Movie Night at the Beard's

We host a movie night with our neighborhood friends every now and then.  We have a lot of fun, and it's a great way for Darin and me to get to know the kids our kids play with a little better.  They're a fun bunch of kids and we really enjoy them. 

We made brownies and popcorn, but these crazy boys ended up filling up on my beef stew. 
Warms a mother's heart, I tell ya.

Dare I say it? 

Girls, they wanna have fu-un. Oh, girls! They wanna have fun!
(my 80's roots are showing)

Boys....they just wanna wrestle. 

God's Vision, God's Passion

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:9

It's sometimes hard to remember that we should be raising our kids so that we glorify God - to be "well pleasing to Him" rather than to pump-up our own parenting egos.  I struggle with keeping that right frame-of-mind.  My upbringing was a little skewed, so I find myself trying to compensate for it by doing all the things I think should be done in order raise good kids.  A lot of times that means that I pile on book after book, after fun activity, after meaningful discussion. Bleh.

The biggest danger in me making the list of priorities for the kids is that there is the very real possibility of losing sight of the vision God has given me as a mother.  My little things can muddy the waters and make me forget The Big Thing that God has given me to do.  Constantly asking God to give me His vision for my family has kept me going strong.  With the vision, comes a passion, a yearning to fulfill and live up to God's goals.  What a blessing and a joy it becomes to "do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)

With that said, it doesn't mean that I sit idly by, waiting for God to pick me up from the couch and give me a kick in the right direction.  That's not the point!  The point is to "do all to the glory of God."  When I do that, the unimportant is easy to shake off as I focus on the true calling God has given for me as a mother. 

One thing I come back to over and over again, is spending time with our kids.  How can I win their hearts if I won't even have a conversation with them?  So I'm always looking for any amount of time that I can give to them - even if it means I'll never get to read for pleasure again - it's worth it.  ;-) 



Can one ever have too much cinnamon & sugar?



I found a book titled "Mothers and Daughters at Home: 35 Projects to Make Together" (check out my Amazon widget over in the sidebar).  The book is divided up into projects that take an hour, half a day, all day, and an indefinite amount of time.  I gave Lydia the book and told her to pick our first project together and she picked a half-day project.  We made homemade cinnamon rolls together.  We like to cook and bake together.  Something we like to do most often is what I call "Every Other Cooking."  Silly name.  All we do is alternate putting in ingredients and following directions for a recipe.  But we do it together and that makes it time well-spent.   



CARAMEL Cinnamon Rolls.  Yum!





 

He's daydreaming about all that cinnamon-y goodness.
CAN'T WAIT!



The finished product!  (don't look at my dirty oven)





 

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

This is a fun YouTube video that my kids enjoyed watching.

Miss Mouth

Sophia.  Give me those Leggos!  Oh my goodness.  How did you fit all those in your mouth? 

Give me ALL the Leggos.  Yes.  That last one. 

She wanted to keep the Leggos.  She's not happy with me.  Awwww, Sophia.  Give me a smile.

There.  That's sort of a smile.  :-)  I'm forgiven. 
Now who left the Leggos out????!!!!!!

Housekeeping

We got a new dishwasher yesterday.  Our old one up and died about a month ago.  We knew it was on the way out, but wanted to use every bit of life the poor thing had left.  We suceeded!

Every time my Mom fills or empties her dishwasher (or ours, or anyone else's) she thanks God for it.  Growing up without one, she knows what it's like to have to wash every little fork, plate and spoon.  Now the Darin Beard family understands her thankfulness.  A family of seven can generate quite a few dishes. 

Back when we first had to do without our dishwasher, every single one of us approached it as a challenge.  We were no wimps.  We could wash our own dishes!  Well, we did wash our own dishes, but we were not happy about it after the first few days.By the time Darin got home with the dishwasher yesterday, we seriously had to debate whether to install the dishwasher first, or put up the Christmas tree first.  That's a big deal considering our kids start harassing us about putting up the tree once November hits.

