$100 worth of FREE Target Shopping, a Promo AND a GIVEAWAY!

The cliff notes of this post:

Swagbucks is legit.

If you sign up through Sit A Spell, you get MORE swagbucks than you would normally get signing up some other way.

If you or your friends sign up for swagbucks through Sit A Spell, you get a chance to win a $20 e-Target gift card.

Yep. Yep. Keep reading!




I just swagged $100 worth of e-gift cards from Target.

Yep. You heard right. Your ears "aint" dirty.

I will get to buy $100 worth of stuff from Target for FREE all because of swagbucks.

Don't know what Swagbucks is?

Well, it's a search engine (like google) that's actually powered by google. The only difference is...swagbucks pays you to search. Basically, they pay you for asking questions. Who knew being dumb could pay off?

When you register for swagbucks, you get a swag account that grows the more you search.

When I type in something like, "Quiddler" in my swagbar, and a dollar bill pops up and says I've won, I get so excited! Maybe it's not that big of a deal to some people, but when I'm searching and win, I leave my computer swag happy.

Once your account grows, you can buy all sorts of stuff at the swag store. Check out the gift card section!

Kirby has picked out three $50 Southwest Airlines vouchers AND a $50 Gap gift card with her swagbucks.

Still haven't jumped on the swag wagon?

WELL...

Last week, Swagbucks contacted me.

Really.

Swagbucks the company.

Now, if I was really cool, I'd just let that statement roll off my tongue and keep on going.

That's what cool people do.

But we all know...

I'm not cool.

I'm just a regular ol' gal who started a blog to keep her friends and family up to date on her life, and still can't get over that so many of you come here every day. I had no idea when I started this silly blog that God had bigger plans and purposes than I ever imagined.

I'm honored EVERY time I get an email from someone in Japan or the UK.

It's a privilege to me to hear the hearts of so many women who share with me what God is doing in their marriage and in their homes.

When I started blogging I had no idea that I would fall asleep at night praying for people I have never met. I had no idea I'd laugh so much, cry so much, and be inspired so deeply by the women who come and "Sit a Spell" sharing their souls, ideas and creativity.

I'm just a regular girl, with regular problems, with a regular family, with regular friends trying to learn how to love an anything but ordinary God.

So when I woke up and saw an email from swagbucks, I'd like to say I just calmly read it and replied. I'd like to say, I read the email with a "that's to be expected" sort of attitude. If I said that was my response, I would be lying. Are you kidding me? I was SHOCKED and thought it must be a joke.

So instead, I jumped up from my chair and went RUNNING through the house yelling for Aaron.

I was anything BUT cool as I hopped around with excitement saying, "Swagbucks...the people...the company...they emailed me. They did that for Money Saving Mom, and she's super famous and her blog is WAY more amazing than mine. Her blog has like...a point...and mine doesn't! She writes about saving people money. I write about my kids eating ants. This is INSANE, Aaron! Insane!"

There's no hope for me in the cool category...no hope.

Basically, swagbucks wants to offer my sweet readers a great deal...

I just said, "my readers." Again...weird. In my head, my readers are still my dad, my inlaws, my sister-in-law and my crazy girlfriends.

If you sign up for swagbucks, via this blog over the next four days, you get an extra 2 swagbucks (you also get 3 swagbucks just for signing up). Which means, you start your account off with 5 swagbucks.

To sign up and get your extra swagbucks through this promotion, go here




As you are signing up, next to "swag code," enter the word HENDRICK (type it just like that).

You get two extra bucks!

And here's the ultimate awesomeness...

I love swagbucks so much that I am going to give away one of those $20 e-Target gift cards I just swagged. A giveaway!

You can enter to win by either signing up for swagbucks right here on my blog (you have until some time on Friday, depending where you live) OR getting a friend to come sign up. Once you get your friend to sign up, you AND your friend can enter to win the gift card. For EVERY friend you get to sign up through Sit a Spell, you will get your name put into the drawing. As in...get three friends to sign up and your name goes in the drawing three times.

You enter by signing up and then commenting, OR by getting your friend to sign up and then commenting, letting me know you referred someone and they signed up. If your friend wants to enter the drawing, they leave a comment telling me who referred them, and that they signed up for swagbucks.

Confusing? Maybe this will help....

If you have never signed up for swagbucks before, and you do here, then just leave a comment that says, "My name is Minnie the Moocher and I just signed up for swagbucks."

If you have signed up for swagbucks already, then go grab a friend, send them this way, let them sign up and they can say, "My name is Mustang Sally and I just signed up for swagbucks because my friend, Minnie the Moocher told me to."

Then I'll enter BOTH your names in the drawing.

Got how it works?

On Monday of next week, we'll have a drawing (I'll video tape it), and the winner will receive a $20 e-gift card to Target. Fun times!

Thanks to swagbucks, by signing up through Sit a Spell you can start your account off nicely AND potentially win a $20 Target gift card.

Friday, I'll let you in on some secrets to growing YOUR swagbuck account.

Using swagbucks is DEFINITELY one of our favorite ways to be frugal. $100 worth of Target shopping for FREE? $150 off airline tickets for FREE? You can't be more frugal than that!

Happy Swagging!

Go! Please Go! I don't want to keep all the fun to myself!




Enter HENDRICK

Then use swagbucks as your search engine. I bet you'll get excited too every time you search and win a dollar!

New Life Launches!

Over the past 10 years, Aaron and I have watched our church body, Living Hope, go from a tiny crowd meeting in an elementary school to a large crowd meeting in their own building for three services every weekend.

LH has continued to grow.

While we could have bought some property, started another building campaign, added more services and become a mega mega church, that's not the direction the leaders of LH felt God moving our body.

LH was started by a group of people to be a "church starting church." The desire to plant healthy churches has always been a part of LH's DNA.

So in January, we sent off a bunch of people and they became Living Hope Bryan.

This weekend, LH is sending off another group of people who will become a new church....

New Life in College Station.

This is NOT a church split. It's an expansion. These two churches have been sent off with Living Hope's blessing and support.

Allen Duty has been named the teaching pastor of New Life.

I've posted a couple sermons on this blog that Allen has preached, so that name may ring a bell for some of you.

If you live in College Station and you're looking for a church body to call your own, visit New Life this Saturday! (NL is only TEMPORARILY meeting on Saturdays.)

The vision for this body is incredible. You'll be challenged to grow.

God has gifted Allen to preach the Word. He is an excellent teacher, and we're so excited about how we know he will shepherd this new body. Even though Allen is younger than us, a lot of what you read here, every day on this blog about what God has done in our home, how we're learning to disciple our kids and teach them God's Word has been greatly inspired by the things that Allen has taught us and challenged us with as a couple. Many of you have already been impacted by what God has done through Allen, and you didn't even know it!

Over the past few years, Allen has been gracious enough to share with us what God has been teaching him, and as a result, God has done wonderful things in our hearts and in our home. God has used our friendship with Allen greatly to grow Aaron and I towards godliness. We could not be more grateful to know Allen as a friend, and now see the Lord using Him as a pastor.

To learn more about New Life, please visit their website. You can meet Allen there and find out more about this body's vision. Check back often because the website is pretty new and they're working on it all the time.

