To satisfy...

This can't help but make you smile!

I'll update more hopefully later today or tomorrow.  Hopefully.  No promises, though!

Beautiful

I love taking my kids to work with me when I do therapy at the nursing home.  I don't do it all of the time, but I do it when I have to.  B does really well there and he can get them to do things for him that they won't do for me.  He likes to give them all hugs and talk with them and he always picks one person to empty my entire music bag to so that poor person is left with a lap full of instruments! 

Most of the patients I work with have Alzheimer's.  It's very important to me that B and Baby M grow up enjoying these patients and not being afraid of them.  I want them to respect the elderly and to learn from them instead of being scared to be around them.  You should see the smiles on their faces!  Well, that is, until he thinks they need to go for a ride.  They are grateful to me when I put a stop to that before they are sent into the table.  Many have learned to put their brakes on when they see him. 

The funny thing is, though, that they ask about my kids.  They can't remember their own families, but somehow between the music and my kids together, they remember mine and ask me all the time when I'm going to be bringing them.  The nurses love to take Baby M and show her off and there's one wife of a man that has become a babysitter for me.  She doesn't have children but she gets so excited when I bring Baby M because it breaks up her day from having to focus on the sadness with her husband and best friend.  (B is good at getting her husband to talk, though!)

I'm so thankful for these everyday opportunities to share with my kids some things that are important to me.

Oh...and I left out how I'm glad they are hard of hearing because when I play the piano, B does too.  Once I get him stopped, he dances for them.

Book Review: Hungry for God by Margaret Feinberg

Hungry for God by Margaret Feinberg was a book that I read at the perfect time.  I've been craving more and more of God and this book made me want to spend so much time with Him.  She pointed out how we can hear God in the everyday things of life, not just when we're in our quiet times.  However, we tend to be so busy and so focused on other things that we sometimes miss when God is trying to speak to us.  I loved her illustrations that she used in the book and how she showed how God can speak through art, music, nature, etc.  He can use anything to speak to us if we'll only listen. 

The opening of the book was about what it meant to have an appetite for God.  "What does it mean to hunger for You?"  Since most of us don't know what true hunger is, sometimes it's easy to forget what it's really like to hunger for God so much that nothing else can satisfy us.  So to help her get a perspective on hunger, she fasted.  She was honest about how the first day or two were awful and she was moody and anyone that came near her was fair game!  After that, though, her body adjusted and it was a little easier.

My favorite quote of the book was "If physical hunger is a set of feelings that leads a person to search for food, then spiritual hunger is a set of experiences and longings that compels a person to search for God.  My spiritual hunger grumbles loudest when I feel furthest from God."

I definitely recommend this book for everyone, whether you're in a calm season of your life or if you're in the midst of trials.  It's a great book to give as a gift to someone, too.

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I received this book free from Zondervan in exchange for my review of this book.  The opinions expressed are my own and was not required to write a positive review.

Corduroy Lesson #7

 I'm a little behind on posting our Corduroy activities, but we have completely finished it and I'm finishing up the stuff so we can start our next book.  I'm hoping to accomplish a lot of prep work this next weekend and week!

We used the animal classification cards and talked about each animal on the card and what they ate, where they lived, and how they sound.  He knew all of them from going to the zoo so much, but I wanted to have him find the animals in the book and match them with the card.  He did great matching a drawing with the live picture of the animal.  It was also a good self-control activity (leave it for the therapist to turn simple activities into behavioral goals) because he had to sit still for so long and tend to the task at hand.  He did great!  I was afraid he would be  bored after the first couple of pages but he wasn't.  Of course, Baby M liked to participate, so his job was made a bit more complicated trying to find which one she had picked up to put in her mouth this time! 

And this is how Baby M likes to spend her school days................................................

making messes for me to clean up!

Sometimes pictures say more...

I like to write about my days so that I will never forget them and so my kids can look back on my reflections and see why I have so many gray hairs but also why I tear up when the house is all quiet when they have moved on with their own lives as adults.

Since my kiddos have arrived on the scene, my house is rarely quiet.  In fact, sometimes I dream of kicking everyone out for a few hours so I have some quiet time.  However, when that does happen, it's too quiet.  I'm used to the constant noise and activity.  Not to say that it doesn't tire me out or frustrate me, but it's normal to me.  That's also why I can ignore my child when he's whining and the baby's crying while I'm trying to get dinner done.  That's also why I don't hear the dogs whining and barking at times.  I simply tune them out and go to my own happy place where it's quiet!

A few weeks ago we enjoyed some time outside after church.  Baby M is now the driver of the red car that B used to like so much.  So...the story?  I've displayed the story in pictures.  This is my typical day, except think of it through my eyes and consider how many times I must correct B and what actions have to be tamed indoors.  Then throw in Sissy and see if you can guess how many things I had to correct during these pictures!  And this is just an hour....

That morning....

B climbed on top of the red car for a ride on the roof...

Book Review: The Promise of An Angel by Ruth Reid

The first book in the Heaven on Earth series, The Promise of An Angel has me waiting for the next book to come out.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  It was different from most of the Amish fiction I have read because the plot is completely different than most.

