I was at my building blocks class this Thursday, listening to our teacher teach us about parenting toddlers, our own little diamonds in the rough. She talked about:
1. discipline as training
2. being self-controlled
3. guarding your own heart, not just the heart of your child.
The last one really seemed to sink in today. Sometimes I am so concerned about the hearts of my children that I fail to see how my own heart affects them. That is, until I am completely frustrated, and God gently reminds me. Like today. The teacher talked about the importance of scripture and devotional time with God, which seemed to hit me like a brick. If there’s anything I don’t have a true abundance of, it is TIME. However, if I am not taking the time to put God’s word into myself, how do I expect it to come out of myself and influence these four beautiful little minds-in-the making? I have to have God’s word going in…not just good teaching from great Christians, not just good books, but the powerful God-breathed scripture. I am really taking this to heart. I have to have God’s word going in …in order to have it coming out…it seems rather obvious, doesn’t it? Thank you Lord, for always pointing out the obvious to me. So let me encourage you – put the word of God in and you will notice it coming out.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Things kids say
Things kids say:
Ryan and I went away and the kids were with friends. I had sent some casserole along. When I asked Sarah what she had for dinner, she said, “We had that same thing you make Mom, but they called it a new name. They called it LEF TOVERS.”
Lucas wanted to help peel potatoes. In lieu of handling a knife, I had him pull all the potatoes out of the bag and put them out on the counter to hand to me. He seemed pleased and I decided to take a moment to teach basic math concepts. We used his “counting finger” to touch four potatoes, one, two, three, four. “Now, when mama takes this one away, you have three left.” “No, mama, I need one, two, three, four!”
“Mama needs these for dinner. Do you understand?” I proceeded to begin to peel potato #4. He just looked at me with sad eyes, “But mama, they were friends.”
There’s a song we sing called “singing makes the work go by, work go by, work go by, singing makes the work go by, when you’re singing.” I instructed Tim and Sarah to pick up their blocks and I heard them laughing and singing. Only instead of the lyrics I expected, I heard, “Working makes the sing go by…” they couldn’t get any farther than this in the song because they kept dissolving into giggles together.
Mark and Sarah were making magnet creations while I took their pictures. When I stopped to make my own creation, Mark handed me my camera and said, “Take a cheese of me, Mom, take a cheese.”
Science with six year olds. How would you answer this one? “Mom, is jelly a solid or a liquid?”
Ryan and I went away and the kids were with friends. I had sent some casserole along. When I asked Sarah what she had for dinner, she said, “We had that same thing you make Mom, but they called it a new name. They called it LEF TOVERS.”
Lucas wanted to help peel potatoes. In lieu of handling a knife, I had him pull all the potatoes out of the bag and put them out on the counter to hand to me. He seemed pleased and I decided to take a moment to teach basic math concepts. We used his “counting finger” to touch four potatoes, one, two, three, four. “Now, when mama takes this one away, you have three left.” “No, mama, I need one, two, three, four!”
“Mama needs these for dinner. Do you understand?” I proceeded to begin to peel potato #4. He just looked at me with sad eyes, “But mama, they were friends.”
There’s a song we sing called “singing makes the work go by, work go by, work go by, singing makes the work go by, when you’re singing.” I instructed Tim and Sarah to pick up their blocks and I heard them laughing and singing. Only instead of the lyrics I expected, I heard, “Working makes the sing go by…” they couldn’t get any farther than this in the song because they kept dissolving into giggles together.
Mark and Sarah were making magnet creations while I took their pictures. When I stopped to make my own creation, Mark handed me my camera and said, “Take a cheese of me, Mom, take a cheese.”
Science with six year olds. How would you answer this one? “Mom, is jelly a solid or a liquid?”
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
A Blue Day
Are you wondering why my hands are blue? Oh, you can’t see my hands, can you?
Well, my hands, especially my fingertips are a great shade of bruise blue. That dark, purply color. The poison control center said it might take three days to wear off. Try baby oil, but it will probably be there for three days. Yes, I did say poison control center. Yes, this is about the twins. You see, their hands are blue, too, and Mark’s lips, tongue, and mouth are also blue. I see your raised eyebrows. I sense your concern. Let me enlighten you.
I have been fighting a never-ending cough, a real nasty one. It has descended into my lungs and made itself at home. Very painful. I have sought medical attention and I am hopefully on the way to recovery, but I digress.. (You want to know about the blue, right? Keep reading.)
Since it hurts when I move or speak, I am trying to avoid those activities. This makes home-schooling and parenting a tad difficult, so I actually let the troops watch TV this morning. That Curious George is cute. The TV is in Ry and I’s room and sits on my craft desk (I haven’t ‘crafted’ since before the twins were born) so it’s a great place for the TV. However, the drawers still contain craft supplies. I thought I had secured these items, but I underestimated the abilities of my sons. I was mistaken….
Tim came bounding down the stairs, “The boys have something. I don’t know what it is, but it looks messy and Mark is eating it.” The bathrobed woman sprang into action as if her lungs were perfect, bounded up the stairs and soon discovered several open squirt bottles of craft ink, and two very blue boys. Did you know you can’t raise your voice when your lungs are unhappy?
The hardest part was keeping them from touching anything while I brought them downstairs to wash them up.
The good news: They didn’t “paint” anything. There’s only some ink on the carpet. The rest was on a plastic tote and was relatively easy to clean. No one had squirted it into anyone’s eyes. Only one twin ingested it. The ink is acid-free and non-toxic. Poison Control was helpful and even said, “I hope your day gets better.” How sweet.
