Orion's 8th Birthday

Another year has flown by and now Orion is 8. Ironically, he seems to get sick every birthday. We planned to have a joint birthday party with Savannah and the night before he came down with a fever. I figured I'd just let Omega go and stay home with Orion but then miraculously he started acting normal, we took his temperature and he was fine. I figured God had answered our prayer and was giving him a merciful token of love. However, by that time I had already told David he could use the truck (he had to drive to Watsonville and pick up stuff with trailer) so Heather had to come pick us up. We ate lunch at the Kricks (Corn chowder and chicken noodle soup with tofu and gluten sandwiches, blueberry pie and jello) and then drove up to the snow at Shaver Lake.


He slid down the hill maybe twice and then sat in Julie's car the rest of the time. He didn't have the energy or motivation to keep trekking up the hills. I really hope no other kids get sick!

He is happy about his gifts. He got a Lego arctic snowmobile, two little stuffed animals (a giraffe and a panda), a board game, a birdhouse kit, $20.00, and some bubbles. Plus, I bought him new snow boots and gloves.

So, here are a few things about Orion to describe his 7th year:

1. Proud of - he can swallow capsules (Omega can't). He can do "tricks" on his scooter.

2. He's quite competitive. Likes to win, likes to be first,

3. Favorite food - breaded okra. Favorite breakfast is bagels and split pea soup.

4. Best friends - Savannah, Heidi, Daniel, Eden, and Myna

5. Favorite Games - "Dark-dark" (Someone is "it,"you turn out the light and try to find them, you tag them and say their name and if it's right then they become "it"), Sardines (one person hides, everyone else finds the one person), Doe and Cho (Two police named Doe and Cho, Big Homie and Fast Break are bad guys. The police are disguised as regular people in a park. They pretend the bad guys steal something and Doe and Cho arrest them and put them in jail.

6. Favorite toys - Legos, Kiwis

7. Favorite activities - Riding his scooter

8. Aspirations - Be a doctor. I asked him what kind and he said, "The easiest one."

9. Other observations - Colors very well (when he wants to). Still wants to bring his "bwankie" to church. He tries to talk like a baby quite a bit. Loves when Omega sleeps on the top bunk with him. Likes watching videos. Gets scared at night (thinks he hears bad guys outside his window) and wants the night light to be on bright.

I'll stop reading my bible then!

At Sabbath School, Janice taught the kids a song that says

“Read your Bible pray every day and you’ll grow…grow…grow.

And you’ll grow…grow…grow

And you’ll grow…grow…grow

Read your Bible, pray everyday and you’ll grow…grow…grow

November 25, 2011

(At the start of the song you are crouched down and then each time you say “grow” you stand up a little more.)

Then, you sing:

“Neglect your Bible, forget to pray…forget to pray…forget to pray..

Neglect your Bible, forget to pray and you’ll shrink…shrink…shrink….

(Then you start squatting back down).

The other night as I was putting the children to bed Orion and I got into a little power struggle. I forget what it was that caused a tantrum but I said to Orion, “You’re almost four. You’re a big boy now. You need to stop responding that way when you don’t get what you want.”  Then he says, “Then I’ll just stop reading the Bible”. I was thinking, “Where did that come from? I don’t get it.” Then he adds, “If I stop reading the Bible I’ll shrink.” I had to laugh at that. Such a simple mind. It was kind of hard to explain that the song means you’ll shrink spiritually. I told him, “Orion, when you stop reading the Bible you might be four but you’ll act like a two year old. Reading the Bible helps you act like how old you are. “

By partaking of this Word, our spiritual strength is increased; we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. Habits of self-control are formed and strengthened. The infirmities of childhood–fretfulness, willfulness, selfishness, hasty words, passionate acts–disappear, and in their place are developed the graces of Christian manhood and womanhood.  {CG 505.3}

Identity

November 25, 2011

My kids love to pretend they are other people or animals. This morning Omega woke Orion up and said, "Orion, are you still Chucka-chone Chone-Chone?" (Chucka-chone is his first name, and Chone-Chone is his last name) Don't ask me how they came up with that. It's stuck around for the last year or so.  Other names they pretend to be are Amy and Charles,  Janna and Andy, or Janice and Byron (all members of the Smith family who my husband works for). At least now we've gotten them to adopt their correct gender. There was a time when Omega wanted Orion to be Esther and she would be Amber (kids of some friends of ours). David didn't like that. He'd says, "Omega, Esther is a girl. Orion is a boy. Why don't you let him be a boy?" Then Omega would say, "But he's a BOY Esther."

