It seems like every day, there is a new famous couple who is breaking up or getting a divorce. With the divorce rate at around 50 percent, something has gone horrendously wrong. I have such a hard time with watching a marriage dissolve on reality TV. Kim Kardashian, a socialite who has too much money and too little personality, was married to NBA player Kris Humphries for 72 days. They have a reality TV show where the whole nation - make that world - can watch the 72 days unravel. The entire time I am watching this show, it is so blatantly obvious that Kim has no clue whatsoever about what love really is.
The Kardashians have had several reality TV shows, including a $20 million wedding special of Kim and Kris' nuptials. Throughout the pre-marital shows, Kim and Kris are "in love." They both gush about how much they love each other, and they want to spend the rest of their lives together. As soon as they are married, everything that Kris does bothers Kim. Kim expects Kris to be at her beck and call. Kris tries to exert his "manhood" to prove that he will not be manipulated by Kim. It all comes down to a warped sense of what love truly is. Kim is selfish, unwilling to compromise, and not once does she think of her husband, his desires or his needs.
It is my prayer, my dear children, that you learn what real love is. Do not buy into the reality TV version of what the secular world teaches you is love. The Bible says in I Corinthians that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
Love is not just the butterflies you get in your stomach or the fairy tale that a little girl dreams of when she is growing up. Love is a commitment. It is committing to someone that you will cherish them for always. Love is a choice. It is a choice every day to willingly put that person's life and well-being above one's own. It is not easy, and it is not always roses and rainbows.
Love is willingly sacrificing your own happiness to see a smile on that person's face. If you are not willing to sacrifice, or if you are having feelings of resentment toward that person for what you have given up, then it is not love, and you need to move on. When you first realize it is not love, move on then. Do not try to make it work; do not hold on, because that will only lead to further heartache for you and that other person.
Don't waste your time on someone who doesn't see how awesome you are. Love is a two-way street, and if someone doesn't love you the way you are, he is the one who is missing out. Love him, be kind to him, then move on.
God has someone so special for each of you, and He is preparing each man for you. Remember that it will be on His timing for your life, not yours. I pray for both men that will one day marry each of you. I pray that God is protecting them and keeping them safe. I pray that He is preparing their hearts to listen to His word and His voice. I pray that He fashions both men to be the spiritual leader in your life that you need and want. In addition, Mikayla and Macey, I pray that the Lord is molding your heart to learn to love and learn to listen to Him.
You two girls in such a short time have taught me so much about love and life, and about God's will and God's way. You are both so special and so precious. I pray that you will listen and heed my words and God's words. I love you both to the moon and back.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Busy Book
Since I have discovered this website called Pinterest, I have decided to become more crafty. I saw a website on Pinterest where moms had made "Busy Books" for their children. I thought I would give it a go. Here are the results of my labors. I hand made everything and hand-sewed every stitch. Everything is made with felt and craft thread. I didn't buy any of the pre-packaged felt character, because I wanted it to be completely made by me with love. I used some ribbon, buttons, sequins, plastic eyes, peony beads, a zipper, pipe cleaner, and glass pebbles. The girls love it, but I spent so much time on it, I'm afraid they will tear it up! Oh well!
Here's the cover. The back cover matches and wraps around to button the whole book together.
Mikayla and Macey love watching "Peep and the Big Wide World," so on the left are the characters from Peep: Peep (the yellow one), Chirp (the red one) and Quack (the blue one). On the right are flowers using different textures to touch.
On the left is a fishbowl with orange fishies, while on the right are two little girls. One with blonde hair wearing green (like Mikayla who's favorite color is green) next to a cow (Mikayla's favorite stuffed animal is a cow), and one is a brunette wearing pink (Macey's favorite color is pink) next to a sheep (Macey's favorite stuffed animal is a lamb).
On the left side of this page is a rainbow - a complete ROY G. BIV, and a pot of gold with a clover on it. The gold in the pot are yellow pom poms. On the right is a flower garden with a smiling sun. The centers of each flower are buttons, and the actual flower comes off. That way, the girls can work on fastening buttons. The flowers are color-coded, too. The center of the flower and the button match.