Living Hopers...if you're planning on attending New Life, you can bring a main dish and a side dish (if you're a family) or a side dish, salad or dessert (if you're a single person). This body eats together!

If you don't attend Living Hope, and want to visit New Life, you don't have to bring any food. Just go...connect...worship...and let God challenge you with His wonderful Word!

Happy Spaghetti Day!

Today marks the three year anniversary of when Hayden got to eat dinner with the rest of our family!

Three years ago today, we ate spaghetti with tears in our eyes, and an epipen on our kitchen table.

Three years ago, Hayden ate all his spaghetti, stayed alive and declared noodles and sauce the best food ever.

Three years ago, God healed our son.

We will celebrate this day for the rest of our lives!

We have so much to be thankful for! Our hearts are full of gratitude for what God has done in our child's little life.

Exodus 13:8-9 and 14
On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

You can read the whole, amazing story below. Keep in mind it was written three years ago. I don't have time to edit all of it...sorry!

THE SPAGHETTI DAY STORY

The very first Spaghetti Day happened on March 27, 2006. I'm declaring it a national and international holiday (since I know Brooke will celebrate too).

I want to tell this story using a passage of scripture that is so similar to our experience. It’s amazing! It’s from Mark Chapter 9. A father brings his son to Jesus for healing…

And [Jesus] asked his father, How long has he had this? And he answered, From the time he was a little boy.

From birth, Hayden has been sick. By the time he was 3 ½ his immune system had practically shut down. By the time he was three, he could eat only 8 foods. We were basically confined to our home. Going ANYWHERE besides the church nursery at Living Hope was a foolproof way to cause Hayden to break out in severe hives. Hayden had to be fully clothed at all times.

He lived his life in long sleeved, long pants pajamas with socks on his feet AND on his hands. If he had access to any of his skin, he would scrape it off and cause it to bleed. MANY times I would come in to get Hayden out of his bed in the morning to find his sheets covered in blood because he had managed to get a piece of clothing off his body.

I cleaned our house non-stop every single day. If Hayden even touched something he was allergic to (and remember…the only things he wasn’t allergic to were 8 things!) he would immediately break out in hives, have to be given Benadryl, covered in topical steroid and it would take about a week to recover. Our life was insane! Hayden could not play outside. He could not be around other kids. He could not go simple places like the grocery store or a city park. He constantly looked like a burn victim. Many, many times a year he had staff infections just from having open wounds all over his body.

Our life was so hard! Seeing my child suffer 24/7 was the most difficult thing I have ever gone through in my life.

And it has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, do have pity on us and help us. And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!

Looking back, that’s really where I was. I definitely prayed God would heal Hayden, but I spent more time trying to figure it out on my own than praying. I was saying I believed God could heal my son, then spending tons of money and unfathomable amounts of time (into the wee hours of the night) doing my own research on the internet. We took him to all sorts of specialists. He went to Texas Children’s. Nothing. They could not figure out what was wrong with him.

On TV, they always figure it out. I can’t tell you what it felt like to look into a doctor’s face and hear him say, “I don’t know what is wrong with your son.” I would just stare at him waiting for him to say, “Just kidding…here’s what you do….”

We were basically told to keep his skin completely covered at all times, keep him indoors, don’t go anywhere…take everything out of his room…keep everything dusted and free of any food whatsoever. So…we did…for three ½ long years.

Then, in October of 2005, they did another round of allergy testing, because although I thought it would be impossible, Hayden was getting worse. Sure enough…tests came back and Hayden was now allergic to four of the eight things he could eat.

I collapsed in the floor and cried on the phone when the allergist called our house. He informed me that he was very worried about Hayden because reacting non-stop was certainly causing long-term damage to his internal organs. To hear my usually low-keyed allergist say, “This is a big deal, Heather” scared me to death. I knew Hayden was going to die because I knew that I was already doing everything humanly possible for my child…and it wasn’t working.

At once the father of the boy gave an eager, piercing, inarticulate cry with tears, and he said, Lord, I believe! Help my weakness of faith!

I began fasting for my son. I had fasted for him before…but for God to heal him. Now I was fasting for God to keep him alive.

After I began fasting, we had testimony time at LH. I remember getting on the stage, not even really aware I was standing there and begging our church to pray for our son. I explained what had happened…I pleaded with them to join me in praying that our family would honor God through Hayden’s sickness…that God would heal him…and that we would trust the Lord. I asked them to pray for me too. I was so tired. I wanted to have JOY while going through this trial. I wanted to serve my child joyfully and patiently.

A few days later, I found out that the Amazing Dr. Bacak's family was visiting LH. He heard what was going on in Hayden's little life and wanted to try and help him. He got all of Hayden’s medical charts sent to his office. Hayden had quite a chart.

I went over to their house that week and literally walked in on Dr. Bacak toiling over Hayden’s medical history. There were papers laid out all over the place!! It looked like a copy machine exploded. People at Living Hope began praying by name for Dr. Bacak. We began asking God to speak to Rusty about Hayden. Dr. Bacak found that in a prior test done on Hayden, there was an amoeba present in his system.

I don’t know all the medical stuff behind his diagnosis…but basically, by seeing that everyone else in our family was completely healthy…and Hayden was NOT…he was the first doctor who looked at the big picture and saw that things were not exactly lining up here. He knew the rest of the family was healthy…had NO food allergies, AND that we had been going to Mexico to visit Aaron’s parents for two weeks, every summer since I was 7 months pregnant with Hayden. If Hayden had an amoeba present from birth, then every symptom Hayden had was symptomatic of having a long-term amoeba.

He treated Hayden with amoeba medicine (sorry Rusty…I bet you are cringing as I butcher the medical parts of this story). He treated the rest of us with it. Then, he tested Hayden’s poo until it came back amoeba free. This was certainly one of Hayden’s favorite experiences in his short life. To this day, he will still shout out at random times… “One time I pooped on a paper plate and my mom put my poop in a cup and then put it in her purse and took it to the hospital.” Oh my goodness…I want to die when he does that…ESPECIALLY the time he shared that bit of information with the check out girl at HEB. Every time we drive by St. Joseph's Hospital, Hayden points out the window and says, "That's where me and mom took my poop."

But when Jesus noticed that a crowd [of people] came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge you to come out of him and never go into him again. And after giving a [hoarse, clamoring, fear-stricken] shriek of anguish and convulsing him terribly, it came out; and the boy lay [pale and motionless] like a corpse, so that many of them said, He is dead.

Before the amoeba treatment, Dr. Bacak told us that he really had a feeling that if this is what it is…if there are this many symptoms from the amoeba then as the medication is breaking it down and getting rid of it, that Hayden would probably break out horribly during the whole process. He was right. Every step of God healing Hayden was a test of our trust in the Lord. We asked people to pray for us to trust Him..then immediately God went to work giving us reasons to do just that.

