The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Just recently- I'd say within the past few weeks, we have had a terrible issue in our household. Avery (my six year old) has started lieing. It makes me want to cry just typing about it. We've never had a problem with this before and I'm not sure where its coming from now. I thought for a while he was doing it because he was afraid of getting in trouble (for example if he'd hit Aidan or broken something). So, we had several discussions about why lieing is wrong, how its a terrible betrayal of someone's trust, it disappoints mommy and daddy, makes Jesus terribly sad, and can only hurt the person who is doing it. But you know, its not only when he fears getting in trouble- now it seems like he does it for no reason. Even when I give him every opportunity to tell me the truth without fear of punishment, he still chooses to lie.
Has anyone else had this issue come up in their home? I would so appreciate any input, advice- just anything anybody had to share. I'm at a loss. How do you discipline your kids when and if they lie?

Fall Festival and Friends

We all had fun Saturday evening at the Fall Festival at FUMC. We got to hook up with our good friends the Walkers and see their new precious baby girl (how cute is that- a little pea in a pod!). Avery and Rett(the cool boxer) have been friends and playing together since they were in their first MDO class at the ripe old age of 18 months!

Addiction

The first step is admitting you have a problem...

Hello, My name is Susan and I'm a blogoholic

There I said it!! Other than caffeine, I can't really say that I've ever been addicted to anything until now. Seriously, I feel like one of my children- I'm going to have to limit my time on the computer just like I limit my boys' time watching tv. How sad! :( Its just that there are so many truly insightful, wonderfully entertaining blogs (some of the ladies at my church have a real talent for writing!!) I love the blogs about every day life just as much as I love the ones about topics that challenge me and get me thinking. So, ok I may sit down just to check a friends blog and here I go from link to link to link and I realize its been 30 minutes and I'm reading someone's blog I don't even know!
I remember watching this episode of Oprah a while back where she challenged people to step outside their comfort zone so to speak. For example- this lady who never left her house unless she was fully made up decided for a week(or some specified time) to go out to places without her makeup. One lady decided that she was going to give up her computer for a week (or again whatever specified time it was). Could I leave my computer shut down for an entire day?? Hmmmmm...

Happy Halloween

This is a cute website. Fun for the kiddos!


www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

Single Parents

I know as much as I can know without having experienced it myself that being a single parent is extremely difficult. I'm never more reminded of that than when my husband is out of town for an extended period of time. I am a stay at home mom and accustomed to having my children by myself for a good portion of the day. So, you'd think that a few more hours in the evening until bedtime by myself with them would be a breeze. Yeah, right! :) There is something about knowing that another adult is coming home. My kids even sense it. There is something about knowing that when that person gets home, a little bit of a break awaits you. There is someone else to play the Backyardigans game(for the millionth time), to answer a million questions (most of them the same questions over and over again), to take small ones to the potty, and the list goes on and on... I LOVE being a stay at home mom and would never trade the time I get to spend with my children. I know that not everyone has the opportunity to do that. Having said that, I LOVE that time of day when my husband comes home from work. I have such admiration for single parents who do all of these things and more day in and day out without even that small break in sight.

My husband has been out of town this week and here's what I've learned...

There's no way to get any kind of sleep with two boys sleeping in the bed with you. (I think I could use a visit to a chiropractor -Aidan's slept with his feet in my back every night)

Its near impossible to do homework with your 6 year old when there's no one there to distract your 3 year old (I could use some suggestions from those single parents who have to do this)

You shouldn't attempt (although I've done it many times without incident) to wash your bed pillows in the washer (I'm stilling pulling fluff out of my washer and dryer!)

Someone's always gonna get sick. :)

You CAN feel as tired as you did when you had a newborn.

Yes, we love daddy and we look forward to his return!

90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper

Have you read this book?

I don't have a lot of free time to read and this book has been out for a while but I just picked it up today. I could not put it down. I am half way through.

I would love to hear what you thought about it if you've read it.

Although I haven't finished it yet, this is a book that I'm glad I'm reading. I would encourage you to read it if you haven't already.