On the left side is a purse that opens and has a pouch to put trinkets in. On the right is a gumball machine. The gumballs are made of pom poms, so there's plenty of texture to feel.
It's a cupcake match! The base of each cupcake is lined with either orange, green, yellow, blue or pink. The cupcake tops are attached to purple ribbon, and the girls have to match the correct cupcake top to the cupcake bottom. On the right is a tent with M and M on it. That's for Mikayla and Macey. When you unzip the tent, a monkey is waiting for you!
Since we are sports nuts, and we want the girls to play sports, I had to include a sports page! It has a basketball, soccer ball, football, volleyball and baseball on it. On the right, is a dog house with a cute puppy, and five bones with numbers on them.
On the left are numbered beads. The girls can slide the beads over and count them. They go from 1-10 from top to bottom, respectively. On the right side is a stop light with matching pom poms.
On the left side are eight different shapes: square, star, pentagon, heart, circle, oval, diamond and rectangle. In the middle are three pieces of ribbon to learn how to braid. On the right side is a dragonfly, ladybug and flower. These three all match Macey's room decor.
On the left side of this page are different animals: a pig, an owl, a bird, a cat and a frog. Macey can work on her animal recognition and sounds.
On the right is tic-tac-toe. The circles are made out of buttons, while the X's are just felt-on-felt. The buttons and felt both have a velcro backing with velcro sewed on to the actual tic-tac-toe board as well.
Once I got each individual page completed, I put the pages together and used a blanket stitch to bind each page together. After that, I cut holes for the metal fasteners. Then I hammered the metal fasteners in, and bound all the pages with binder rings.
Here's the cover. The back cover matches and wraps around to button the whole book together.
Mikayla and Macey love watching "Peep and the Big Wide World," so on the left are the characters from Peep: Peep (the yellow one), Chirp (the red one) and Quack (the blue one). On the right are flowers using different textures to touch.
On the left is a fishbowl with orange fishies, while on the right are two little girls. One with blonde hair wearing green (like Mikayla who's favorite color is green) next to a cow (Mikayla's favorite stuffed animal is a cow), and one is a brunette wearing pink (Macey's favorite color is pink) next to a sheep (Macey's favorite stuffed animal is a lamb).
On the left side of this page is a rainbow - a complete ROY G. BIV, and a pot of gold with a clover on it. The gold in the pot are yellow pom poms. On the right is a flower garden with a smiling sun. The centers of each flower are buttons, and the actual flower comes off. That way, the girls can work on fastening buttons. The flowers are color-coded, too. The center of the flower and the button match.
On the left side is a purse that opens and has a pouch to put trinkets in. On the right is a gumball machine. The gumballs are made of pom poms, so there's plenty of texture to feel.
It's a cupcake match! The base of each cupcake is lined with either orange, green, yellow, blue or pink. The cupcake tops are attached to purple ribbon, and the girls have to match the correct cupcake top to the cupcake bottom. On the right is a tent with M and M on it. That's for Mikayla and Macey. When you unzip the tent, a monkey is waiting for you!
Since we are sports nuts, and we want the girls to play sports, I had to include a sports page! It has a basketball, soccer ball, football, volleyball and baseball on it. On the right, is a dog house with a cute puppy, and five bones with numbers on them.
On the left are numbered beads. The girls can slide the beads over and count them. They go from 1-10 from top to bottom, respectively. On the right side is a stop light with matching pom poms.
On the left side are eight different shapes: square, star, pentagon, heart, circle, oval, diamond and rectangle. In the middle are three pieces of ribbon to learn how to braid. On the right side is a dragonfly, ladybug and flower. These three all match Macey's room decor.
On the left side of this page are different animals: a pig, an owl, a bird, a cat and a frog. Macey can work on her animal recognition and sounds.
