My girl "G"

I don't know about other girls mom's but mine is the best! She is smart, fun, beautiful, loves the Lord, giving, caring, assertive, and she Loves me unconditionally. Growing up it was my hearts desire to be with my Mom and to make her pleased with me. Now that i am grown she is my best friend and I Love her so dearly. It scares me sometimes how much we are like one another.
As a mother myself now I have growing fears that my relationship with "G" will not turn out as my mother's and mine. I fear that she won't want to spend time with me when she is grown. That she just sees me as a strict Mom who fusses at her and doesn't let her do what she wants. I have been very convicted about this as of late. I feel like I need to take steps now to assure that we have a healthy Mother/Daughter relationship.
I was kept up all night Tuesday by an incident that had happened late that evening with G. She said something that was very troubling and I made her explain it to me so that I knew why she had said it. In getting this info from her I made her cry. It wasn't my goal but I NEEDED to know. It was a very serious matter and I needed the truth. But all night I thought, "she is scared of me, she doesn't feel safe with telling me things, I have failed". So in the morning I crawled into the bed with her and snuggled with her and assured her of my love and that she had not done anything wrong. That it was just Mommy's job to make sure she was safe and that was what I was doing. She seemed to understand and not think much of what had happened the night before at all.
I spoke with Hubby about my concerns and we decided I needed to do more with G one on one. To make more Mommy/Daughter time. Time where there was no room to be cleaned or brother to nag or task that Mommy had to tend to.
So I am taking G to get our nails done on Saturday. Nothing fancy, just a little time away just us girls to giggle and be ladies and bond. She is such a treasure to me and I want to communicate that to her without sounding like "lets be friends", because at this point she doesn't need a friend but a Mother. I am OPEN to all ideas and Godly advice to grow that special bond with her. I know the bond between Mother and Daughter is like NO other and I want to cultivate mine with G to make ours strong now and in the years to come. I ultimately know God is gracious and merciful and He hears my cries to Him and my plea's to be a Godly mother and to lead them in the way that brings Him the most glory. Because Ultimately that is all that matters.
Sorry for the venting session but my heart has been so heavy. Again I would love tips!

Beth Moore

Today was Day 1 of my new book "Jesus, 90 Days with the One and Only" by Beth Moore. A dear young lady from our church got it for me to participate in the group study some of her college friends and her are doing. I can't review the book just yet because i have only read the introduction and done the work for Day 1 but I did enjoy it very much. I must confess it might take me more than 90 days because I don't always find that precious moment to sit with my Savior as I should, but hopefully this book will give me more of an excuse to take that time that I should. One thought that was particularly profound to me today was...(not a direct quote but paraphrase) That when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to give her the news of her going to carry the Son of God and told her to name him Jesus. That was the first time that the Son of Gods name had been told to humanity. The first time that we as the human race had a personal name for our savior. I just thought that that was a special thought to cherish and hold on to.

Isn't this cute.

I know Christmas is over but I just found this AWESOME homemade felt Nativity on Blue Eyed Freckle. It is too cute. I am not sure they sell such cute felt in Pikeville Ky but I bet this is something easy G and J would like to help me with for next year.

LOVE THIS!

My hubby lost his Mother 2 1/2 years ago. We do everything we can to honor the memory of his mother in our home. We talk about "Grammy" and what a special woman she was. However our children will never have a memory of her. G was 2 when she passes and J was born a few days after she passed. That is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. She was so special and so talented. She loved her family dearly and I know she would have loved my kids.
One thing about Grammy was that she had the most perfect handwritting. Looking at a note that she just scribbled out quickly looked like something that would have taken days to make so perfect.
I came across this blog today and now I am on the hunt. I am going to find something she wrote that can be turned into an heirloom. I might not make a plate however I am thinking about something I can put in my kiddos rooms to remind them of her.

It's a...

BOY!
We found out this morning we are having another baby boy. All looked well during the ultrasound. The tech even told us he has 10 fingers and 10 toes. I guess she was counting. J is happy, G would be happier if it were a girl. But I think she will come to enjoy the perks of being the only girl. Well, now that I know it is a boy I can stop stressing out over making up a girl name. We already knew what we would name a boy. So now we just have to wait another few months to meet this little man.
We are super excited!
We covet your prayers for a healthy baby and an EASY delivery!

Eating update

My kids are eating better!

The list of newly tried and LIKED foods:
Lima Beans (gasp)
Green beans
BBQ
Rice
Mashed potatoes (J doesn't like)
Lasagna
Quesadillas
Pickles
and many more I can't think of right now.

Things are going well. I still have to force food, but the rules are holding and we are making progress. G is doing really well and I know she just has a fear of trying the food for the first time. But so far she hasn't eaten something she hasn't liked.
Mommy even took a dose of her own medicine. I ATE PEAS. I forced myself to try them for the first time since childhood. They are the only food I don't eat, but I did try and decided they are not as gag worthy as I remember. However I am not fixing them and won't eat them regularly.
Thanks all for your encouragements in the eating department. It is nice to know I am not the only one with kids who don't like to eat.

Lauren...This one's for you.

New pics a sweet friend took for our family.

Made with Love

Found this Scarf for boys/men. I have been wanting to get/make a scarf for the men in my life but felt like my ideas were a little too girly. The scarf on the little boy looks very manly and I think I just added something to my Christmas to do list! Yay!

Traditions to Treasure

A few years ago I enjoyed reading Noel Piper's book "Treasuring God In Our Traditions". This gave way to a new focus in our home. Hubby and I try to bring the Gospel into everything we do in our home. Of course we are not always successful but we try. We do Bible time and Catechism questions every night with the kids. We do an Advent Calendar in December to count down the days to our Saviors birthday. Easter has us baking a resurrection cake on Easter that the kids love to decorate with an empty tomb. Reformation Day better known as Halloween we love to watch "Luther". These are just a few of the traditions we are trying to create in our home.
Hubby's Aunt has a really neat Tradition in her home. She has a Miniature case full of various items. Each item represents a time in their families lives where God has shown His lovingkindess, and grace to them. When someone notices the items and asks about them, that gives them the opportunity to share Christ. I just think that that is a wonderful reminder to always be looking for the ways God moves in our lives. Since I saw hers I have been on the hunt for a miniature shelf of my own.
I would love to hear your traditions NOT just holiday traditions.