Judith Fischer wants nothing more than to be a wife, mother, and a Amish woman that follows hard after God.  She's waited so long to be married to an Amish man named Levi Plank.  All is well until her brother, Samuel, has a farm accident and his prognosis is grim: he may never walk again.  During this time, she sees an angel that has visited her brother and she meets this angel many times during this trial.  However, when she talks about it, no one believes her.  The church wants to discipline her and her family has to step in to help make mends with the church.  Levi wants her to stop the foolishness.  Only one person believes her...Andrew Lapp.

Will Judith listen to the angel and discover her dreams?  If so, where will that lead her?  Which path will she choose?  Will Samuel ever walk again?  Those are all answered in the book!  (You thought I'd tell you!)

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(Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.)

CD Review: Women of Faith Worship: Rejoice

This CD is a very uplifting and encouraging CD that reminds you (the listener) that our focus is not and should not be on ourselves but on our God.  The songs featured on it are "Beautiful Redeemer, So Good, Forever Reign, Come As You Are, Hosanna, Our God, Glory to God, You Brought the Sunshine, Greatness of Our God, and Great is Thy Faithfulness."

This CD prepares my heart and makes me ready to worship, setting aside all of my thoughts and plans and focusing on who God is and what He has done for me.  Definitely a great praise and worship CD performed by the ladies of the Women of Faith Worship Team.'

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I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

Schedule...or not?

This week was quite possibly the most frustrating week of all.  Baby M is on breathing treatments 7-8 times a day.  I've been trying to figure out how to get the 2 in first thing in the morning among all of the other things that I have to include in my morning routine.  It seems like all I do is plan my day around these treatments.  I can't imagine how people with more serious health situations spend their days!  I only have a little taste of it and it's enough for me!  This week I felt like I was just turning circles between Baby M and B.

So....to make me happier, I'm sharing my pretty babies.

Yeah, this makes me feel much, much, better!  Perhaps one more picture would help me a bit more...

Much better.

10-1/2 months!

I can't believe that Baby M is already 10-1/2 months old.  Crazy!  It just doesn't seem possible that almost a year has flown by.  It has been so much fun with her but I do feel like I have been in "survival mode" (in the words of a dear friend!).  I'm slowly figuring out a schedule that works for us but it's slow in coming, which can be frustrating on days.

Anyway, we went to the doctor this morning for her well-visit checkup and am thankful that it was timed perfectly with her not feeling well.  I'd much rather do 2 visits in 1 for the price of that 1!

She is 27-3/4 inches long and 16 pounds 15 ounces.  She's a little low in her weight but that's okay because she's moving so much.  They gave us the diagnosis of asthma in both of my babies today.  Baby M  is now on treatments which are going to require me to be near an outlet more until we get our travel nebulizer.  They are hoping they can wean her off her medicine in 6 months or so.  She's just wheezing too bad and is struggling to breathe until she gets the treatment.  I would much rather prevent it than have her or B go into a full asthma attack.  Her asthma has shown up quicker than B's.  B didn't start showing symptoms until he was 1 and he wasn't diagnosed until he was 1-1/2.  Baby M has already had 2 episodes since she was 6 months.  Needless to say, any cold that my children pick up results in me staying at home giving breathing treatments.  Not that I'm complaining because I'm thankful that there are things that will make breathing a bit easier for my kids.  That's why I dread winter so much!  All of those sicknesses seem to always get my kiddos or allergies will flare up and here we go again.

Besides that, she is doing great and is such a laid back baby.  Definitely has Daddy T's personality!  Can't believe it's time to plan ANOTHER birthday party next month!

Corduroy Lesson #6

I saw this on the Delightful Learning blog and tracked down the patterns and made these letters for us to use at school.  They were so easy to make!  I'm making my own patterns for the lowercase letters and numbers because B really enjoys playing with these.  The fabric was just some scraps because I didn't know how much I needed yet and wanted to make sure they turned out good.  I'm going to add the buttons to them so he will know the correct place to start when he is writing the letters since he is learning to write them now, too.  I can't wait to go pick out some more fabric to make several sets of these so he can use them to make words and do simple math problems (when he's older!). 

Spelling Corduroy...(which is missing some letters since we had already used them once)

Hard at work.  These are by far his favorite things to do in school.

Book Review: Amish Prayers by Beverly Lewis

This is a little book that is full of prayers that are from the Die Ernsthafte Christenpflicht.  This is an authentic translation from the original German.  It pairs each prayer with a Scripture passage.  This little book (that would make a great coffee table book) sheds some insight into the world of the Amish and their beliefs.

It is 139 pages long and is really easy and fast to read.  I enjoyed reading it because now I understand it a bit more when I read about their prayers in the Amish fictions books that I really enjoy reading.
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This book was provided free for my review by Bethany House in exchange for my review on this book.

Book Review: Max on Life by Max Lucado

This book is a book full of questions that he has been asked in his ministry, as well as his answers on them.  They range from understanding how God's love is different from human love to selecting the right mate to discipline and so much more.  The book is broken up into different sections: Hope, Hurt, Help, Him/Her, Home, Haves/Have-Nots, and Hereafter.  There is a wide range of questions and he does his best to include the Scripture that has helped him form his answer to these questions. 