On the right is tic-tac-toe. The circles are made out of buttons, while the X's are just felt-on-felt. The buttons and felt both have a velcro backing with velcro sewed on to the actual tic-tac-toe board as well.
Once I got each individual page completed, I put the pages together and used a blanket stitch to bind each page together. After that, I cut holes for the metal fasteners. Then I hammered the metal fasteners in, and bound all the pages with binder rings.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Christmas 2011
Happy 2012! It's already the new year, and Christmas break is over. It was so nice to be able to be at home with the girls, even though it went by so quickly. The girls and I had so much fun being at home and shopping 'til we dropped! We did several crafts and played and played. I have discovered a new networking site called Pinterest. It's a virtual "pin board," or bulletin board, where you can bookmark webpages that you like. You can share them with your friends or strangers. On the website are crafts, do-it-yourself projects, recipes, anything your little heart can imagine. We tried out some of the new crafts I learned on the website over the break. It was fun to see the girls every day, because both of them are learning so much each day, but it shows the most right now in Macey.
We converted Macey's crib to a daybed, because she learned how to crawl out of her crib, and we were afraid she might hurt herself getting out. Correction: Mikayla taught Macey how to crawl out of her crib - by showing her exactly what to do. Macey's crib is taller than she is, so the fall risk when Macey hikes her leg over the top rail is pretty high. The first night was a complete success. She knows how to open her bedroom door, so it scared me a couple nights when she stealthily came into my room at 3:00 a.m. and woke me up. That's when we had to put a doorknob guard on her door, so now she can't get out. A 21 month old roaming the house in the middle of the night can't possibly be good. There have been a few nights when she has pounded on her door, but it's been generally a success. She'll also pull back the spring door stops, and we'll hear the "boing" repeatedly until we go see what she wants. She loves her milk, and she has to have a full cup of milk with her at night, so most of the time, she just wants more milk, then she will get right back in bed.
My Aunt Pam and Uncle Tom came in town from Georgia for Christmas, but they had to fly out on Christmas morning, so we had the Six Christmas at my grandma's house on Christmas Eve. We had barbeque brisket, chicken and ribs. We opened packages, and the girls loved their gifts. Of course with little kids, it's all about the quantity of packages to open, because they love ripping open the paper.
When we got home, we all changed into our pajamas, and I read the first Chistmas story from Luke 2 to the girls. Macey was a little upset there were no pictures, but that's a toddler for you! Then I read "The Night Before Christmas" to the girls. Most of it was from memory, as it is my favorite Christmas book, and I remember reading it every Christmas Eve growing up. The girls sat in front of me in "criss-cross-applesauce" and listened intently with wide eyes as I emphasized the dramatic points.
After story time, we opened packages, and Mikayla and Macey both got Little Miss Muffins from Adam and me. Little Miss Muffins are over-priced, underwhelming dolls that fold into themselves to resemble a muffin.
That's what Mikayla wanted, so we got them. There were presents from Grandfather and Grandma Mary, as well. By this time, it is past Macey's bed time, so we put her to bed. Mikayla and I put out carrots in the front yard for the the reindeer, and made Santa his glass of milk. Santa decided he wanted baklava this year, so we set that out with a couple cookies for Santa to take back to Mrs. Claus.
When the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, Santa and Mrs. Claus went right to work. Santa had to put together Macey's sit-and-spin, and Mrs. Claus went outside to grate the carrots so it would look like the reindeer ate the carrots.
On Christmas morning, at 6:09, through the baby monitor, I heard Macey's door shutting. "They're up!" I said to Adam as I threw off the covers, and hurried to the living room. Mikayla and Macey were standing in front of the Christmas tree, eyes wide with amazement at the presents Santa had left. We spent the next few minutes going through all of their gifts and presents. Macey understood much more this year, so it was so fun to watch both of the girls with their presents. Mikayla and I went outside to see if the reindeer ate the carrots, and sure enough, Mikayla comes out, stops her foot to the ground, puts her hands on her hips and says, "They ate the carrots, but they made a big mess!"