Oh, now I just overheard Omega said, "Orion, why don't you be a monkey."  They can switch pretty easily. Sometimes they can even be multiple people all at once! When I'm getting them out of the bathtub, sometimes they say, "watch the alligator get out of the bathtub," and then they slither out. Even when we are having worship and it's time to kneel on the floor and pray, Orion will say, "I'm a kangaroo going to pray." Then he'll jump down from the couch.

As I'm typing this I can hear them on their hands an knees whispering. I think they are trying to "sneak up" on me.....I just pretended to be surprised and scared. They said they were a kitty and a doggy. I pet them on their head and scratched their ears. Now they are going to go do it again because it was so much fun.

That's another thing about kids. Doing the same funny thing over and over and over and over is always just as funny as the first time.

My Business

November 25, 2011

I've kept a sporadic journal of the cute things my kids say and do. But, often I find myself saying "I really need to write more consistently and capture ALL of these moments." Everyone keeps telling me, "Enjoy it now. They grow up fast".  I've started reading some "mommy blogs" and I love seeing pictures and reading little moments that were captured in words. Then I think, "Why am I wasting my time reading about other people's lives. I should be chronicling my own family!" Omega asks me questions about when she was a baby and sadly I can't tell her a whole lot.

People sometimes call me and ask questions about potty training, throwing tantrums, and sleep irregularities. My memory is so fuzzy when it comes to some of those things. Either that, or I think I remember and wonder later if I'm over-generalizing or polarizing. "Boys are so much harder than girls" or "If only I were more consistent in the beginning...then I wouldn't be dealing with this now." I think that may be the case, but maybe I'm forgetting stuff or maybe my expectations are skewed and therefore my perceptions are not accurate.

I've been keeping a log of when my kids go to sleep and when they wake up. I think they get enough sleep, but I want to see if my perception matches with reality. There are other things too. I want to start keeping track of how often my kids fight and when they throw fits. I want to keep track of when I get snappy and arbitrary and how much time in the day I actually play with them.

I read a quote the other day in a book that I highly respect called Child Guidance which said, "The early training of children is a subject that all should carefully study. We need to make the education of our children a business, for their salvation depends largely upon the education given them in childhood" (Child Guidance, 27).

A business? When I think of business I think of being intentional, having a strategy, being organized, planning, executing and then evaluating. I think of research, skill, punctuality, management - all for one goal...profit. Now of course, the profit that comes from making the education of our children a business is not going to be monetary. The profit will be the good character that

they develop and seeing them in heaven.  One of my favorite quotes from Child Guidance, actually one in which I've made a song out of is....(Post later - I can't find it right now)

When the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the "well done" of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal glory is placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their crowns in sight of the assembled universe and, pointing to their mother, say, "She made me all I am through the grace of God. Her instruction, her prayers, have been blessed to my eternal salvation."  {CG 564.1}

So, I have always taken the education and training of my children seriously. But, I know there is room for improvement.  So, may God's grace be sufficient for me today as I seek to live up to all the light that I have in regards to being a good mommy.

Planted garlic

November 27, 2011

My husband and I really believe in growing our own food. I'm even nerdy enough to actually weigh everything we harvest and I have it on a spreadsheet and it calculates how much we would have spent buying it in the grocery store so that we can see how much money we've actually saved from gardening. Cucumbers alone were $506 worth! (181 lbs times 2.79 per lb) Not that I would have ever bought that many cucumbers in one summer, but  that's how many came from our garden! Now I have around 60 quarts of pickles...I don't know how we'll eat it all, but oh well. Spaghetti squash was also a whopping $309 worth! Yep, our pantry is FULL of spaghetti squash! Anyway, our total earnings, not including the four pallets of sweet potatoes that I have to weigh still is $1,716.

So, now that it's winter and all the grass hoppers are dead, we are beginning to plant some cold-hardy vegetables. First, a picture of a dead grasshopper.

Look at the gate and see if there's anything odd about it.....

Now take a closer look...

We had a plague of these little monsters right at the end of the season

So...back to the planting of garlic....

Before I could plant the garlic, I had to "shape the bed". We have raised beds but we've noticed that over the last year, our 5 foot wide bed has shrunk to around 3 1/2 feet. The sides are eroding. So, we needed some structure on the sides and started out using rocks that we hand-collected off a mountain close to our house but only got two beds done when some rancher secured the gate that we were going in and out of with barbed wire. So, we had to go with the alternative of wood.  My husband, the great researcher that he is, found a guy who had replaced the wood seats of some bleachers with metal and was selling the wood for really cheap. We bought it and used the table saw from the farm to cut them into 6 inch wide pieces. Then we hammered some re-bar into the ground to keep them in place.