I found this book to be interesting and easy to read.  If nothing else, it makes you think about these questions for yourself and see if you can find the answer in Scripture for yourself. 

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I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit is a sequel to The Traveler's Gift, which I have not read.  However, Andy did a great job in making sure that you could pick this book up and follow along without having to have read the first book.

This book opens with David Ponder, a man who has lost his wife, is bankrupt, and only desires to go to heaven to be with his wife.  He has no desire in staying here on earth.  However, God lets him know that he is still needed on earth and that it's not time for him to leave it yet.  While he is pondering his life and what to do with it as an older man, an angel-Gabriel-takes him away to the final summit where he and some of history's best and brightest minds were to figure out how to save civilization before it self-destructs.

I enjoyed reading this book and jumping back in time with some of history's most influential people.  It was a book that made me want to keep turning the pages.

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I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

DVD Review: Unplanned by Abby Johnson

This movie came at the perfect time for me to review because I was actually able to show it in one of my sessions because my male patients didn't understand why abortion was so debated and they thought that it honestly didn't matter if they got a girl pregnant and she aborted it.  Just as I was trying to figure out how to handle this topic, I received this DVD to review an was thrilled!  I played it for them and afterwards, we had a discussion and they truly understood what took place.  Some minds changed and some didn't, but at least they understand now.

Now about the DVD itself: it was great!  I enjoyed hearing Abby's testimony, although it was heart-breaking at times.  It was amazing to see how God changed her mind from pro-abortion to pro-life.  The process of the change made me feel sick to my stomach and made me want to cry because of all the lies that these women get told in order to go through with these abortions. 

I definitely recommend this DVD for people who don't understand what happens in a Planned Parenthood setting or who don't understand abortion itself and what happens.  It's a wonderful story of redemption played out and answered prayers by her parents.  This is a DVD that I will probably use often.

The UNITE FOR LIFE is a free webcast featuring Abby Johnson  that will benefit pregnancy care organizations.  You can sign up to participate on May 17 at 9:00 p.m. (in all time zones) at http://www.uniteforlifewebcast.org/.  Unplanned the book and the DVD will be available for purchase as a package deal and 33% of each purchase will go to the crisis pregnancy centers like CareNet the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, and Heartbeat International.

I have a gift certificate for a free copy of this DVD that I am giving away.  I will give it to the first person who leaves a comment saying they want it!

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I received this DVD free from Tyndale House Publishers for my review.  In exchange, I agreed to write my own review of this DVD.

Book Review: Leaving by Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite authors and the whole Baxter family series are some of my favorite books.  I feel like I'm part of this family!  Leaving is the first in the Bailey Flanigan series.  You don't have to have read the other sets of series in order to understand what is happening, but I do recommend reading them because they are so good.

Leaving was as wonderful book.  I did find myself crying at the end as Bailey is all grown up now and moving on with her life and where God is leading her.  Cody is still in this series and he's still distancing himself from Bailey because he thinks that she's better off without him.  It doesn't help that since she starred in Unlocked opposite of Brandon Paul that the paparazzi would be digging for dirt on whoever Bailey hung out with.  Cody's past and his family life isn't the cleanest and he has a hard time letting go of the shame.  His flashbacks are still coming back from his time in Iraq and his POW time so he also feels inadequate because of that.

As they both figure out the plans God has for them, will they realize that they need to be with other people or will they jump hurdles and circumstances to mend the heartbreak that has been caused?

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Zondervan provided me with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.

Book Review: Blood Covenant by Lisa Harris

I can sum up this book in one word: WOW!  This is not my typical book and I wasn't for sure I would enjoy reading it because I knew it would have action in it.  Let's just say my fingernails did not survive this book, but that's okay.  I'm so glad that I read it and now I can't stop thinking about it. 

This book is about the Ghost Soldiers that are in the Republic of Dhambizao.  The Ghost Soldiers are wanting revenge on the government for all they claim the government has done to them, as well as the fact that they hold some of their top leaders (including the now leader of the Ghost Soldiers) brother in jail. 

Dr. Paige Ryan and Nick are flown to the refugee camp to help deal with the cholera outbreak.  However, the Ghost Soldiers hold it hostage and guard it 24/7.  They also raid and murder some people who are providing resources to the refugee camp, as well as a mountain trekking team.  How all of them come together and how one person ends up being lost in the ordeal makes for a great storyline.  Not only that, but when anoter infectious disease breaks out besides the cholera, will Dr. Paige be able to save more people than who die?  Will attitudes change before it's too late and will compassion reign in the lives of those who are selfish?

To make this book even more fun to read, I loved knowing that Lisa is a missionary in Mozambique and writes this book based on knowledge and some of the stories that she has researched.  According to the international aid organization Doctors Without Borders, there are forty-two million people in the world who have been displaced by war and violence.  These people see murder, rape, violence, and kidnappings daily.  Drawing from the reports of refugees, she weaves a wonderful message of hope throughout the book, while still portraying the horrid results of the rebels and war.

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Zondervan provided me with the book free of charge, for the purpose of review.