dear emily,
i have been thinking about the fun Christmas traditions we enjoyed with our kids. the first craft was to make red and green paper chains with 25 links. each day the kids would take turns cutting off one link to show how close we were to Christmas day. we decorated yummy Christmas cookies and gingerbread men and assembled gingerbread houses that were loaded with every kind of candy imaginable.
my aunt fern started me a collection of Christmas books that we treasure. some of the loveliest tales ever written are Christmas stories. i especially love one about a lonely young bride who makes a Christmas dinner for her family and the farm hands. it paints a moving picture of selfless love, simplicity, and gratitude.
as an act of rebellion, i play Christmas music on halloween and throughout the season. it makes me happy that at Christmas i can hear Jesus' name lifted up in all the places He is no longer allowed! i have stood in endless grocery store lines humming along to "do you hear what i hear? and o holy night." that only happens at Christmas. my kids think i am nutty about Christmas music.
when the children were really little, they enacted the Christmas story. isaac was joseph, shelby played mary, max was the donkey, sunday and hailey traded between being sheep, shepherds, angels, or the inn keeper. we also memorized luke 2 and recited it each year. the little ones inevitably said, "when quirinius was the governor of cereal." i didn't have the heart to correct them, because it was just so sweet.
merry Christmas,
lea
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
psalms 100
dear emily,
'make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.'
nobody does this better than children. while your hands are greasy from stuffing the turkey, you can bet
there will be a very loud noise erupt from the farthest corner of your house.
'serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.'
in assigning chores for the thanksgiving feast, remind the little noisemakers that servants are the heroes in the Kingdom.
'know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of his pasture.
enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name.'
we used to share what we were thankful for before eating the thanksgiving meal. if someone was a little nervous speaking in front of our huge extended family, i would read it for him. i think someone said,
'halloween candy' one year.
'for the Lord is good: His mercy is everlasting: and His truth endureth to all generations.'
amen!
happy thanksgiving,
lea
'make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.'
nobody does this better than children. while your hands are greasy from stuffing the turkey, you can bet
there will be a very loud noise erupt from the farthest corner of your house.
'serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.'
in assigning chores for the thanksgiving feast, remind the little noisemakers that servants are the heroes in the Kingdom.
'know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of his pasture.
enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name.'
we used to share what we were thankful for before eating the thanksgiving meal. if someone was a little nervous speaking in front of our huge extended family, i would read it for him. i think someone said,
'halloween candy' one year.
'for the Lord is good: His mercy is everlasting: and His truth endureth to all generations.'
amen!
happy thanksgiving,
lea
Thursday, November 19, 2009
dear emily,
i awoke in the middle of the night, thinking, "i really need to alert emily about teenagers!" even though you still have six or seven years until that time, it will help you to keep this in your cap until then.
many of our friends parented with the goal of helping their kids to make only good decisions, which is a fine aspiration. unfortunately, it is like wishing for an ocean and beach to miraculously appear in your backyard!
it is inherent for teens to make foolish and dangerous choices, because they think they are indestructible.
if you can accept this now, you will parent it better then. when they slip up, try to encourage yourself with the truth that they rarely do it to hurt you. we know this is true, because, honestly they don't think about their parents often. :)
another comforting reality is that while they are still at home, they have you to pull them up by their bootstraps, love them, forgive them, and correct them. every poor choice and consequence will hopefully inoculate them from repetition after they leave home.
your gracious yet firm response will, more importantly, rebuild their fragile egos with your unconditional love.
pray psalm 91 over them each day and trust that the One who holds them in the palm of His hand
will keep them from serious harm.
love,
lea
i awoke in the middle of the night, thinking, "i really need to alert emily about teenagers!" even though you still have six or seven years until that time, it will help you to keep this in your cap until then.
many of our friends parented with the goal of helping their kids to make only good decisions, which is a fine aspiration. unfortunately, it is like wishing for an ocean and beach to miraculously appear in your backyard!
it is inherent for teens to make foolish and dangerous choices, because they think they are indestructible.
if you can accept this now, you will parent it better then. when they slip up, try to encourage yourself with the truth that they rarely do it to hurt you. we know this is true, because, honestly they don't think about their parents often. :)
another comforting reality is that while they are still at home, they have you to pull them up by their bootstraps, love them, forgive them, and correct them. every poor choice and consequence will hopefully inoculate them from repetition after they leave home.
your gracious yet firm response will, more importantly, rebuild their fragile egos with your unconditional love.
pray psalm 91 over them each day and trust that the One who holds them in the palm of His hand
will keep them from serious harm.
love,
lea
peanut gallery comments, please!
dear emily,
hans said that i should open this up for other moms to post advice, and i think that is a great idea! i was a little worried about 'weird' postings, but after reviewing some of mine think they would fit right in...
