great books

dear emily,

are you still reading "little house on the prairie" to the kids?
i remember a blizzard so terrible that pa stretched a rope
between the house and the barn to not get lost.  that might
be from the "long, hard winter," though.

hans and i were discussing that of all the gifts we have given
our children, the love for reading would be at the top of the
list.  we cuddled their tiny bodies in our arms, reading them
nursery rhymes and bible stories.

as they grew older, they giggled at the antics of "hank, the
cowdog" and "the big friendly giant", better known as the
"BFG."  they shuddered at the perils of bilbo baggins and
cried when beth died from "little women." one of them
would say, "mom, do the voices!"  poor little beggars.

both the boys sort of stalled out at around 11 or 12, and i
resorted to gary paulsen's  "the river" and "hatchet".  his
thrilling adventures hooked them right back to the wonder
of well written stories, but they are not for young readers.

our local library asked me to host our children's author award
several years ago, and i flatly refused unless they granted the
award to gary.  after all, i really owed him one.  he was such a
colorful, salty guy, with a bit of a sailor's tongue, that the kids
were completely enamored.

that's what i love, a little salt, sugar and spice!  speaking of
great stories, you can find heartbreaking love stories, tales of
intrigue and spies, and brutal wars in the Good Book, too.

love,
lea
Source for great stories for young children

valentine's day tea

dear emily,

shelby, hailey, and i had such a fun time at your beautiful tea
party!  we especially loved our homemade valentines with the
childrens' photos.  your festive table was lovely, set with mixed
patterns of antique china, ropey red candles made my #2, and
colorful candies in gorgeous, earthy pottery.

my heart was warmed that #1 invited me to sit beside him, and
then leaned into me the whole time.  what an enchanting little
man!

hans wanted me to tell #3 that he thought my hair looked so
pretty all pink, purple, and fluffy.  when she spied hailey's
mass of dark hair, she thrust her hands deep into it and said
very quietly, "this might hurt a little bit."

it was funny that when i asked if the kids had been learning any
valentine's verses, they all had blank looks on their faces.  but,
when you prompted them, "she means love verses," they perked
right up.  love is something they can boast about, even though,
"love does not boast!" 1 corinthians 13:4

the party's love theme was not diminished a bit by all the detailed
accounts of gory cuts, scrapes, stitches, staples, cracked heads, or
broken arms and legs.  after all, as #1 stated, "what's a party unless
you have really good stories?"

my favorite part?  sweet #4 signing for 'more' with little 'deedles',
crawling back and forth, trying to keep up with all the jumping,
catching, and twirling.  his chubby little arms were stretched out
longingly for the wiggly, flashing ball, and sure enough, #2 gave
his to him.  "love is patient, love is kind."  1 corinthians 13:4

a loving time was had by all,
lea

overcoming spirit

dear emily,

when your children come home from school and have been
bullied or teased by cruel children, it is often helpful to tell
them stories about inspiring people who have overcome
adversity, too.

here's a story about a hero of mine.  isaac watts (1674-1748)
wrote many of the hymns we sing today.  my favorites are
'o God, our help in ages past,' and 'when i survey the
wondrous cross.' i know every word.

what i didn't know is that he was only five feet tall with
a giant head and a great big nose.  sadly, the woman he
loved wouldn't marry him, because he was so ugly.  if that
weren't bad enough, his health was severely weakened by
a devastating case of smallpox.

though his happiness was threatened by his appearance,
his rejection, and his health, he must have still been filled
with an unfathomable joy.

after all, he wrote, 'joy to the world the Lord is come!'

love,
lea

lend yourself

dear emily,

my dear worship pastor, joseph, sends us a daily devotion,
and today's struck a chord in my heart.  i have always loved
king david for saying, "i am not going to sacrifice anything
that costs me nothing!"

i thought i would share with you something that costs me
dearly. occasionally, i am asked to sing at church services,
weddings, and funerals, which is a sweet honor.  the rub,
though, is that i am introverted, self conscious, and fearful.