Even though it's nice having a new dishwasher, I balk at the new thing in the house.  For one, it's a different color and doesn't look the same sitting among our cabinets as the old one did.  <sniff>  For another thing, it's got a different set-up than the old one.  How on earth are we supposed to load the thing?  I'm SURE I'll never figure out a way.  Lastly, the buttons on the front work differently and make a beeping sound.  <gasp!>  I'm 40 now....aren't I allowed to be boring and set in my ways?  The thing that concerns me most is that our last dishwasher always made it sound as if we were going to be hit with a tidal wave at any minute.  This new one is so quiet!  I literally tiptoe by it while it's running.  I feel as if I have to be quiet around it!  Maybe I'm not only old and set in my ways, but a tad bit "off" as well.  ;-)

On another  housekeeping note, last week for school, Lydia had to write a short little thing trying to persuade me to let her do something I would "never - ever" let her do.  I was very interested in what she would write about.  Being the freaky, over-protective parents we are, there are a lot of things Lydia, who is 10, is not allowed to do.  Just which one of those things would she choose to beg me to allow her to do?  Here's what she wrote:

Please, please, let me iron, Mama.  I wish I could so much.  I'll work on ironing while you rest!  Please. 

God bless us, every one.

Stay Out Till Dark Night

With five kids, Darinand I have found we can't be as spontaneous as we used to be, so this summer we have worked at adding in some regular fun with the kids.

The first thing we added to our schedule is Stay Out Till Dark Night.  This is every Tuesday night.  Darin brings home ChickFilA for dinner and we eat as quickly as we can, throw away the trash and head outside till dark!  This is how I learned that I had gotten old.  The kids were playing tag with the neighbor kids and I decided I wanted to jump in and play, too.  Very quickly, all the kids figured out that if they chased me, they could easily catch me and I would be It.  And then of course I could only catch the little kids.  HA!  Now I just watch the kids play tag.  It's funny....Stay Out Till Dark Night has become a neighborhood event.  All the neighborhood kids try to be home on Tuesday nights so they can stay out with us.  On another note, isn't it weird how we have to plan a night like this?  When I was a kid, we pretty much stayed out till dark every night of the summer. 

Other events we have slowly added in are game nights.  This is two times a month on Fridays.  We usually play a card game since board games usually only allow for four people and those that allow for more usually take soooooooo long.  ;-)  Scrapbooking Night is once a month on Friday.  Darin is teaching the kids Art on the other Friday nights.  We also have a weekly movie night with the kids.  Lydia and I run errands on Wednesday nights as well as grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons.  Darin usually works with the boys on some sort of home improvement project on the weekends - we've got plenty of those opportunities! 

We're just tryin' to live "on purpose" with our kids.  It's so easy to let the dirty kitchen and the bedtime routine become the focus of our evenings.  Especially for Darin and me.  We are task-oriented people all the way!  It would be easy to let the bigger size of our family and the extra work that brings rule our days and nights.  The work will always be here but the kids will not.  Our biggest reminder of that is this one.....our first teenager!

Return of the Fungi

A new gift awaited me when I came downstairs this morning. 

Now I have TWO gigantic mushrooms!  Are they totally gross, or what?  ;-)  Sally, I really, really hope and pray that girl is out there for my boy!  You give me hope!

On another note, my mushroom boy has discovered Google Earth.  It is so neat!  If you don't have it on your computer, it's a free download.  We traveled all over the world this afternoon.  I grew up in Cheektowaga, NY, so we put in my old address and flew there!  Not only did we see the roof of my old abode, but we were able to zoom in for a "street view" and it's like we were there.  We saw my old house as if we were standing right in front of it.  SO cool and so neat.  My kids were able to see where I spent many of my growing up years!  We also visited the church that my Dad started in Cheektowaga.  Amazing.  We've wanted to take a road trip up that way, but until we actually do, it was fun to go on a virtual trip to my old stomping grounds.

Fungus Alert

Today my son brought me a gift.

He put it in the water for me, too.  God bless him.  I need to have a chat with him before he starts thinking seriously about girls.....

 

Kitchen Fun

I made the mistake of calling my parents while I was fixing dinner tonight.  Fixing dinner around here is not a quiet affair.  I was in charge of the quiche, and my daughter was in charge of the biscuits.  Our 2 year old was interested in the biscuit making, and our 7 month old usually just wants to be wherever most of us are, so I spent half the time on my phone with my parents saying, "What did you say?"  Or "Henry!  Put down the egg and walk away!"  Or "I'm sorry, Mom.  Hold on a second....."  ugh.  ;-)  My Dad said he was trying to picture all of us in the kitchen trying to work around all the commotion, so I took pictures....
Here is our stylish biscuit maker in her Starbucks apron and what she called her chef's hat.