Hayden broke out so bad on the medication that he had to go on oral steroids. He couldn’t sleep. He had constant stomach issues. He threw up. He had uncontrollable diarrhea. He was MISERABLE for about two weeks. During that time, Aaron and I had SEVERAL conversations that went sort of like this…

“Should we quit the medicine? This is so awful. Hayden is worse than he was before he started seeing Dr. Bacak. We don’t even know this man. What if he’s nuts? Have you seen their house? It's not THAT big. Does that mean he's not rolling in the dough? If there's no dough rolling does that mean he's a crappy doctor? What if he’s killing our son? Should we do this?”

Sorry again, Rusty…just being honest! But every time, God made one of us strong. Sometimes it was me. Usually it was Aaron. One of us would say, “We are finishing this medicine. Hayden’s almost dead anyway. This can’t hurt anything. We’ve got to trust the Lord! This doctor asked US what was going on with Hayden. No other doctor has ever listened to us before, or cared what we thought! We’re going to trust God to move through this man!”

But Jesus took [[n]a strong grip of] his hand and began lifting him up, and he stood.

By March, Hayden’s skin was CLEAR!! He wore shorts. We went places. Finally, on March 27, Rusty saw Hayden in his office and said, “Let’s do something crazy, Heather…let’s feed this boy.” I felt dizzy. He didn’t want Hayden to eat milk or egg because he was still coming back with high, high allergies to those things…but other things he wanted to try.

I asked Hayden this question… “What food have you always wanted to eat?” IMMEDIATELY he said “Seggi.” Translated, that was spaghetti. I made spaghetti that night.

I sent an email out to family and friends at 4 p.m. that day that basically said, “Dr. Bacak said to feed Hayden real dinner tonight. Please pray Hayden doesn’t die. I’ve got an epi pen sitting on the dining room table.” We sang, Happy Spaghetti Day to you, Happy Spaghetti Day to you, Happy Spaghetti Day dear Hayden, Happy Spaghetti Day to you!

Hayden blew out candles. He ate some food. Actually, he ate all his food. I ate with tears running down my face. Then, we all shouted and praised the Lord right in our kitchen for what He had done in Hayden’s body. And we praised God for using Dr. Bacak.

At 7 p.m. I sent out another email to those same people that said, “He’s still alive!” It was one of the best days of my life! We will eat spaghetti on March 27 every single year, as long as we live!

God is good and healed our son.

I had tried everything I knew to do. I spent so much money on internet products, books, and specialists. I checked out of society and did nothing but care for my child in our home. We went nowhere. We did nothing. I prayed. I fasted.

But I remember the day I sat in our bedroom floor and cried my eyes out. I had come to the point where I knew I could do NOTHING for my son. NOTHING. I was at the end of my resources. I was past the point of exhaustion. We were out of money. We had gone through every specialist on the list.

That day I realized that this was how I did everything in my life. I try it first in my own strength. And, because I’m pretty strong…that means it takes a long time to get to the end of me and begin trusting the Lord. That sounds awful…but I’m just being honest.

I’m educated. I care about my children. I was willing to do whatever it took to help Hayden. I looked at his sickness like I do everything…something to overcome and figure out…a challenge…a puzzle. I was about to learn, first-hand, that all my plans, all my accomplishments, everything "awesome" I could do was like junk to the Lord! He's sovereign, and even my best efforts are a joke!

I learned to cook food Hayden could eat. I cooked non-stop. NOTHING he ate could be bought off the shelf at the store. I got over having to be a hermit to keep my son safe. The few times we attempted outings, we'd have to rush Hayden home because he touched food, or grass, or someone was cooking eggs. Really. You would not believe how much socialization and celebrations of any kind revolves around food. When food is the enemy, you can't do a lot of the things other people do, and you realize how messy people are with food (before Hayden, I never noticed that other little kids are constantly caked with food particles of some sort.) Really. Go look at one!

I let go of needing sleep. I let go of feeling like I deserved to sit down and stop cooking or cleaning, or bandaging wounds. I got over thinking I should have time to myself…alone…time where I wasn’t constantly serving my son. I got over the fact that I did not have the luxury of ever doing something as normal as running to Hobby Lobby for something. I tried that twice and both times, my son practically quit breathing in the store.

Now I know that I foolishly thought God was going to heal Hayden by using me to do it. If I just give up enough things, and do this just right, God will heal Hayden. Wrong. God was going to heal Hayden when I gave up and realized God was the only hope for my sweet son. Not me. That day that I sat with my face smashed into our floor, lying in my own tears, it finally dawned on me that I could not save the day. This was not a puzzle. This was not a challenge. This, like every other thing in my life, was an opportunity to trust God to do something spectacular.

It was the most FREEING moment of my life. I realized, I was already doing everything I knew to do and it wasn’t working. I know so much right now about allergies that I’m not even kidding, our previous pediatrician STILL has people call me to ask me questions about caring for their kids with severe allergies. I went from being completely unaware of food allergies, to knowing so much I thought my head would explode. I could tell a whelp from a rash from a mile away on someone. And yet…my son was getting worse.

This whole thing was not about me figuring out some way to help my son. It was about God doing something amazing, and allowing me the great privilege to be a part of what He was about to do. I was about to see a modern day miracle. So I began praying God would heal him and begin teaching me to trust that He actually could do it. If Hayden was going to live, it was going to be all God. I was FINISHED looking for answers on the internet or by sitting in some doctor’s office far away from our home. No more.

Every bit of my energy was going to go into asking God to help…not trying to figure it out all by myself. And sure enough…God brought the Bacaks right to us. God brought healing right to our front door.

Happy Spaghetti Day!

Let's remember today that we serve a big, mighty God who still does big, mighty things. He still heals. He still moves. He still speaks. He still uses people.

And let's remember to tell our kids too!

Deuteronomy 4:9
Only take heed, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your [mind and] heart all the days of your life. Teach them to your children and your children's children.

When The TV is Off

Yesterday, there was such a great response to the post below. Thanks, ladies! YOU make this blog so fun. It would not be the same here without you sharing your life and your creativity with us!

I started to add some ideas in the comment section but realized there were too many, and I wanted to include pictures. So What Would You Do Wednesday's post has turned into What Would You Do Thursday.

First let me say, we don't think TV is bad.

We do let our kids watch it sometimes.

We've just limited it, drastically over the years.

We love getting a movie, all piling on the couches in the living room together and watching a great story.

But, we want to be purposeful in what we're doing, so the guidelines I give myself when it comes to saying "yes" to TV time go something kind of like this...

Is there a purpose in the kids watching TV right now, or is there something more purposeful they could be doing?

Do they need some down time?

Do they need to veg for thirty minutes?

I often let the kids watch educational shows because there's a purpose! They are learning. When the kids ask if they can watch TV, I usually say, "Yes...a learning show."

For kids OVER TWO, here are some of our favorite learning shows: (for kids under two, girl...turn that tv off! Read here.)

The Magic School Bus. I DVR'ed a ton of these one year.

Between the Lions.

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. My older boys love this show, and I've never seen anything better for older kids on TV.

or...

The Letter Factory DVD's. Ashton was four years old and reading chapter books because of the Letter Factory DVDs. I can brag about his reading skills, because I can't take any credit for them. He really did learn to read from the Letter Factory.

How cute is my four year old reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid? I tried to make him read something easier, but he refuses! Thanks Letter Factory!