i have never envied another's talent, but i can assure you
that i have turned green watching a singer just have the
time of her life expressing her gift.  what would that be
like to sing your heart out and enjoy every minute?  i
don't know.

the scripture joseph shared this morning is psalm 112:5,
"a good man deals graciously and lends..." it reminded
me that as long as i lend my talent graciously, though
it is costing me dearly, the Lord will use it.  that's all
that matters.

love,
lea

weary and heavy laden

dear emily,

how many times have you felt overwhelmed as a mom?  this
mom would have to answer "innumerable times!"  just today,
a very competent young woman sent out a distress call  that
went something like this,

"sending up a flare...

so tired of holding to a standard when no one else seems to
care.

so tired of having to motivate everyone around me.

so tired of feeling lonely.

so tired of the kids bickering.

so tired of being spiritually dry and feeling the heavens are
closed to me."

her desperate cries were met by a chorus of loving offers of
help and encouragement, because she is well loved.   when
life tries to drown us, we sometimes forget how many are on
our side.

we need to remind ourselves, too, that He said, "come unto
Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you
rest."  matthew 11:28

love,
lea

thriving families

dear emily,

whenever i had to run errands with all the kids, i tried to do
it at 11:00, because focus on the family aired "adventures in
odyssey".  i enjoyed the hilarious and heartwarming stories
as much as they did and errands became fun.

here are focus on the family's "five easy ways to help your
family thrive":

1.    eat together...no cell phones.

2.    play together - games, sporting events, movie nights,
       vacations.

3.    attend church and pray together.

4.    invest in your kids - with your TIME, helping with
       homework, cooking together, shooting baskets, etc.

5.    know where your kids are and know their friends.

to be perfectly honest, the last one was the most difficult and
the source for most of our teenager heartaches.  once they hit
a certain age, it was tricky piloting those waters.  thankfully,
though, we seem to have sailed through them safely.

we have never claimed to be good parents, but we do believe
in some great principles in raising kids.  one of our chief joys
is the loving and respectful relationship we enjoy with them.

speaking of focus on the family, they're airing a commercial
at the superbowl, featuring quarterback tim tebow and his
brave mom.  they will share her decision to not abort him.

they seem to be a good example of a thriving family.  bet she
can't imagine life without him.

love,
lea

revelation 4:11 "the Lord created everything for His good pleasure."

superbowl sunday!!!

dear emily,

i have the super bowl menu planned: hans' favorite seven layer
dip, crab stuffed mushrooms, chicken wings, chips with salsa
and guacamole, barbecue meatballs, chips and onion dip, pizza
with pepperoni, onions, peppers, and seven cheeses, chips with
sour cream shrimp dip, brownies, and milky way bars.

groucho marx was a huge football fan and encouraged a player
with, "my boy, get in there and play like you did the last game!
i've got five dollars on the other team."

my favorite part is listening to hans and my boys.
hans:  "that offensive lineman can guard AND tackle."
isaac:  "and how about his footwork and pass protection?"
max:   "can you believe these calls?"
isaac:  "the ref needs glasses!"
hans:   "oh my gosh, oh my gosh...what was the coach thinking
            about?  there's too much time left..."

speaking of coaches, one shouted at his team, "ok, you guys,
line up alphabetically by height!"

joe theismann understood that "nobody in football should be
called a genius.  a genius is a guy like norman einstein."

i really only watch the game to humor hans and see the
commercials.  the best one featured frogs who ribbited,
"bud - wei - ser." the runners up were the e-trade babies
and talking t shirt stains.

this year tim tebow is included in a commercial which tells the
story that his mom almost aborted him.  it's super controversial,
although, i'm not sure who is left to be offended when we've
seen a scandalously clad britney spears selling pepsi and janet
jackson disrobe during half-time.

my personal inspiration is george rogers, who bragged, "i want
to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."

love,
lea

"a merry heart is good medicine."  proverbs 17:22

ps.  the menu was a little joke.  hans will be lucky to get a pbj
sandwich. :)