What I learned From My Mother's Death

What I learned from the death of my mother... the good, the bad, the ugly, and the practical

God uses our most painful moments to teach us some very important things

Its easier to forgive others than yourself

What it means and how precious it is to have a “church family”

Accepting help is not a sign of weakness

Pride can be a terrible obstacle to a better relationship

In your darkest moment God WILL come through for you

People react differently to illness and death so don’t hold friends and family to “normal” expectations

Open your heart and then open your mouth- even if you’ve never been able to communicate in the past

There is no perfect parent other than God the Father

My mom loved me to the best of her ability and in the only ways she knew how and that is good enough

No matter how much time you spent with them or how well you took care of them, you will never think it was good enough

Just HOW much my husband loves me

What kind of relationship I REALLY have with God

To purchase a funeral plan where everything is decided and paid for in full

To cry when you feel like it

How difficult it is to maneuver the medicare system and how very little medicare assists the chronically ill and dying elderly population

Long Term Care Insurance is a good idea for everyone

Paid professional In Home caregivers earn way too little for the job that they do

How important Hospice services are

The infinite sadness that comes from knowing you don’t physically have your mommy or daddy anymore

The peace in knowing they are with Jesus and reunited after 12 years apart and you will see them again

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this GRACE in which we now stand. And we REJOICE in the HOPE of the GLORY of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. And HOPE does not disappoint us… Romans 5:1-5

The Power of Prayer

For a while now, I've been working with my boys on how to pray. Not that there is a "right" way to pray but my boys are hesitant to do it themselves because in their minds they think they don't know how. We've talked about how everyone can just talk to God like they would talk to their mommies and daddies, etc. I was working on the computer this morning and Aidan kept running in saying, "I want to say a prayer." It was so cute and just warmed my heart. I got him on tape and thought I'd share it with you.

Random Question

I was just thinking about the cereal my brother and I used to eat growing up. My boys are just now getting into the cereal thing and of course their favorite is anything with those little marshmallows. I remember going to the grocery store with my mom and she would let my brother and me pick out a cereal each. I always chose Frankenberry. :) My brother always chose Count Chocula.
So what would you choose...
Frankenberry... Count Chocula... or Booberry? :)
Or is there another kind you remember loving?

Pat Pat Rocket

Because we LOVE Quincy, June, Leo, and Anni!! Little Aidan loves The Little Einsteins. He really wants the rocket with the four figures but I haven't been able to find it. Target was having a sale last week on their Little Einstein products and was all out of the rocket. I searched on ebay and amazon but their prices were 60 bucks and up. Crazy! If anyone sees one please send me a note-- Target had it for $39.99 I think and I'm willing to pay that -- but probably not more than that.

Let The Games Begin

Aidan participated in the 2006 Hendersonville Preschool Track Meet today. I had signed him up a while back and neglected to put it on the calendar. (Thank you Ashley for reminding us!) There are four events and children ages 3,4 and 5 can participate in any two they choose. Aidan chose the long jump and the mini mile race. He took 2nd place in both ( we didn't tell him that there were only two people doing the long jump-ha!). It was a lot of fun. The parks dept has it every year around this time and you can register your kiddo online. Here are some pics from the game filled afternoon.

Pumpkin Fun

I love this time of year. There's a crispness in the air (ok so maybe not yesterday or today with our 80 degree temps) and I love all of the color that autumn brings. My boys love it too! They were so excited to break out their jeans and long sleeve shirts last week. Its funny how even though they are 6 and 3, they still get into the fun of finally getting to wear your new fall clothes. We had some pumpkin fun yesterday. Avery enjoyed getting to transfer his pattern on to his pumpkin all by himself and Aidan had a blast painting his pumpkin. You would think that two boys would want to get down and dirty and for the first one or two scoops they were fine. But, daddy had to come in to finish the job scooping out the pumpkin guts. :)

A Zootastic Day!

We went to the zoo Friday along with quite a few other people (I've never been to the zoo when it was so crowded). It was such an enjoyable day! The weather was awesome and we had our good friends and neighbors with us! The kiddos had a great time and were so good!

Change

I am attempting to change my blog from vox to blogspot. Just wanted to leave a message here. Hopefully it will be up and running soon.