So not all TV is bad!

I'm going to separate the things we have done with our kids instead of TV into two sections...younger kids and older kids.

Of course, no matter their age, we've played outside, gone to parks, etc. But here are some things we have done in the house, particularly to keep them busy while I'm cooking dinner, or when they need something to do after school is over.

When I say younger kids, I really mean kids who are around 18 months-3. Younger than that, I never hardly tried to cook dinner when they were awake. I cooked dinner during nap time and learned how to make a bunch of crock pot recipes that I'd throw together during their morning nap. I also learned to take my bath/shower at night before bed, because trying to fit that in during the day was too chaotic. Those nap times were priceless to me. When my kids were napping, it was the only time to get the house picked up, laundry folded and dinner made. I hated using one nap to shower, so I started doing that in the evenings.

When your kids are younger than two, especially if they don't have siblings to play with...you're it, mommy! They need YOU and they need constant supervision.

YOUNGER KIDS

Several people in the comment section suggested that you have toys put away to only use at certain times...like when you're trying to cook dinner. We have found this to work so great in our home. Watch for sales on organizational containers, and then get prepared! I think that's the key...having fun toys put away, ready to grab when you need something for your child to do.

I think having a bunch of toys all over your house means no toys get played with. Kids get bored with the mess and the toys. I think it's a great idea to have lots of toys put away, and pulled down just for certain times.

My kids only played with playdough in the kitchen, at the table while I was cooking dinner. That was the only way I didn't mind the mess. Before dinner, I always wiped down the table anyway and after dinner I always swept around the table, so cleaning up the playdough wasn't that big of a deal at dinner time. I highly suggest buying playdough tools. They kept our kids so busy!

Here's the playdough recipe I used when my kids were little...I could make it in bulk, in all different colors, and store it in big yogurt containers.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. oil
about 21 drops of food coloring

Mix in heavy saucepan, water, oil and coloring. Cook over medium heat while stirring. Add flour, salt and cream of tartar. Stir while it cooks. When it makes a ball around the spoon, remove from heat.

For younger kids, I have found that the highchair is the best place to play with playdough and color (with crayons or markers).

I kept Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head in a box for special occasions. Wow. My kids loved this toy! It was a great kitchen toy to play with while I cooked dinner.

I also kept a ziplock bag of all different kinds of magnets up on top of the refrigerator. They could only play with the ones in the ziplock bag while I cooked dinner. You can make such fun magnets for your kids by purchasing sticker books (from Barnes and Nobles) and magnetic sheeting (from Hobby Lobby).


They make animal sticker books, superhero ones, and even alphabet and learning sticker books. I liked buying the ones where the kids could sort of make scenes on the refrigerator. Another thing I have thought about doing is taking one of our sets of bathtub toys that are supposed to stick on the side of the tub, and making them into refrigerator magnets by sticking a piece of magnet on the back of them. I'm talking about these...


The key is, not leaving them out. The fun part for the kids is that they only get to play with them at certain times. Part of the fun for kids around 2 is taking each magnet out of the ziplock bag. Their little chubby hands are so cute taking them out one by one.

My kids also played with stamps when I was cooking dinner.


I have a huge jar of them. You can buy washable stamp pads.

And, never underestimate the power of dominoes.


I have a container of these, and little kids love to sit in the kitchen floor and line them up, then knock them over. They also love how they feel in a bowl when they put their hands inside the bowl and move the dominoes around.

Puzzles are great. Load up on those!

I buy these foam stickers every time they go on sale at Target:

They take the kids a lot of time to use because they have to peel paper off the back. They stick them on paper and make different scenes with them.

Books on tape are also great. You can buy these, check them out at the library...OR...do something like Aaron's mom did for the boys. She recorded herself reading books to the kids. They love these! I love them too, because they can be read to, without me!! We would keep the books on tape in a cabinet in the kitchen, and only use them while I was cooking.

Several people mentioned lacing beads. You can buy these in all sorts of varieties.

Or, you can just do this the old fashioned way and buy the large rigatoni noodles, give your child some string, and there ya go.

For younger kids, great things to do together are play games!

High Ho Cherry-O and Candy Land are super easy. In Candy Land, they don't even have to know their colors, they just have to find the square that matches what is in their hand. But, it's a great game to use to learn colors! In High Ho Cherry-O, all they have to do is know how to count to four maybe?

Shoots and Ladders is another game that's great for little ones.

Never underestimate the fun you can have with Hungry, Hungry Hippos either. Elefun is a great game as well. I've seen $5 off coupons for this game in several places recently.

A big rubbermaid filled with sand or beans is also very fun for kids who won't stick them in their mouths. Add measuring cups and funnels, and you're in business.

Another fun thing to do is to let kids play with water in the kitchen sink while you cook. Just put a little bit in one side, and give them some syringes, measuring cups and those tiny medicine cups to play with. Or, fill the sink up with soapy water and kids will play for a long time with the bubbly water.

This sounds so dumb, but my kids loved to do this...

I would put dots of glue all over a piece of paper. Then, I would give them a bowl of tiny rocks, beans and popcorn kernels. They would sit and stick those objects on the paper.

OLDER KIDS

I would say our favorite books in this house come from the line of books called The Dangerous Book for Boys. There is also a Daring book for girls book as well. Other favorites from these same people are...

Things to Do



Things to Know

You can visit the Dangerous Book for Boys website by clicking here.

We have ordered all these products from Amazon.

My kids will play with these for an hour! After they fill a shape up with beads, you iron them and they stay together.

Block Buddies is a great educational toy. They use the blocks to make the designs they see on the cards.

Books made by the Klutz company are some of our favs. My boys love this paper airplane book and the magic one the best. Klutz makes GREAT things for girls too. Swagbuck them to see all their great products.

Drawing books are also very fun! Ed Emberley's books are our favorites. They are so easy to follow along. Ashton was using these when he was three and drawing incredible pictures! You can check these out at the library too. I bought a couple just to have here all the time, but we check one out every time we go to the library. If you homeschool, don't forget to sign up for Barnes and Noble's 20% off educator's discount. We get a lot of books for very cheap with that discount!


This one would be great for younger kids too. I love Ed Emberley's fingerprint art books. You can stamp young kid's fingers and then the parent can help add eyes, etc. Little kids get such a kick out of these! Older kids have fun doing all of the art by themselves. These really are amazing and so fun.

Remember tracing? Kids love to trace pictures!!



And don't forget about Mad Libs for older kids. This is also fun to do while you're cooking dinner or in the car with older children.

When you cut out TV with older kids, I think one of the best things to replace it with are GAMES. We LOVE playing games with our kids! Our favorite game right now is one Lynsey bought us for Christmas...Quiddler. It's like scrabble with cards. This is not a kid game, but the kids can easily play and it builds such great spelling and vocabulary skills (and dictionary skills). Aaron and I have been known to stay up late, after kids are in bed playing this as well. Look...we've always been dorks, and we probably always will be.




Scrabble is a super game for kids as young as four. As a kindergartner, Hayden's words would only be three letters long, using only short vowel sounds, but so what! And, for Ashton, as long as his words are phonetically correct...he gets to use them!