After awhile, we finally diverted our biscuit apprentice to some water in the sink with a dinosaur and Goliath.
Here's Lydia cutting out her biscuits.  Me, being the control freak I am, I HAD to ask her why she just didn't cut out the biscuits in circles, like *I* do.  HA!  The Christmas cookie cutters are so much more fun.  ;-)

Here's our cutie patootie that followed us everywhere we went in the kitchen.  I think she's chewing on a stopper from a sippy cup. 

Yarn! Glorious Yarn!

The hardest thing about my Husband's Grandmother's death was all the stuff that was left behind.  It seemed so wrong to be divvying it all up and seeing it go to the four corners in a heartbeat.  The whole thing seems so odd to me.  Death comes so quickly.  Grandma was walking into the Senior Citizen Center for lunch with a friend.  Her friend dropped her off at the door and while she was walking in, she had a heart attack and died before she hit the ground.  BAM!  Just like that.  The doctor said she probably never even knew she was gone - well, until she got to the Pearly Gates!  :-)  I tell ya, I don't know how people can live without the Hope that Christ has given.  He is so good, and our family is able to rejoice, thinking of her meeting Jesus face to face and visiting with other family members who are there.  My Husband's grandparents have become like my own grandparents since mine were all dead before I was born.  I wonder if she ran into my grandparents and said, "hey....I knew this girl.....she married my grandson....."  Silly.  ;-)

Anywho.....the picture above is Grandma's yarn.  She knitted 10-12 afgans each year and gave them away to fundraisers, or to my Husband's aunt, who is a realtor.  She gave an afghan to each of her customers that bought a house through her.  She knitted them for her family.  We have two or three of them.  As you can see from the amount of yarn, she had big plans for a lot of afghans!  :-)  And so now the yarn is mine, and the only thing I knit is dishrags!  Our family and extended family will never be without a homemade dishrag from now on. 

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Today is Third Son's birthday.  He is TWO!  :-)

He loves taking our little yipper dawg for a walk. 

My Baby

I was so tired this afternoon.  After I finished nursing Second Daughter, I put her in her little Papasan chair at my feet while I dozed in my own comfy chair.  You know how a snooze in a chair goes - I wasn't totally out, and for the most part could hear what was going on around me.  I did hear her talking and making raspberry noises.  When I finally opened my eyes to take a peek at her, this was what she looked like.  I had to get a picture of that.  It tops the "sitting in the high chair with cake batter all over their faces" pictures any day.  ;-)

Here's another picture of her looking a little more pretty.

I Am a Human Napkin

I am a human napkin.  Second Son sits next to me on a bench at the dinner table.  There are always a few times during a meal that he will slide over to cuddle with me and wipe his mouth on my arm while he's there.  First Daughter has been known to give me a hug and wipe her nose on my shirt front while she's at it.

I assumed that I became their human napkin because of laziness or something, but I'm beginning to think it's something that is innate because the other day, Third Son, who is only 22 months old, was washing his hands at the kitchen sink.  I was standing there with him and after he finished rinsing the soap bubbles down the drain he reached over to me and said, "Dry hands, Mama" and proceeded to grab my shirt to do the job.  While he was at it he gave me a big hug.

I am a human napkin, and I am loved.  ;-)

The Fam

 

Dishrag Poetry

My Husband is a true Renaissance Man.  He's a complete computer geek who is also quite handy when it comes to home improvements, teaching our son guitar, and writing the occaisional poem.  For Christmas, I had knitted our neighbors some dishrags.  I know, it sounds cheesy, but it's the thought that counts, right?  ;-) 

The first year we were married, my mother-in-law gave me a knitted dishrag at Christmas and I must have been looking at it with that blank expression we all sometimes get because my mother-in-law said, "It's a dishrag."  I had never seen a knitted dishrag before, so I was afraid my neighbors would have the same response.  I asked my Husband if he could compose some sort of poem that would explain to our neighbors what they were receiving along with their cookies, and here is what he wrote.  :-)

Christmas is a time for giving,
So it must mean the neighbors are coming.
So get the milk ready,
The chances are steady
That cookies are forthcoming.

But what else is this they are giving?
Something made by knitting.
It seems a bit small
For a blanket or shawl.
We just don’t know what we are getting.

So let me explain what you have received.
There is no reason to be grieved.
It’s a rag for dishes,
With soap and swishes.
Your plates will certainly be cleaned.

It was knitted with care and love
And thoughts of you to be sure of.
Too pretty to use,
Oh, but please do!
And Merry Christmas from Heaven above.

