Because learning begins at birth...

This is a great book! I have started keeping it on my bedside table and reading a little bit every night. The best part is that it has activities for each one of my children (even Drew)! I get SO excited planning out what we are going to do each day! :)

This week I have started a daily schedule for Claire, Lily & Drew. I took a sheet of bright yellow paper and divided it into 3 sections, used a different color marker for each child and listed the activities I want to do with them each day this week. I will try to scan this and get it posted up later. If I can't, I will just type it out for you!

Anyway, if you have children, this is a great resource and I LOVE it because it gives me the motivation to be actively involved & doing SOMETHING constructive with each of my children each and every day!

Can you tell I love this book?! :)

Thanks, Sis!

Love,

Julie

*my LAST post of the day today, I have to get busy!!! :)

THE ARRIVAL.....

The Arrivalby Max Lucado
God had entered the world as a baby.
Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.
The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.
A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him—so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can’t remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn’t figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasn’t the energy to wrestle with the questions. What’s important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes he remembers the name the angel told him to use … Jesus. “We will call him Jesus.”

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33)

He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.
Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

From God Came Near© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado

Our Cousin got Published!!!!

Melissa Harcrow, Charlie's cousin and Erica Roath, a girl I(more correctly, my sister) went to school with, collaborated their talents and came up with this cute series. "Where's Your Manners, William?" is the first book with more to follow. If you wish to know more, go to this address and type in "Where's Your Manners, William?" in the search engine (click on the search tab and type the title).

I have read the book and it is adorable and I believe will become a favorite with our children!

Neither Melissa nor Erica has asked me to plug their book (they are too modest for that) but I am doing it anyway!!!! I am proud of them!!!! So, if you are looking for a cute fun book that will grab your child's attention and keep it all the way through, this is that book!!!

Have a wonderful day!

"I'm cooking the cat!!!"

This is Claire's new favorite book! She LOVES to read it and then pretend to make cupcakes! :o) Actually, she has talked Daddy & Mama into letting her make cupcakes a couple of times!!! She is SO much fun!!! Her favorite phrase now that she says repeatedly all day long is, "I'm cooking the cat!" "Mama, look, I'm cooking the cat!!"

What a cutie-pie! I just had to share this little bit of my precious Claire!!!

And, she had a special date with Daddy last night to get an ice cream sundae! She got all her stickers for using the potty!!! Yay!!!! She's working really hard for some more right now!!! That's my girl!!! :o)

Claire & Lily's New Favorite Book....

This is Claire & Lily's new favorite book! They absolutely LOVE it when Charlie or I read it to them! Although, they like it SO much better when Daddy reads to them than when I do, because Daddy talks just like Grover when he reads it; I can't do that! :o)

They squeal and laugh so hard when Grover says, "DO NOT TURN THE PAGE, DO NOT TURN THE PAGE!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY DID YOU TURN THE PAGE?!!!!!!"

If you do not have this book for your kids, you need to get it soon! Read it and read it silly! Take the time to make special memories and LAUGH with your kids, they are SO worth it!

I hope to have pictures soon of us reading this book. I know I will because they never get tired of it! I am getting a new camera this week (hopefully, unless nothing comes up) so I should be able to take more pictures and post them more often! I can't wait; I love to take pictures! We are going to a cook out at Mom & Dad Fogg's this weekend and I hope to get LOTS of pictures of the Fogg cousins! Can't wait! :o)

Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!

Storytime

It's Family Focus Friday over at Sarah's and the topic this week is "Storytime"! So, I am sharing the books that we are reading in rotation to Claire & Lily before bedtime every night (or at least we try every night)! The first one is the one I am loving SO much right now because Claire is so excited about the baby Jesus stories! :o) I can't tell you how happy that makes us!

Max Lucado's , "Children's Treasury"

Another great book that we read is one that I bought when we first found out that we were pregnant with Claire. It is such an amazing book about where we come from and how much God loves us to give us such wonderful gifts (our children). It's called, "God Gave Us You" and we also are reading the second book in the series, "God Gave Us Two" to include both Claire & Lily. Great books and the girls LOVE them! :o)

And, another great book that Claire loves and does the "This Much" motion with her arms (so cute!) is " I Love you this much".



And, of course, we read Daddy's favorite, "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. Charlie puts a whole new twist on this story and gives Dr. Seuss a run for his money. You would just have to hear it. It's unforgettable!

There you have it! Our favorite storytime books! Hope you join in and tell us about your family's favorites, I would love to add more to our collection!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Love, Julie

*As a little add on to this, Claire reads Strawberry Shortcake books (thanks, Aunt Crystal!) during the day. She absolutely loves them and can't get enough of them and any books with farm animals. Go figure, what a combination! :o)

Power of a Praying Wife thoughts, continued....

Okay, here we go:

" I've known people who use the excuse of "just being honest" to devestate others with their words. The Bible says, " A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back" Prov. 29:11. In other words, it's foolish to share every feeling and thougt. Being honest doesn't mean you have to be completely frank in your every comment. That hurts people. While honesty is a requirement for a succesful marriage, telling your husband everything that is wrong with him is not only ill-advised, it probably doesn't reveal the complete truth. "

"The total truth is from God's perspective and He, undoubtedly, doesn't have the same problems with some of your husband's actions as you do. Our goal must not be to get our husbands to do what WE want, but rather to release them to God so He can get them to do what HE wants."

"Distinguish carefully between what is truly right and wrong. If it doesn't fall clearly into either of these categories, keep your personal opinions to yourself. Or pray about them and then, as the Lord leads, reveal them in a calm discussion. The Bible says, "Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:2. There are times when we are to just listen and not offer advice, to support and not offer constructive criticism."

"I'm not for a moment suggesting that you become a timid doormat who doesn't ever confront your husband with the truth-especially when it's for his greater good. By all means you must clearly communicate your thoughts and feelings. But once he has heard them, don't continue to press him until it becomes a point of contention and strife."

"IF you do have to say words that are hard to hear, ask God to help you discern when your husband would be most open to hearing them. Pray for the right words and for his heart to be totally receptive. "

"I wish I had learned earlier to pray before I spoke. My words too often set up a defensive reaction in my husband that produced harsh words we both regret. He perceived my suggestions as pressure to do or be something, even though I always had his best interests at heart. It had to come to him from God."

"It's not the words we speak that make a difference, it's the power of God accompanying them." Stormie O'Martian

Wow! So true, So true!

Hope this helped you today.

Love and Prayers,
Julie