We also love Birds, Bugs and Beans. This is a GREAT game if you have a broad age range in your home.

Don't forget to teach your kids to play slap jack. Our living room gets VERY crazy over this game!!


These marble run toys are so fun too! We got this for Christmas a few years ago, and it's one of those toys that takes hours to play with.

And look what the Dangerous Book for Boys people are making now...fun kits!



Yes...most of this stuff you have to buy. Invest slowly! Make a list of these things and have it ready when parents/friends/grandparents ask you what to get your kids for Christmas and birthdays.

Let the kids save up to buy these things. We have strict rules about how the boys spend their money. They don't need more junk! Just because it's "their" birthday money, doesn't mean they get to buy whatever they want. It's still our job to parent them in this area as well. We want them to make wise purchases. The boys love buying games, books and puzzles with the money they get from family and friends.

_________________________________________________

Thanks for sharing all your ideas in the post below. Hopefully, we can all be more purposeful in how we use the TV. I hope it's a tool instead of something that's robbing our families of all the good God wants happening in our homes!

If you find these things on sale, let me know! I'll spread the word.

If you have extra ideas, or you use these ideas and your kids like them, come back and tell us!

It will make my heart happy to think of your kids doing things my kids did when they were little. Such SWEET, SWEET memories! Let's cherish these times, mommies!

What Do You Do Wednesday

New to "What do you do Wednesday?"

Here's how it started.

Want to read about other topics we've covered?

Go here!

Kirby and I went on a shopping trip a couple weeks ago.

I love spending time with her, learning her mad shopping skills and just hanging out with my sweet friend who I've watched go from single college girl, to married mommy of two.

In the car, one of the things that came up was the topic of TV.

I've been mentoring Kirby for years, and so it's easy for me to be completely honest with her about the areas in my life that I wish I could "do over."

I've shared this on this blog before, but one of those things I wish I could go back and change is the way I allowed my oldest child to watch TV when he was little.

It was easy to do.

Anson would sit in front of the television for hours and hours without moving.

He loved TV.

I loved TV too, because it was sort of like I had a baby, but could still do everything I used to do before I was a mother.

I was able to work 20 hours a week from home. I did publications for our church and wrote weekly scripts.

My house was spotless.

Dinner was always on the table on time.

I could work on projects.

I could have my friends over.

See why Anson and I loved the TV?

I felt like TV was a win-win situation in my home.

Later, I realized how deceived I was!

My son grew up, and the poor guy...had only been trained, during those early years, to be happy when the TV was going and blowing.

He did not know how to entertain himself apart from a television, or video games.

He did not have any hobbies.

Plain and simple...

If the TV wasn't on, or he wasn't playing a video game on the TV or computer, he was miserable.

I'm not exaggerating.

Miserable.

Fast forward a few years. Hayden and Ashton come along.

They are NOT allowed to watch TV hardly at all.

To this day, those two kids are the most content, easily entertained, creative kids I've ever met in my life.

They play all day long, making up the most amazing games.

They do not need anything to be happy.

They are never bored.

To this day, my heart breaks for Anson. We love our son so much, and constantly apologize for training him, as parents, to love tv and video games too much. That was our fault. We tell him we're sorry for not teaching him, during those early years, about so many other fun, creative, exciting things to enjoy in life.

Slowly, we're helping Anson learn to love things like reading and drawing. BUT...it's a battle...a constant battle.

I've cried many tears over how robbed Anson has been of so many other amazing, purposeful, life giving, life bringing things he could have learned to enjoy as a small kid.

The other day, Aaron mentioned to me that the real problem behind what we allowed in Anson's life early on is that we weren't training him to be a grown up.

I know it's hard to think right now that we're raising grown ups in our home, but we are!

One day, our children will leave our home, and they will take with them all the things we trained them to do.

The way we trained Anson early on was to think that sitting down and watching TV, or playing video games all day was an okay thing to do with his time as a grown up and as a believer.

How jacked up is that? I can't imagine the husband he would have been, or the employee, or the church member! Makes me sick with sorrow thinking about it, but thankful...SO THANKFUL that God graciously taught us this before it was too late.

We've had to reteach Anson the right way.

We've had to work over time to remind him that the reason why he can't sit and watch TV or play video games with all his spare time is that God has SO MANY other things...so many other life giving, life bringing, ETERNAL things that He wants Anson to put on every day and DO for the kingdom of God.

We want to teach our kids that it's okay to enjoy down time every once in a while. Our bodies need that, and as CJ Mahaney says in his book, Humility, rest is one way we live humbly before the Lord, admitting our need for Him, and that we are finite creatures.

BUT...

We are called to live purposeful lives as believers. God has work for us to do, every day...work that reaps eternal rewards. He has GOOD WORKS for His children to do! Anson was missing out on so many good things!

Instead of sitting and watching television, we want to teach our kids about all the good they can be doing that brings true joy as they serve the Lord and others.

Instead of TV, how about writing an encouraging note to one of their teachers, or leaders at church?

How about drawing a picture for a neighbor?

How about playing with a younger sibling, and building that relationship?

How about serving your family by doing some chores around the house?

How about emailing a grandparent and telling them what's going on in your life?

How about practicing (fill in the blank) because God has obviously gifted you in that area?

So much good!

Kirby told me on our trip how much TV Asher watches. First, let me say it wasn't nearly as much as I let Anson watch as a young child...like nowhere NEAR the amount.

But, as her mentor, I told her..."I wouldn't let him do that if I were you."

I honestly wouldn't.

After Anson, our younger children's TV life looks NOTHING like Anson's did.

So, Kirby asked me...

"What are some things you would have them do INSTEAD of watch television?"

I gave her some ideas, and then she said, "You should have this topic be the next What Do you Do Wednesday" post.

So here you go.

The main idea is this...

We want to train our kids as if we're raising children who will leave this house one day.

The training they get from us, should be things they leave here thankful having learned.

Our job is to raise up disciples, in our home, who we have taught to obey everything scripture teaches. What a big job!

Our goal is to teach them how to use their time during the day for kingdom things. We don't want them wasting their lives. There is so much good God wants to use them to do every single day. I'm constantly asking the Lord to show me how to choose life for myself and for my kids. Scripture warns us that the days are evil, and we need to make the most of every opportunity we're given in life to LIVE out all the beautiful things scripture teaches us.

Letting Anson be a TV fiend and zombie was NOT teaching him the fullness of the gospel.

Besides...even secular experts are saying that kids under TWO should NEVER watch TV. Really! Go read this article. If the WORLD is saying these things about TV, in the LEAST, believers should be willing to go to the Lord and ask Him if what's going on with their children and the television is okay with Him or not.

Let me warn you...

When you cut out TV or reduce it drastically, kids get pretty ticked. It's like weening off a druggie. Seriously...it is. TV is a real addiction, like anything else. We won't let kids drink coffee or take drugs, but little ones can be as addicted to tv as any of those other things! Believe me! When we saw how much rehab Anson needed after the TV was taken away, we knew the true extent to which we had harmed our son. He was a junkie in the truest definition of the word. Tears!