Blanket Head

Did you ever see the movie Parenthood?  As new parents, my husband and I loved that movie.  Watching it now, after not seeing it for several years, we were shocked at the language and other themes in the movie that didn't bother us "back then."  God sure can do a work in us, eh?  (No, I'm not Canandian,  just raised 45 minutes from the Canandian border, so I can't resist an occasional "eh."  ;-)

Anyway.....

There is one part of that movie that I have been reminded of lately.  Remember Steve Martin's youngest son?  The kid was always doing something weird.  The funniest part was when he was walking around the house with a bucket on his head, banging his head into anything he came into contact with. 

First and Only Husband and I have a kid just like that.  It's so bizarre.  Third Son, who is 19 months old now, puts his trusty "blankET" (he places a huge emphasis on the "et") over his head and walks around banging his head onto whatever he runs into. 

It never occurred to us that there were little boys who actually did that for entertainment.  How could we NOT keep having children until God says we're done?  Experiencing all these different kids from the same two people is just too much fun.  Of course it's all a done deal with our new baby girl.  I am determined that this baby will be extremely obedient, giving, kind and would just faint if a single unkind word towards her brothers or sister ever came out of her mouth.  Now that's something worth experiencing!  I've actually heard that kids like this exist....or is that only in the movies????

Be the Pen

I've prayed for issues in foreign countries before and always figured I would never, this side of Heaven, know how or even if my prayer was answered. 

Back in 2004, my Husband went on a mission trip to Kyrgyzstan.  He's a web/graphics guy.  He and a partner were going over there for two weeks to teach graphics design classes.  Those that took the classes were going to use their knowledge to create Christian materials for distribution in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and other countries in Central Asia.  This was way out of his comfort zone and a friend of ours encouraged him by telling him this story:

There was a man who had been arrested and was in prison for his faith in Christ.  The man received a visit from his daughter.  She gave him a pen.  The man took that pen and wrote scripture on any stray piece of paper that came his way and then gave the scripture away to others.  Many of them became Christians from reading the scripture on those bits of  paper. 

Our friend encouraged my Husband by telling him, "Be the pen!  Be the tool that helps others draw others to Christ." 

So he went, and it was a wonderful, life-changing event for him.  He came back feeling as if he had been able to "be the pen." 

In 2005, we began studying the Eastern Hemisphere, using Sonlight.  One of the books included was titled Praying Through the 100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Window.  Such a great book!  It includes prayer requests for 100 of the major cities in the 10/40 window.  On page 91 of our copy is Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where my Husband went.  And guess what prayer request #5 is??????

"Pray for the distribution of the Kyrgyz New Testament and other Christian media and literature."

This book was first published in 1990.  The man who sponsored Darin and his partner in their trip runs a print shop in Kyrgyzstan.  He uses his business to support the printing and free distribution of Christian literature.  One of his proudest moments was when he was able to print a little booklet of Proverbs to be distributed and used in Kyrgyz schools.  He set up his shop around the mid-90's.  Then in 2004, my Husband and his partner traveled to Kyrgyzstan to teach the graphics classes - there is no school in Kyrgyzstan that teaches graphics design.  So now there are more people in Kyrgyzstan and the surrounding countries who can make an impact for God through printed materials. 

It has been such a blessing to be able to look back and see how my husband, his partner, the print shop owner, and the others who work with him, are direct answers to prayer.  I think about all the people who prayed this prayer for Bishkek, and I wonder how many of them know that the prayer has been, and continues to be answered in so many different ways, through different people from all over the world.  It's just so NEAT! 

So if you ever get to the point where you feel your prayers for a foreign country are ineffective, think again, and say another prayer!  :-)

If you would like to read my Husband's journal of his trip, go HERE.

Home-Life

Our family is very low-key.  My Husband and I do not sign our kids up for a lot of outside activities because we feel we would be cheating ourselves of some quality family time if we were constantly on-the-go with sports and such.  Some friends have expressed the concern that our kids will grow up the be bitter towards us over this issue, but we can only do what we feel God leading us to do with our family, pray about it, and hope for the best. 