then my friend, yleana, told me that she wasn't able to comment on my letters. after checking, i discovered that i had inadvertently pushed a button to not allow comments! this is basically how i raised my kids..."no comments from children, please." :)
so, if you or your friends remember wonderful...or terrible things your moms did, just push the comment button and enlighten us!
love,
lea
ps. happy thanksgiving to your little turkeys!
hans said that i should open this up for other moms to post advice, and i think that is a great idea! i was a little worried about 'weird' postings, but after reviewing some of mine think they would fit right in...
then my friend, yleana, told me that she wasn't able to comment on my letters. after checking, i discovered that i had inadvertently pushed a button to not allow comments! this is basically how i raised my kids..."no comments from children, please." :)
so, if you or your friends remember wonderful...or terrible things your moms did, just push the comment button and enlighten us!
love,
lea
ps. happy thanksgiving to your little turkeys!
pss...
"my mom made us verbalize the bad stuff we did or said and also tell her our motivation. sorry was not good enough. lesson: own what you have done before moving on." -jordania
"independent moms can sure create dependent children...we tend to jump in faster...and what does
this child learn? to keep coming to me...and to question her own judgment!" -lael
"independent moms can sure create dependent children...we tend to jump in faster...and what does
this child learn? to keep coming to me...and to question her own judgment!" -lael
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
ps...
i recruited some help from wise women:
"take their door off the hinges to show them who the house belongs to!" -becky and tamra
"don't always bail them out of every fix." -laura
"take their door off the hinges to show them who the house belongs to!" -becky and tamra
"don't always bail them out of every fix." -laura
Friday, November 13, 2009
nine lives
dear emily,
i bet you miss your biology classes some days when you spend your time, instead, changing diapers and wiping runny noses. let not your heart be troubled, because you will have many adventures after your sweet babies have left the nest.
let me encourage you with some stories about my grandmother. if the proverbial cat has nine lives, then she had at least that many!
in her first life, her family came to oklahoma in a covered wagon to be missionaries to the indians.
her second life brought marriage and her third, eight children!
her fourth life brought her widowhood, as her husband and oldest child were murdered in her kitchen...
a devastating heartbreak still.
was her life over? absolutely not!
instead, she had a fifth life in raising those seven children not only to keep up the family farm, but also to excel in school.
her sixth life took her to the campus of northwestern university, where she was the dorm mom (my dad had to live his senior year in a tiny dorm room with her.) this provided the tuition waiver for her oldest kids to attend college. after all seven children graduated from college, three attended medical school and one, law school.
the impoverished med and law students passed her '57 chevy between them until it journeyed to my cousin lane. she painted it pink, named it 'talulah', and then sent it to me for my 16th birthday!
are you keeping up?
ok, now grandma was in her fifties and retiring to the rocking chair...no way! in her seventh life SHE went to college and became the best first grade teacher ever! i was old enough by then to visit her class.
her eighth life took her to seminary and ordination as a methodist minister at the young age of 65. she had a little church in manter, kansas for many years, which i was happy to attend.
in her late seventies, she did finally retire...to become the secretary to the ORU chaplain and to disciple young ORU married students in her tiny cottage. one of my best friends, anna mae, was in that blessed group. that makes nine!
in her tenth life, she traveled all around the world, taking me to israel when she was 84!!!
take that, kitty kitty!
i bet you miss your biology classes some days when you spend your time, instead, changing diapers and wiping runny noses. let not your heart be troubled, because you will have many adventures after your sweet babies have left the nest.
let me encourage you with some stories about my grandmother. if the proverbial cat has nine lives, then she had at least that many!
in her first life, her family came to oklahoma in a covered wagon to be missionaries to the indians.
her second life brought marriage and her third, eight children!
her fourth life brought her widowhood, as her husband and oldest child were murdered in her kitchen...
a devastating heartbreak still.
was her life over? absolutely not!
instead, she had a fifth life in raising those seven children not only to keep up the family farm, but also to excel in school.
her sixth life took her to the campus of northwestern university, where she was the dorm mom (my dad had to live his senior year in a tiny dorm room with her.) this provided the tuition waiver for her oldest kids to attend college. after all seven children graduated from college, three attended medical school and one, law school.
the impoverished med and law students passed her '57 chevy between them until it journeyed to my cousin lane. she painted it pink, named it 'talulah', and then sent it to me for my 16th birthday!
are you keeping up?
ok, now grandma was in her fifties and retiring to the rocking chair...no way! in her seventh life SHE went to college and became the best first grade teacher ever! i was old enough by then to visit her class.
her eighth life took her to seminary and ordination as a methodist minister at the young age of 65. she had a little church in manter, kansas for many years, which i was happy to attend.
in her late seventies, she did finally retire...to become the secretary to the ORU chaplain and to disciple young ORU married students in her tiny cottage. one of my best friends, anna mae, was in that blessed group. that makes nine!
in her tenth life, she traveled all around the world, taking me to israel when she was 84!!!
take that, kitty kitty!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)