Aaron and I had to be prepared to wage war in our home against our son's attitude about the televison. We had to pray a lot...for patience for us, and for Anson's heart.

We also had to sit him down and explain to him, in detail, how we, as parents were failing him, had failed him, and most importantly, how we totally ignored God's Word when it came to how we were teaching him to spend his time.

We had to ask him to forgive us.

We've also told Anson to be praying that God gives him new desires, and that he learns to take pleasure in other activities, and doing "good." Thankfully, Anson is a believer, and the Lord can and will and HAS done a lot of this work in Anson's heart.

With the younger kids, holy cow, I had to learn how to actually parent without the television.

It's a lot more work!

I had to figure out how to make dinner without the tv babysitting my kids.

I had to figure out how to entertain them.

I had to go buy some stuff.

My house immediately got a lot more messy.

That was frustrating.

But...we've seen good fruit from this change.

__________________________________________________________________

So here's what Kirby wants to know...

What things do you do with your kids IN PLACE of television?

What are easy, fun activities for preschoolers?

What do you do with your kids instead of TV if you need to cook dinner, take a shower, or accomplish a task?

What about for older kids?

I'll offer some ideas in the comment section.

Join us there, and please share your answers as well!

________________________________________

Got a What Do You Do topic?

Email me...

hendrickcrew@gmail.com

We'll see if we can get other wives/moms/parents/people to put their heads together and share what they've learned.

________________________________________________

Added later...

If you find this post in the archives, please know there was a post that followed this one with lots more ideas on what to do with your kids when the TV is off.

You can find it here...

Go Sit at Her Feet and Listen!

Carolyn Mahaney wrote more today on the topic below!

I will be hanging on her words...go hang with me!

Aren't words from older, wiser women like treasure! Seriously! They are like GOLD to me!

Good Stuff

Yesterday, on the Girl Talk blog, Carolyn Mahaney wrote such a great post.

God has been speaking to me about this exact subject this past semester, so it was great to hear from an older, wiser woman about what God has been chatting with me about.

Here's what Mrs. Mahaney said...

Mothers are responsible to mold and shape lives; to raise children who, in the words of G.K. Chesterton, “require not so much to be taught anything as everything.”

“I might as well be at the controls of a moon shot,” reflected one mom, “the mission is so grave and vast.” And so it is. The training and discipline of our children in the fear the Lord is an awesome task, demanding of our full attention (see Deut 6:5-9).

That’s why, if there’s one concern I have for this generation of mothers, it is the potential for distraction.

Blogs, facebook, twitter and texting allow moms at home to stay connected with the outside world like never before; the Internet makes it possible for women to contribute skills and gifts to the church and the marketplace, while at home with their children. These are all tremendous blessings, and when used wisely, can bless and serve our families and glorify God.

The Proverbs 31 women, long before the Internet, managed a wide range of tasks for the good of her family and community. (But did you notice what time she woke up each morning?) Depending on a woman’s capacity, gifting, personal discipline, as well as the ages and number of children, there may certainly be room for other things.

But we must be watchful that these “other things” don’t distract us from our primary task of mothering. We must walk carefully through this season, with all its opportunities, and make the best use of our time with our children.

Truth is, we can’t effectively train our children on the side. We can’t discipline them here and there. We can’t teach when we’ve got a free moment. We can’t mother intermittently.

Inconsistent training is ineffective training.

If we are distracted by projects or pleasure, we may miss valuable teaching moments, opportunities to encourage, disobedience that requires discipline, or a chance to show affection. These moments, once lost, are gone forever.

So ladies, may I encourage you, as I do my own daughters, to give training and discipline your first and full attention. Walk carefully, and keep your eyes on the mothering road.

Such wonderful, wise words! I can't wait to hear what she writes today.

I get asked, all the time, "Homeschooling four kids, how do you have time to blog?"

First, let me admit...I have been guilty of spending too much time on the computer. More on that in a minute.

I noticed the computer was getting too much of my attention, and the HS was kind of tugging at my soul over this very topic last December.

Like Mahaney says...the computer can be a GREAT tool for stay at home moms. I realized that like never before when we were without the internet for a month during our move. Not having the internet made my life a lot harder.

As a mom of four who homeschools, I'm extremely thankful that I can be connected with the outside world, and because of internet and email, QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY organize our school events, check in on friends, and keep up with friends and family who live far away.

If I had to call all those people and homeschool, I would just have to let being connected with friends sort of fall by the wayside for a season. I guess that would be fine, and lots of mothers before me have had to do that. I'm just thankful for the internet!

So, back to blogging...

I blog while my kids are working on school.

I know.

That sounds awful.

But REALLY...if you've taught school at all, you know that during each school day there are times of teaching, and times of letting kids work on assigned tasks over the material you just taught.

We do the majority of our school work when Hudson is sleeping...which thankfully is still a whole lot this year! (8-9:30 every morning he's asleep, 11-1 he's asleep some more.) I try to only teach while my baby is napping, or still asleep in the morning. While Hudson is awake, the boys still have plenty of school things they can do on their own, with intermittent help from me.

Before this year, I would teach, then assign some work, and then go do something...like load the dishwasher, or do some laundry.

I was constantly leaving the school room.

I was also noticing that the boys would get distracted, or I would get distracted, and even though we would get everything done for the day that was on my list it would take longer than necessary.

This year, I wanted to learn the discipline of sitting right here, in the school room until the boys are finished with school.

We take short breaks.

If there is an emergency, I leave the room obviously.

But, for the most part, I want to be right here in the same room while they work on an assignment.

I can shush them.

I can say, "Hayden quit drumming on the table, you're driving your brothers crazy."

I am right here if they need to ask a question.

I am also right here the moment they finish so I can check their work immediately, and we can move on.

My computer is in the school room.

I'm sure most teachers in large classrooms assign work for their students, and then have down time as well...however, most teachers have lots of work to do, like grading papers, writing lesson plans, etc.

I don't have papers to grade, and my lesson plans are written during the summer.

So...

I sit here in the silence (or the drumming) and blog during the times my children are busy working, or I reserve books from the library, or fill up our family calendar with events and schedule when to have people over for dinner. I can usually get everything I need to get done on the computer in the mornings while the kids are sitting right here next to me working on school work. Of course, everything I'm doing on the computer is interrupted a thousand times...but hey...my first job is teaching.

We finish school a lot faster when I'm in the school room the entire time.

I could either sit and stare at my kids while they work on an assignment, or be productive myself.

We find it far less creepy if I do some things on the computer.

BUT...

Last December, when the Lord started tugging on my heart about too much computer time, it wasn't over the blog.

I had discovered facebook.

My google reader was also too full.

I was a little too punctual in answering long emails.

I was also constantly hearing little pings on my computer. People would see I was online, and very sweetly want to chat it up on the oh-so-cool google chat.

Those four things had to change. Let me preface this by saying, in NO WAY am I saying this is what the Lord is going to call YOU to do to guard your time. But I want to be honest, and here's what had to change in order to do a better job of keeping God's priorities my priorities in my home.

I quit facebook.

I still have it, but the only time I ever get on it is to email my sister.

I want to stay in touch with people, but I had to admit, knowing what people were doing every five minutes was a little too in touch for a homeschooling mother of four to justify.