Something else we do work hard at is making our home a fun place to be for our kids.  We make a point of doing things together that are fun and challenging for us all, be it chores (yes, we can have FUN with our kids while doing chores TOGETHER), special projects or fun times together watching movies or going on bike rides.  I love the book Home-Making by J.R. Miller.  Here's a great excerpt from it on this very issue:

No instruction is needed to teach any intelligent parent how to give to the evenings at home a charm which shall make thier influence all-potent.  It is necessary only that parents shall see about doing that which their own hearts tell them so plainly ought to be done.  Of course it will take time.  Something must be left out of life if this is to be done.  But is there anything else in all the round of life's calls, and even its seeming duties, that might not well be left out for the sake of anchoring our children to their homes?  Is there anything else that it would be so fatal and terrible to leave out as to leave our children out to perish in the ruin of the streets, while we are at lodges and operas and parties, or even at church meetings?
.............
Human lives will never grow into their best in gloom.  Pour sunshine about them in youth; let them be happy; encourage all innocent joy; provide pleasant games for them; ROMP AND PLAY WITH THEM; be a child again among them. 
.............
If the home is dull and cheerless it must not be considered an indication of extraordinary depravity that the children and young people seek pleasure elsewhere. 
.............
It needs only a heart in full sympathy with youthful feelings, a little skill in arranging and preparing these pleasures, small expense in furnishing the simple games and other requisites, and interest enough in the matter to devote a little time and pains to it.  There is no parent of ordinary intelligence who may not make his home-life so bright and sunny that no one will ever care to go outside to seek amusement amid the senseless frivolities or the debasing pleasures that the world offers.  Homes that are made thus in all these ways so bright and happy acquire a resistless power over those who live within their doors, which will hold them under its subtle influence wherever they go in all their after years.

Do You Have Real Fall?

All of our kids were born right here in Texas.  In fact, my Husband and I have set a family record, on both sides.  All of our kids have been born in the same hospital and have had the same OB deliver them.  It's a bizarre record for both our families, who are known for their moving-around ways.  But we have stayed put, and even more bizarre to me is the fact that my Husband and I are raising up a bunch of Texans.  Yeeesh!  I swore when I was in college that I never wanted to live in Texas.  I mean, WHY?  It's ugly and hot.  Man.  NEVER say never!

So my children have no experience with a northern fall.  I do, and so does my Husband.  I grew up in Buffalo, NY, and my Husband spent some time living in NC, IL and KY.  What amazes me is that here it is September 17th, and it's 90 degrees outside.  Well, at 9:33 p.m. it's 79.  ;-)  What really amazes me is that my little Texans keep waking up, expecting to be able to wear sweaters and see the leaves on the trees changing colors.  First Daughter told me the other day that we need to be on the lookout for changing leaves.  I reminded her that it ain't happenin' this early.  We didn't need to rake our yard of leaves until late November/December last year, and pretty much every year before that. 

What is it that makes them think that when it turns September it's going to be cold outside in Texas?  My first thought is that they are suffering from wishful thinking.  It's been hot here for months.  We are all ready for a break from the heat by this time.  And then pretty much every thought after that is that they are suffering from wishful thinking.  How could it not be when we look at 90 degrees as the high as a break from the heat?

So while you real-fall people are up there drinking your hot apple cider and dreaming of pumpkin muffins, say a toast for my own poor kids, who have no clue.  God bless 'em.

Oyve

So I'm just going to stop posting here.  ;-)  Everytime I post on something "meaningful?" it comes right back around to bite me.  In my last post, I wrote about how techonolgy is a potential character-killer for our kids, and how we're not watching t.v. for the month of July (big, BIG sacrifice since there's no hockey or football on, but it's a start, eh?) and lo and behold, this weekend, the Verizon dude came to our door for a "service check."  No really, I'm sure that Verizon is sincere............and the Dude was really, really very nice. 

I usually leave conversations like this up to my husband to conduct, and as he was talking with the Dude, he found out that we could get our t.v. hooked back up to the world of a thousand channels for only 5 bucks more than we have already been paying.  We haven't had anything other than our free antenna-inspired t.v. for about four years now, and I've been happy.  It's just been harder on the men of the family because they've had to miss an occaisional hockey or football game, so when the Dude let my husband in on the 5 dollar deal, well, you could have heard his "REALLY??????!!!!!!!!!!!!" all through the neighborhood.  Next was, "Becca!  Come listen to this!" 

So we are now scheduled to be hooked up to the juice on July 17th - First Son's birthday.  He's thrilled.  My husband is thrilled, and Second Son is thrilled.  My daughter doesn't seem to care too much, Third Son has no clue, and me......well, all I can say is "Oyve."