The flowers live by the tears that fall
From the sad face of the skies;
And life would have no joys at all,
Were there no watery eyes.
Love thou thy sorrow: grief shall bring
Its own excuse in after years;
The rainbow! - see how fair a thing
God hath built up from tears.
~ Henry S. Sutton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you asked to be made like your Lord? Have you longed for the fruit of the Spirit, and have you prayed for sweetness and gentleness and love? Then fear not the stormy tempest that is at this moment sweeping through your life. A blessing is in the storm , and there will be the rich fruitage in the "afterward."
~ Henry Ward Beecher

Rejoicing,
for the blessing of the rainbow...

Marla

Pregnant and Happy

I am really enjoying my pregnancy these days. Morning sickness passed a couple months ago and I feel energetic and happy. I've been trying to go on 30 minute walks around our neighborhood several times a week. Its been so hot lately I haven't really felt like going, but its such a refreshing thing to get out of the house and get a new perspective. My goal is to shorten my labor (!!) and get my body conditioned, at least a little bit. I did have an epidural with one of my pregnancies and I don't want to have one this time. Its been 10 years since my last pregnancy, so I hope my body doesn't act like I'm going through labor for the first time with this one! Ack! 12 hours with first baby, 9 with second, and hoping for 9 or less with third!!

It is fun to know that I'm carrying a girl. I think of her sweet little baby head and hands and feet when she moves and kicks. How fun it will be to see what our daughter will look like and act like! Sometimes I can't wait to hold her and nurse her and just look at her while she sleeps in my arms. I'm excited to see how my boys will interact with her too. I think they will adore her. They were able to feel the baby move a couple days ago. The look of joy and surprise on their faces when they felt a little kick was a moment I'll not forget!

A new life,
and many changes on the way,
But praising God
For each new day....

Marla

Parenting Woes

My boys are so different!

One is compliant. One is a challenge.
One is easy to please. One is not.
One believes everything we say. One does not.

We are walking through a rough time with One. Hubby says we need to change our parenting strategy. I assumed that when we began to homeschool, we would see a difference in this One. I have been disappointed that the changes haven't been as dramatic as I had hoped for. He is very opinionated and seems to enjoy challenging our authority. I fear that we aren't consistent enough in our disciplinary actions. Parenting is so hard!

I want him to be able to express his opinions, but I don't want him to have a know-it-all attitude. Usually, when we say something, he disagrees, and will continue to disagree in every way possible, until we finally percieve him as being argumentative and disrespectful.

I remember last year when we began to home school, he was a reluctant learner. He pushes books away, he dawdles, he daydreams, he mopes, he makes noises, he distracts his brother. We would have moments of wonderful learning, where he was engaged and happy. But the majority of the time I felt like he could care less about learning, and that he was not putting forth his best effort in his work. He was simply doing it to get it done, so he could get away and play.

He has no inner motivation to learn. I take him to the library and he grabs a few books because it is expected of him, then he's ready to get out of there. It is so frustrating! All of the things I love, he seems to hate. Did the public school do this to him? Will I ever see a change?

I definitely need to pray over him, and often. Any other advice that you experienced mothers have will be greatly appreciated!

Troubled, but rejoicing anyway....
Marla

Do Insects Sleep?

My boys and I were discussing this interesting topic this morning.

Short answer: Yes, but not the way we do. The vast majority of insects are active only during the day or only at night, and they will rest during their off-time.

We read that some bees will clamp onto a plant with their jaws in the evening, let go with their legs, which they then fold up. They will hold that pose all night long, dangling there, until they wake up the next morning. Many of the species which do this use the same spot every evening. Supposedly, this behavior is about the closest thing any insect has to conventional sleep.

However, the case that amazed us most is the New Zealand weta, "a large flightless cricket relative, which lives at high altitude and freezes solid every evening, thawing out in the morning to go about its business. The wonders of antifreeze!"

Whew. I'm glad we solved that mystery.

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy sleep. Especially when I'm prego!!!

Rejoice!
Marla

July 20, 2005

My heart is full – nearly bursting with the joy of a secret that has been revealed. I have been blessed by God in a way that I do not deserve. But how thankful I am for His kindness!

Yesterday, my family and I gathered in a tiny dark room with an ultrasound machine and its highly skilled technician. This amazing woman pointed out the details of our dear baby’s forming body – she showed us the lungs, the kidneys, the chambers of the heart, the stomach, the brain, the face, the spine, the legs, arms and feet. She was able to determine that it weighs about 12 oz now, and it is in a head down position. Everything seems to be working properly and is the right size for its age.


Before we went in, I asked the boys if they thought it was a boy or girl. ~N~ said a girl, ~D~ said a boy, Daddy said a girl, and I said a boy. I had heard the statistic that says if you already have two children of the same sex, there is an 80% chance you will have another of that same sex. In my heart, I really wanted a girl, but my mind told me to be realistic and expect a boy.

I was very comfortable with the idea of another boy, since I know what to expect of little boys now. A girl, on the other hand, is a bit of a mystery to me, and actually scares me a little. Especially since I would not have the insight and wisdom of my mother to help me through. Because she is not here, a part of me definitely does not want to have a girl. Because she is not here, a part of me definitely DOES want a girl! I want to experience the mother-daughter relationship with my own daughter, and with my mother gone, this desire has deepened. It has become something I want so bad, that if God did not give me a girl, I would feel He was cheating me out of something I needed. I would feel like He didn’t care, almost that He was taking pleasure in not giving me something that I really wanted.