I love facebook and am so glad to connect with my sweet friends...some long lost until I joined facebook, BUT right now, I just can't be a facebooker. It's too distracting.

I also set my setting on gmail chat to invisible.

I can't chat with people.

I dumped people off my reader.

I know! How mean!

But, I had to really be wise and purposeful about what I was reading every day.

Some people I need to stay connected to...some people I don't, and the only reason I'm reading their blog is to be nosy, or be "in the know."

I asked the Lord to help me "do the computer" purposefully.

If it's not serving a purpose, it had to go. I'm still asking him that question.

I also had to be purposeful about when to answer long emails. Those of you who have emailed me know...if your email requires a lengthy response, you may have to wait weeks to hear back from me. When I have a long period of time, when I have nothing extremely pressing to do, I'll sit and answer those emails.

All that to say...I'm still asking the Lord to search my heart. I don't want any spots where I'm not allowing Him access, or heading His warnings, or caring about His opinions.

Mothering is a full time job.

Most of the time, women with very little children are the ones asking me how I can blog.

I have to be honest and tell them that when my kids were their age...I don't know if I could have...at least not regularly or consistently.

I didn't have a blog during the times when my babies were little and needing 24/7 training and discipline.

I spent my days disciplining my kids, keeping them from killing themselves and each other and training them to obey me.

Praise the Lord, (besides Hudson, who obviously is a little too young for discipline) my youngest child is five, and I am reaping sweet rewards for staying on their little, cute behinds when they were younger. They play well together. Those intense times of discipline no longer exist...now it's more about communicating, talking and training them with scripture, reminding them of when they fall short, about forgiveness, and our need for the Lord...and encouraging them for all the fruit I see God growing in them. I'm not saying their training days are over, but there is no denying...my life with a 9 year old, a six year old and a five year old looks way different than it did when they were 5, 2 and 1.

I'm sure things will begin to change soon around here as I once again, for the first time in many years, have a small child who needs constant supervision and discipline. But that's okay! The computer can not compare to the all the good I will reap as a mom by making discipline, love, training and encouragement more important than time at the computer. I can look at my older kids and be reminded that God is faithful! As a young mother, constantly worn out and weary by trying to consistently train my small kids, I knew that God said in His Word that disciplined kids are a joy to their parents, but I never could have imagined the richness of what God was saying. For those of you in that season, trust God's Word! One day you will be in awe of how much of a joy your kids are to you. Their obedience will be a sweet blessing and constant encouragement in your life! All the work you're doing right now will be SO WORTH it!!

I guess what I'm saying is, there are seasons for everything.

All seasons are different.

I think we each have to ask the Lord during every season, what things are distracting us from our main job...loving, teaching, training and disciplining our kids, and serving and loving our husbands.

There are some seasons where I could not have had a hobby...at all...no way and done those things well.

I'm asking the Lord to help me live purposefully, even when it comes to the computer.

For now, I can still blog and do what the Lord has called me to in my home.

But a lot of other computer stuff had to go.

On the flip side, I think it's easier to just say, "To heck with it...I'm throwing my computer out the door."

I think it's harder, but FAR MORE REWARDING, to ask the Lord to search our hearts, to teach us discipline and self control.

Maybe some computers need to go.

Or maybe other measures need to be taken...

But I hope we heed what Mrs. Mahaney is saying, and ask the Lord to help us MAKE SURE and do what ever needs to be done to ensure that the computer, texting, keeping up with friends, chatting, facebooking, blogging etc. is never distracting us from doing what God commands us to do as wives and mothers.

While a good thing, what's done on the computer, for the most part, has no eternal value.

What's done in our homes has eternal value every single day.

Psalm 119:37
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.

_______________________________________________________

So here's where you come in:

First, please know this post isn't meant to judge anyone. I of all people know what that feels like. Sometimes, people ask how I can blog and homeschool...and they mean it. Some people say it in that way that really means, "I bet you let your kids walk around wearing dirty underwear. I bet they are dumb dirty kids because you sit at your computer instead of teaching them every day, and you probably never have dinner on the table at night because you blog."

How stupid.

I'm not judging anyone.

If you facebook, don't feel guilty because of me. I could not be more serious!

BUT, if this is where other people are struggling, then I thought it would be great to hear how the Lord has had YOU become disciplined in this area.

How are you making sure that the computer doesn't become a distraction in your home?

I'm excited to hear from you and learn!

The Circus is Coming!!

Who can resist a circus?

Not me!

I love the circus.

All those sparkly clothes and elephants that mind people...woo-who! Let's go!

The Ringling Bros. Circus will be here, in our town April 9-11.

Here's the coolest part...

I went to the library with the kids today and you can get FREE kids tickets if you read five books to your kids (or in my case, they read five books to me).

So here's my plan:

We got our punch card today.

I also got the kids five books to read to me.

You can start reading to your kids (or they can start reading to you) TODAY, even before you get your punch card.

THIS THURSDAY (March 26) we are going to get our card stamped for all the books the boys read.

Then

THIS FRIDAY (March 27) I am going to go to Reed Arena to turn in the punch cards, get the free tickets and buy tickets for the grown ups.

We are going to go to the Thursday, April 9 performance because (a.) there is no school for public school peeps on Friday and (b.) the adult tickets for Thursday night are only $15 each, and on Friday night they are $25 each.

Here's where you come in...

If your kids know my kids, they would LOVE for you to sit with us! But that means we all have to go together to buy our tickets so we get seats together.

If you want to go with us on Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. to the circus, then meet me at Reed Arena at 4:00 p.m. THIS FRIDAY to buy your tickets. I want to do it ASAP. I called Reed Arena and they said right now there are still whole sections available on Thursday night. I don't know how long that will last though! I asked the girl if the free tickets were for the crappy seats and she told me where the free ticket seats are. I looked it up online, and it's the same level where we always sit when we go. That's super.

So go get your books, your punch card and let's go to the circus! How fun! Since we've had kids, I don't think the Hendricks have ever missed a Ringling Bros. Circus in this town. They really are incredible!

Remember...the next day (Friday, April 10) is the Dangerous Boys Event at Yonder Way Farm. What a fun weekend!

Another place to shop

Meg mentioned another great modest swimsuit company....

Check out Shade Clothing!

I'm in Love

Long story short, here's where I am.

I want to honor the Lord with my clothing.

The road to modesty has been a long, hard, often times ugly journey for me.

Lots of irritation, justifying my need to look cute, or to be comfortable over loving my brothers in Christ...and lots of looking for the loop holes.

You know...

The loop holes.

My shorts are long enough usually...

But what about at the gym?

What about when I run?

Surely it's okay to show a lot of leg then, right?

Surely me being hot and comfy trumps the clear teaching in scripture for women to dress modestly...right? please? pretty please?

What about when I'm at the swimming pool?

Then it's okay to wear a bra and panties in front of a bunch of men, right?

Men aren't turned on by women in their bras and panties...I tried really hard to live in that land of la-la.

Surely it's okay to show a little of "the girls" at the pool, right? maybe?

It's the pool. I'm swimming.

Or

It's the road. I'm running.