So, here's the garlic

I made a 6 X 6 grid and Omega layed the garlic on every corner that she could reach.

Orion helped separate the cloves from the bulb

Of course, this is before we pushed them down into the dirt. I wanted to make sure I had straight rows :)

When we were all done they got to throw the paper/garlic into the air like confetti!

Not sure why they wanted to stick their tongue out. In the desert we get little snow...so maybe they were pretending it was snow.

Play

November 28, 2011 

Omega and Orion are playing "wedding." I'm not sure why Orion got a "dress" but....anyway. Here they are ceremoniously walking on the carefully smoothed out blankets.

Omega started twirling around and Orion is delighted in her enthusiasm.

Part of me groans inside knowing that I'll probably do most of the folding of these blankets. But, I have to not let my desire for a clean house or less work over-ride these opportunities to engage in the playful spirit of my children. I'll admit, David plays way more with them than me. I have a hard time being silly. I last about five minutes. But, the following quote encourages me to step out of my comfort zone and win their hearts.

"There is danger that both parents and teachers will command and dictate too much, while they fail to come sufficiently into social relation with their children or scholars. They often hold themselves too much reserved and exercise their authority in a cold, unsympathizing manner, which cannot win the hearts of their children and pupils. If they would gather the children close to them, and show that they love them, and would manifest an interest in all their efforts, and even in their sports, sometimes even being a child among them, they would make the children very happy and would gain their love and win their confidence. And the children would more quickly learn to respect and love the authority of their parents and teachers."  {CG 265.1}

Revelation

November 28, 2011 (I'm consolidating another blog I had to here)

I’ve been a converted Christian for 12 years now. In that time I’ve studied a lot of topics from a biblical standpoint. When I taught at Souls West (A two year Bible College in Prescott, AZ.) I had the privilege of teaching “Marriage and the Family” and “Discipleship”. If you asked me any question about courtship, marital strife, parenting, worry, guilt, fear, depression, conflict, self-esteem, knowing God’s will, biblical change, etc. I’d be able to give you wise counsel concerning those things. I also taught a class on the Hebrew Sanctuary, as well as the Philosophy of Christian Education. Having to put together 30 lesson plans on each of those topics makes one study intensely. However, when it came to the book of Revelation, if you were to ask me what anything meant I’d refer you to my husband. I never really saw the relevance of it. I knew what some of it was about but it didn’t seem relevant NOW. It’s all either historical or for the future. I like things that I can immediately apply to the issues I face currently.

But, I’ve been convicted to study the book of Revelation. My husband preached a sermon and made an appeal for the women to study this book because he’s noticed that usually men are the ones who really get into it. But the blessing is given to all who study, not just men (see Rev. 1:3). Several weeks later Byron (my husband’s boss and also elder at church) gave two motivational sermons about the importance and blessing of studying Revelation. Several points really stuck out to me. “When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have an entirely different religious experience” (The Faith I Live By, 345). He brought out that this does not mean that our religious experience will improve…it will be entirely different. Why will it be so different? What will change? “They will be given such glimpses of the open gates of heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the pure in heart.” This really intrigues me. I’ve only seen it as a book that will “inform” me of what to expect in the last days. I’ve seen it as a book that you have to decode and find information about world powers. When I read through it just recently I was overwhelmed with the realization of how much God is sincerely and reverently worshipped. In every chapter it seemed that the 24 elders, the 4 beasts and all the thousands of angels were constantly exalting Jesus and praising Him. I was convicted with the shallowness of my own worship. Could I really stand around his throne day and night and proclaim how holy God is? “One thing will certainly be understood from the study of Revelation–that the connection between God and His people is close and decided” (ibid).  This book is primarily relational, not just informational. I’ve enjoyed studying things that relate to counseling because they seem so practical and immediately applicable. Now I’m beginning to see that the book of Revelation is that way too.

There’s a popular song by Steve Fry called “I want to know you more” (I also like theversion by the Cadet Sisters who sang at my wedding). The chorus says,

“O, I want to know You more

Deep within my heart I want to know you

O I want to know You…”

If I wanted to know Jesus more, I’d think reading Matthew, Mark, Luke or John would be the best bet. Revelation would be last on my list of books to study. But, this is where he is more fully revealed because verse one says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ”! I’ve gotten to chapter 8 and I’ve really had some soul-stirring devotions.I’m understanding the heart of Jesus in a way that I have not seen before.