim everything i can get my hands on and then delve deeper into the ones that seem to hit it home with me. keep 'em coming!


*the blogs i've linked to are all ones i found around the birth of jude, not noah. but they're good ones. if you like birth stories, read 'em! the first link is hilarious (caution, much swear-age occurs), the second one is amazing and terrifying, the third one i love how she writes and um, also, the last one (nella's birth story) is absolutely heart-breaking. read with caution. i bawled. (i actually just re-read it and bawled again. so that's that.)

we love books

noah has always been fascinated by books (and television, but that's for another day).

in general, he's a very visual learner. 

he watches things and people in a new situation before jumping right in.

he loves pictures and looking at them and he's always enjoyed having a book read to him (i started when he was 3 months old as part of our bedtime routine).

i have been a book worm and a lover of books for as long as i can remember (dating back to senior kindergarten!).

i devour books at a ridiculous pace and then i'm sad when they're done (if they've been a good book/series - i am currently halfway through the last book of the harry potter series).

and so i must give praise to the library system in guelph.

there is a kid-friendly play area in every single branch of the guelph library.

you get email reminders when your books are due back.

you can request things online and then get an email when they are ready to be picked up.

and um, you can spend the hours between nap and dinner there. 

and then walk home super hungry.

not that that happened to me today or anything...

jude reads

One of the many ways that Jude is so very different from his big brother is that he usually doesn't have any interest in books. I've tried to read to him every night but it usually ends up in him squirming on my lap and violently shutting the book.
Until this week.
Last year a friend gave us a bag of some toys her kids have grown out of and in this bag were some books. I sorted through and kept this one book by Mercer Mayer called "Where is Kitty?" - a lift-the-flap book. I don't remember which boy found it on our book shelf, but this week Jude stumbled upon this book and it was magic.
Jude.Is.Obsessed.

He LOVES this book and I'm thrilled {me being a self-professed book-worm}.
This is a video I caught this morning of my interactions with Jude and this book - enjoy the absolute CUTENESS of it:

The one where I talk about children's books

I love the library. The boys do, too.

We've got a great system here in Guelph and I love that the closest branch to us is less than a 15 minute walk away.

Today we returned our huge stash and took out another huge stash to last us a couple weeks.

Truth be told, I totally take out books that look interesting or fun/funny for me to read {because I know I'm going to be reading them 50 billion times in the next few weeks} as well as the ones Noah picks out. And I'm always surprised at the ones that Noah takes an interest in.

With our last "stash" it was "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus!" which I find absolutely hilarious. Now while he didn't exactly get the humour in it, he certainly managed to memorize most {if not all} of the book. I heard him "reading" the book to himself during his room time this morning. I just think he liked saying "NO!" to the pigeon every time he asks the reader if he can drive the bus. It's a great book. You should take it out of your library. Even if you don't have kids.

This time around he's already taken a liking to "Big Red Lollipop" which is a book about siblings and ... well, a big, red lollipop {and that is the part that draws him in, I'm sure}.

And of course, the Cheerios book.

Because who doesn't like playing with your food?

Yes, he really is eating the Cheerios right off the page.

bookworm

I was thinking that I miss reading.

I commit to spending less time on the computer and more time with my head in a book.

Books used to be how I spent most of my leisure time.

I used to receive more books than anything else for birthdays and Christmas until I got "into" clothes (probably grade 9?) and started asking for that instead.

I am looking for a good book. Or books! What books have you loved? Laughed over? Wept into?

I've got a few recommendations and I'm ready to pay off my library fines so I can actually take out books again. :)

Anything else I should consider? (I probably won't get around to most of these until March, but sometimes it's fun to plan ahead!)

sarcastic pregnancy book

Today I bought a book (for only $4!) from Chapter's called "Milk It - How to get more than a baby out of the next nine months".
I couldn't resist. The title alone almost had me laughing out loud.
Here's a page I randomly opened to and almost peed my pants. Okay, that's a lie. But I definitely chuckled.