As if a verb and a location suddenly makes everything scripture says obsolete.

What is wrong with me?

So I have this inner dialogue, that goes something like this...

Why?

Why Heather are you such a sleuth at finding the loop holes?

Why does this really matter to you so much?

Why do you need to show a lot of skin?

Why don't you just be honest with yourself about your motives?

Why don't you just admit that maybe...holy cow...maybe something inside you....something in your soul won't let you "be" when you're pushing the line and flirting with darkness. Maybe that's the Holy Spirit whispering, "choose life...choose life." Maybe Heather...you should listen.

Something in me grabs a hold of my heart and squeezes it.

I feel it.

I know.

And yet I fight and I fight.

Why?

Why over this one area?

Why do I put up my dukes and plant my feet firmly in the ground like I'm about to engage in body combat...over something as silly as clothing?

Why do I forget that God is good, and EVERYTHING He does and wants is for my good and for His glory...two perfectly wonderful things.

The dukes are coming down, slowly.

I'm learning...SLOWLY...when it comes to clothing...

To consider other people more important than myself (Phil. 2). Somehow, God wants to take this selfish woman and teach me how to consider other people. What work He has cut out for Him!

I'm learning to not only think of my own needs (comfort, looking oh-so-cute) but to also consider the needs of others (to not have to divert their eyes, or fall into sin at the swimming pool). (Phil 2)

I'm learning to pursue purity, instead of constantly seeking the "line."

I'm learning that being at the pool, ready to encourage my friends, meet new women, and love on my kids is more important than sitting at the pool thinking about myself, my body and what others are thinking about my body.

I'm learning to love the thought of being free from focusing on me so much.

I'm learning to obey the Lord, caring LESS about looking beautiful on the outside (and often times skanky) and instead, growing in godliness and good deeds.

1 Timothy 2:9-10
And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.

Did I mention I'm learning this slowly?

So that's where I am...and that brings us here:

Swimsuits.

Did everyone groan?

Once you get past the groaning because you hate thinking of standing in a dressing room, with surround sound mirrors while wearing a swimsuit while you're NOT tan at all, even a little...then you have to move on and groan over not being able to find a swimsuit that isn't too revealing.

Double groan.

side note: Why oh why do the dressing rooms have to be so well lit?

For the past two years, I've had the hardest time finding a modest swimsuit.

I need modesty AND my suit needs to stay put.

LONG gone are the days when I could lounge by the pool.

Are you kidding?

4 kids = NO lounging

I'm constantly jumping up, bending over, saving someone's life, or jogging around the pool to "have a word" with one of my sons who is giving the life guard an ulcer.

See...I need modesty AND my suit super glued to my body.

What a quandary.

What's a girl to do?

Here's what you do....

Liz Amy posted about this great company, Lime Ricki on her blog.

It's fabulous. These swimsuits are adorable AND cover you up! Who knew!

This website is so fabulous, I didn't want to tell you about it.

There aren't that many swim suits on the site, and I didn't want one of the 9,000 stay at home moms in my community who go to the pool together every day in the summer to buy the same suit I bought.

How selfish of me.

I got over myself (slightly) and decided to share this great find!

I say slightly, because I'm posting a picture of the suit I bought so that you don't buy it too if you're planning on living at the pool with me this summer.

That's the one I'm getting up there...so hands off.

I also got the cutest black skirt to wear over it...as in, I will never take it off in public.

Also...

I found this great coupon code you can type in when you order to get 10% off your purchase.

Type in this promo code...

onmyperch

Another GREAT place to buy modest swimsuits is Lands End.

They have a huge overstock section where the suits are so cheap!

You can browse around by clicking here.

I really can't wait to get my swimsuit in the mail.

No more driving all over town.

I can try it on at sundown in my bedroom.

And, most importantly...

I can be on the other side of town from "the line."

My soul breathes easy.

_________________________________________________________________

Know of any other great places to buy modest swimwear? Please share them!

And...

For all the ladies heading to the pools around these parts, if you buy one of the Lime Ricki suits, you can leave a comment telling people the name of the one you bought...so maybe, you will be the only one at the pool wearing YOUR suit!

Day Three of Awesomeness

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Day three turned out to be so awesome all I wanted to do when I got home was watch David Letterman...NOT post pictures.

My arms were so sore I couldn't hold them in the typing position.

My legs are so sore I'm not really sitting...it's more like I'm landing on chairs and couches.

When you're this sore, you become incredibly aware of how many times you have to use the potty.

Is it wrong to limit your fluids so that you don't have to go as often?

I'm not sure.

Is anyone else sore?

Is anyone else now very aware why children are the only ones who play these games?

Hopefully my body will make it to day four of awesomeness.

I'm going to go easy on the awesome this evening.

Day Two of Awesomeness

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You know how you always think other people's lives are way cooler than yours?

Well...

When I imagine a California person's life, I always think they live like we live during Spring Break...every single day of their life.

If you live in California, then in my imagination, you don't have a job...you just play outside all the time.

This week, I feel like my imaginary California person.

Tonight was perfect.

BEAUTIFUL weather

(If you read this blog, and you're not from Texas...you saw RIGHT. Last night, we were bundled up around a fire wearing sweat shirts and hats. Tonight, our kids were wearing shorts and tank tops.)

Our team won.

A child fell into the nasty pond where we were fishing.

And Aaron made a little boy bleed.

See...

Spring Break perfection.

Aaron feels really bad. I'm going to count how many times he says, "I feel so bad for what I did to Grady."

Sweet husband.

Long live Spring Break Week O Awesomeness.

Day One of Awesomeness

Tonight we kicked off our week-o-fun.

The Spring Break-uh-puh-looza.

First, a herd of us headed to Jason's Deli.

Yum.

Then we bundled up and went to the park, started a fire, roasted marshmallows and made Smores.

I walked into Jason's Deli tonight, saw a bunch of familiar faces, and literally thought to myself...

"I love these precious people."

We're looking forward to spending a solid week with some of our favorite peeps on earth.

If you're in town this week and want to come play, email me and I'll send you the details! We're doing something fun every night.

Pictures from tonight....

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Oh Brother!

I've finally learned...

Whenever I hear the older boys laughing, and then that laughter is followed by....

"Mom, come look at Hudson," I should probably bring the camera.

Poor baby brother!

With three older brothers, Hudson's life
is going to be interesting!

Hey LH Females

I'm a chicken.

I hate staying at home by myself over night.

I know...I'm old. I should grow up.

But...I hate it.

When Aaron would leave for Spring Break, I would not sleep for an entire week.

Brilliant, huh?

I HATE thinking that any of you will be sleep deprived during Spring Break!

So I was thinking...maybe there are females from LH (or New Life...or LH Bryan) who are going to have to be here, alone during Spring Break. Maybe you are a single girl, and all your roommates are leaving. Maybe you're a mom and would love a college girl to crash with you while your husband is gone.

Email me.

I want to help connect you, and help you sleep next week!

The only thing more silly than being afraid of spending the night by yourself, is having two people, not sleeping because they didn't know someone else was out there not sleeping too.

Yes...Sit a Spell has now turned into an online matchmaking site.

So what.