And so another morning draws to a close at the Westphal home…
Well, my hands, especially my fingertips are a great shade of bruise blue. That dark, purply color. The poison control center said it might take three days to wear off. Try baby oil, but it will probably be there for three days. Yes, I did say poison control center. Yes, this is about the twins. You see, their hands are blue, too, and Mark’s lips, tongue, and mouth are also blue. I see your raised eyebrows. I sense your concern. Let me enlighten you.
I have been fighting a never-ending cough, a real nasty one. It has descended into my lungs and made itself at home. Very painful. I have sought medical attention and I am hopefully on the way to recovery, but I digress.. (You want to know about the blue, right? Keep reading.)
Since it hurts when I move or speak, I am trying to avoid those activities. This makes home-schooling and parenting a tad difficult, so I actually let the troops watch TV this morning. That Curious George is cute. The TV is in Ry and I’s room and sits on my craft desk (I haven’t ‘crafted’ since before the twins were born) so it’s a great place for the TV. However, the drawers still contain craft supplies. I thought I had secured these items, but I underestimated the abilities of my sons. I was mistaken….
Tim came bounding down the stairs, “The boys have something. I don’t know what it is, but it looks messy and Mark is eating it.” The bathrobed woman sprang into action as if her lungs were perfect, bounded up the stairs and soon discovered several open squirt bottles of craft ink, and two very blue boys. Did you know you can’t raise your voice when your lungs are unhappy?
The hardest part was keeping them from touching anything while I brought them downstairs to wash them up.
The good news: They didn’t “paint” anything. There’s only some ink on the carpet. The rest was on a plastic tote and was relatively easy to clean. No one had squirted it into anyone’s eyes. Only one twin ingested it. The ink is acid-free and non-toxic. Poison Control was helpful and even said, “I hope your day gets better.” How sweet.
And so another morning draws to a close at the Westphal home…
Thursday, January 3, 2008
January 8, 2008
Do you remember how we put up a bird feeder so we could make a “habitat” for birds? We did this so that we could see what birds would come. We ended up with the brown furry type of bird. Yep, a squirrel. (See September 25, 2007 blog entry).
Next, we tried an experiment. We taped a sign to the bird feeder that stated “NO SQUIRRELS”. We were trying to see if squirrels could read. Well, George (the big squirrel) could not read, so he called on his brother, Phil. Phil could read. When they learned what the sign said, they both decided they were simply large chipmunks, and the sign did not apply to them.
Well, the weather grew colder, and we weren’t quite as diligent about getting the birdfeeder filled as we had been in the past. Today I walked across the back porch to see these strange blue bits. What could they be?
Yes, they were bits of the birdseed container lid. George and Phil had been gnawing on the lid! The birdseed container is clearly marked “Birdseed”, and yet further proves our hypothesis. Yes, squirrels can read!
Do you remember how we put up a bird feeder so we could make a “habitat” for birds? We did this so that we could see what birds would come. We ended up with the brown furry type of bird. Yep, a squirrel. (See September 25, 2007 blog entry).
Next, we tried an experiment. We taped a sign to the bird feeder that stated “NO SQUIRRELS”. We were trying to see if squirrels could read. Well, George (the big squirrel) could not read, so he called on his brother, Phil. Phil could read. When they learned what the sign said, they both decided they were simply large chipmunks, and the sign did not apply to them.
Well, the weather grew colder, and we weren’t quite as diligent about getting the birdfeeder filled as we had been in the past. Today I walked across the back porch to see these strange blue bits. What could they be?
Yes, they were bits of the birdseed container lid. George and Phil had been gnawing on the lid! The birdseed container is clearly marked “Birdseed”, and yet further proves our hypothesis. Yes, squirrels can read!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Merry CHRISTmas
Welcome to the 15th Annual Westphal Christmas letter
Merry Christmas one and all. When we last left our heroes, the Westphals, they were struggling with the demands of the young family. ( I do like the word “young”). This year still finds them there. Twin two-year olds has been more work than imaginable, but lots of joy too.
In February, Mark and Luke turned two. They are continuously talking, running, discovering, and playing. They rarely stop moving, but they do like books and they love to “help” with anything. They are at last potty-trained (Cue: Hallelujah chorus). For the first time in six years, there are no diapers at my house.
In April, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP). Yes, this is my dad’s eye disease, and no, I am not going all the way blind. However, it has added a few things to think about and limited the night-time driving. My life is getting a little fuzzier. So if I don’t recognize you in a crowd, just come a little closer and wave.
In June, Sarah turned four. My little blue-eyed wonder loves to color, run, and have “tea parties” where she pretends to be a grown up. She tilts her head and tells me the adventures of her four children. It’s quite eye-opening.
In September, my little red head turned six. Timothy plays games, loves numbers and soccer, and likes to tell stories. We are home educating (this is the new buzzword for homeschooling). We get to play games and read books all day long. Don’t worry, we also do writing, math and science. Tim has started reading small books, and I am so excited I have to be careful not to overwhelm him with the eight parts of speech just yet. Maybe next year. Tim is a big help to me.
Ryan is still working at Automatrics. He enjoys his work and values those customer and vendor relationships that lead to mutual benefits at the best price. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Seriously, Ryan is good at what he does and grateful that God is providing for our growing family. It can be difficult to juggle work, family, church, time with wife, and fixing various things around the house, and Ryan does a great job. He likes to take the kids on trips to the store or the YMCA, or over to the coffeehouse to play games.
That’s it. The idyllic, peaceful life of the Westphals….okay, not exactly.. We are not only grateful to God for being with us, but we also love the life of walking with Jesus every day. Having that personal relationship with Jesus is the best commitment Ryan or I have ever made, and that relationship has shaped all of our decisions in the past and will continue to shape them in the future. I would encourage you all to seek Jesus this Christmas season and discover a life-changing savior.
Merry Christmas Everyone. See you next year.
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