"Dealing with the weight-gain comments"

Them: "Wow! You're huge!"
You: "Oh, gosh, I love it. It's just so liberating not having to conform to society's idea of the perfect woman, for once."
Rationale: A mere suggestion of militant feminism can deter even the most resolute busybody.

Them: "Wow! You're huge!"
You: "Do you think so? Really? Maybe I should stop eating so much."
Rationale: Ostensibly meek, this one will leave your tormentors back peddling furiously, afraid that they have nudged you toward anorexia. If you're never allowed yourself the undeniable satisfaction of being passive-aggressive, this is a great way to start.

Them: "Wow! You're huge!"
You: "Well, there's a baby in there. What did you expect?"
Rationale: You can laugh as you say this and it won't sound too harsh. But nobody will doubt what you mean. And how seriously you mean it.

Them: "Wow! You're huge!"
You: "And you, too! What is it? Ten, twenty pounds?"
Rationale: Of course, this one works only if you know the person, but in the right circumstances it can be very powerful.

Them: "Wow! You're huge!"
You: "Well, my hemorrhoids weigh a couple of pounds each."
Rationale: Any mention of an indelicate condition and vengeance is yours.

So hilariously sarcastic. I can't wait to read the rest of this great book by Kate Hodson. I enjoy people who are blunt and don't beat around the bush. AND are unapologetic about it, too!

Now don't worry if you are one of those people who have told me I am huge or are getting huge or have commented in any way on my general size since getting pregnant. I know you don't mean it in a negative way and usually remind myself of that if I do find myself getting defensive - which...I haven't really. Except when my brother said "Whoa-ho Ginormo". And even then I did giggle because it rhymed.
However, in the future, a pregnant woman ALWAYS loves to hear that she looks amazing. (Even if you ARE lying a little bit.)

C.S. Lewis

I have just finished A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. A book about grief after the death of a loved one, it is in fact, Lewis' journals after his wife of only 3 years passes away from cancer.
An interesting choice in reading material considering my current position of carrying a life within me. But once again, I am blown away by Lewis' ability to describe the indescribable and talk about life in a practical way yet bring it all back to God. In the midst of his sorrow he is honest and real and seeks to understand what death and grief says about God and His character.
I loved this paragraph, among many;
Am I, for instance, just sidling back to God because I know that if there's any road to H., it runs through Him? But then of course I know perfectly well that He can't be used as a road. If you're approaching Him not as the end goal but as a road, not as the end but as a means, you're not really approaching Him at all. That's what was really wrong with all those popular pictures of happy reunions "on the further shore;" not the simple-minded and very earthly images, but the fact that they make an End of what we get only as a by-product of the true End.
How many times do we "sidle back to God" as an effort to attain something besides God Himself?
Or this paragraph on sorrow and grief itself is so beautiful.
I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process. It needs not a map but a history, and if I don't stop writing that history at some quite arbitrary point, there's no reason that I should ever stop. There is something new to be chronicled every day. Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape. As I've already noted, not every bend does. Sometimes the surprise is the opposite one; you are presented with exactly the same sort of country you thought you had left behind miles ago. That is when you wonder whether the valley isn't a circular trench. But it isn't. There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn't repeat.

Tagged

Beth tagged me. Here I go!

1. Grab the book nearest me.
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Read four sentences down.
4. Record the following three sentences.
5. Name the author and title.
6. "Tag" three people to do the same.

Unfortunately page 123 was blank. So I'm substituting page 124 instead.

They realized that something much bigger was going on here, involving them and the people around them and all of creation.
Something involving God making peace with the world and creation being reclaimed and everything in heaven and earth being brought back into harmony with its Creator.
But before all the big language and grand claims, the story of Jesus was about a Jewish man, living in a Jewish region among Jewish people, calling people back to the way of the Jewish God.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell

Jamie and I are reading it and debunking it chapter by chapter. Oh Rob Bell....what are you doing?

I tag: Kirsten, Ben, Silas