If my mother were here, I suppose I would be experiencing none of these feelings, anyway not to this degree. No matter the sex of the baby, I knew I would be joyful and happy with what God had given us. But we all have desires of the heart, and God will either give us those desires, or we’ll come around to His way of thinking and realize (maybe eventually) that He was right all along.

I’m pleased to announce that we are having a girl! Just knowing this makes me somehow feel closer to my mother. I am filled with awe at the responsibility that will fall on my shoulders, to teach her and train her in the way of the Lord. I am also saddened that my mother will not be here to know her, and that my daughter will not know her. It seems like a long life to live, knowing that your mother is not here to participate in it.

“I remember thinking I’d never be like you when I had kids, but my little girl and I are just like you! She’s stuck to me as you said I was stuck to you. So often I wish you were here so that I could ask you, “What was I like then?” or “What did you do when….?” Instead, I rely on others, and myself, learning as I go. But I know you’re watching my little girl and me, and I’m glad.”
~ A Mother’s Touch, pg. 129

Rejoice,
For His love endures Forever!

Marla

B-I-N-G-O!!!

Do your children have chores? Somewhere in my reading several years ago I came across a fun way to get children involved with chores. I made up Chore Bingo cards with a free space in the middle and chores listed in each box (5 boxes up, 5 boxes down, for a total of 25 chores.) Well, actually 24, because the middle box is a freebie!

Here are some of the chores on their current cards: (some of which you may not consider an actual *chore*, but they provide an element of fun and motivation!)

* practice typing for 30 min. on the computer
* help your brother with a chore
* make your bed every day for a week
* write in your journal
* read an article from kids encyclopedia and tell what you learned
* help Dad outside
* help make supper
* clear the table
* set the table
* do something to help without being asked
* surprise a family member with a love note
* load or unload the dishwasher
* help wash the car

The possibilities are endless!! I post a list of rewards for the first 3 Bingos they get, and then a final reward for completing the whole card.

1st Bingo: ice cream from Dairy Queen
2nd Bingo: choose meal for supper
3rd Bingo: invite a friend for sleepover
Full Card: Date with Dad!


(Its not the greatest picture, but hopefully you get the idea....)

Chore Bingo is a huge success at our house. The boys are eager to do these little chores and earn their rewards. Each time they do a chore, they attach a sticker to their card (currently little yellow happy face stickers!) The cards, rewards note, and stickers are all attached to our fridge at kids-eye level. I make no demands on when they should do these chores, but I do make friendly suggestions to remind them sometimes!

Why not try a little Bingo at your house??

;-)
Marla

Camping in the Rain

Tent camping, being pregnant, and rain do not mix well. Every summer, we pack up the camping gear and forget to bring a tarp that doesn't have a hole in it. And on nearly every camping trip I can remember, we experience campfire-frustration. I forgot to pack newspaper to start the fire with, but we did have "fatwood." It worked, but the conditions were so damp we had trouble getting that stuff to light sometimes. Then we bought firewood from the campstore that must have been cut while it was raining. Though it seemed dry to the touch, and it had deceptively been sitting in a covered shed, it would not burn.

Then there was the rain. Every night it rained on us, which was fine. I like hearing the rain from inside our tent. It was a gentle, soft rain that apparently is pretty common in southern West Virginia. The grass and trees were incredibly green. But on the day you decide to pack up, rain is the enemy. My husband was soaked by the time we finally had everything loaded up.

Lest you think the whole trip was awful, I better get on to some of the positives. We camped at Pipestem, West Virginia, which was way back in the woods and hills. It was quiet, yet there were many things to do. We took a tram down the mountain to a river, where we did some fishing. I won't speak too much about our family's ability to catch fish, other than to say this: its a good thing our camp menu doesn't rely on us catching fish, or we'd starve. The best part about seeing the river was our boat building competition. My sons love to build "boats" from bark, sticks, leaves, etc. We launch them and see whose can stay afloat the longest or go the furthest. I tried a new tactic by lashing two sticks together with a vine to create a raft of sorts, then attached a twig with a few leaves to be a sail and catch the wind. This little boat actually went the distance, beating my youngest son's and my husband's boats! It floated through some rapids and finally out of sight!

Camping is a great time to bond with your family. We sat around our wimpy campfire and I read to them some cowboy poetry. We also tested our Bible knowledge by reciting the 10 Commandments and then discussing them. After campfire time, we crawled into the tent, which was covered with daddy long legs (on the outside - yikes!), to play a round of Clue or Yahtzee. Those are probably our family's favorite board games.

When we got home, I called my dad to "report back in." I always did that with my mom, but now I will be calling dad. I had a long afternoon to myself when we were camping to write in my journal some thoughts about her. Reading C.S. Lewis' book, A Grief Observed, has been helpful to me.

Another book I have been fascinated with is Sign With Your Baby. You can actually begin to communicate with your 7 month old baby with sign language!!! At 7 months, you can teach them signs (using American Sign Language) for things like: milk, eat, more, and others that help the baby to communicate. I look forward to trying this with our baby.

Time to fetch the clothes from the washer and throw them in the dryer. After the laundry is done, this old house will be back to its pre-camping state!!

Rejoicing,
because its good to be home again,
Marla