After Santa presents, we packed up the car and went to Mom & Dad's for Christmas brunch. We had breakfast casserole and pigs in the blanket, then opened packages. Mom and Dad got the girls beautiful Gotz dolls from Pottery Barn Kids. Mikayla of course got the blonde doll, while Macey got the brunette doll. Mom has always loved dolls and loved giving dolls to Lauren and me. She probably spent a small fortune on them for us when we were younger. I think it's a wonderful tradition to continue, and one that I am in hopes the girls will continue for generations.
After we spent some time with Mom and Dad, it was time to head out to Weatherford for Christmas #3. We packed up and headed west to Grandma and Grandpa's. We had a Christmas feast of steak and potatoes, with mushrooms, deviled eggs, pimento cheese and more! It was nontraditional, but it was quite the feast nonetheless! We opened packages, and once again the girls loved ripping thorugh the paper. Grandma and Grandpa, with the help of Grandpa Lemaster and Ross, got the girls multi-colored fans to go in their rooms. Mikayla had been asking for this particular fan for well over a year, and she was ecstatic to finally get it! We spent the night in Weatherford, so we could spend extra time just hanging out with Jane, Robert and Ross.
Not only was it nice to spend time with family, with the time off from school, I really wanted to be able to deep clean the house. However, when you live with two little tornadoes like Mikayla and Macey, any form of cleaning is futile, because they will follow along behind me making more of a mess than what was there before. On one day in particular, I was trying to clean, and both girls were just right on my heels following me everywhere. In frustration, I yell at them both, "STOP following me!" Mikayla's heart visibly breaks as her face falls, and tears spout forth. "Mommy, we follow you because we love you!" she cried. Immediately, I fell to my knees and hugged both girls. "I am so sorry! I love you, too!" I said as tears fell down my face. I never had looked at it that way, and the girls just wanted to be near me, even when I didn't want them near me. That's true love.
The girls have taught me so much, not only about love, but about our human nature. Friday after Christmas, Adam and I were in our room folding laundry and resting, while the girls were in their rooms for quiet time. Later in the day, we were planning on going to Mom and Dad's for dinner and gift exchange with Lauren and Justin. They had come in town late Tuesday night, so this was the first time we could all get together to exchange gifts. As we were in our room, I couldn't tell if I heard the noise through the baby monitor or if it was coming from the living room, but I knew I heard paper being torn. Adam hurried to see what the sound possibly could be. With the two tornadoes our children are, it could have been anything - a book, mail, stickers, boxes, anything! A short minute later, Adam comes in and says, "I'm going to let you handle her." I walk to the living room to see Macey sitting under the Christmas tree. Tiny pieces of beautiful wrapping paper encircle Macey. The hand-crafted gold bow is balled up at her feet, with pieces of the cardboard box surrounding it. On her left sits what is left of a box, still containing Justin's Christmas present. My eyes widen, as I gravely say, "Macey! No ma'am!" There is no crying, there is no weeping - only expressionless eyes peering at me. As I point to the remnants, I again admonish her. The only movement from this tiny human is her eyes shifting from left, then back to me. Then she shifts her eyes again. This time to the right, then back to me. I held back my smiles, because she was demonstrating pure understanding of what she had done, and I found insight into human nature. She knew what she did was wrong, and she knew she was in trouble. She didn't want me to be disappointed, and she knew I was.
Being a mommy is most definitely a learning experience. Each new year brings its own adventure, and I'm sure that 2012 will as well. I'm looking forward to the new year, and making many more memories!
We converted Macey's crib to a daybed, because she learned how to crawl out of her crib, and we were afraid she might hurt herself getting out. Correction: Mikayla taught Macey how to crawl out of her crib - by showing her exactly what to do. Macey's crib is taller than she is, so the fall risk when Macey hikes her leg over the top rail is pretty high. The first night was a complete success. She knows how to open her bedroom door, so it scared me a couple nights when she stealthily came into my room at 3:00 a.m. and woke me up. That's when we had to put a doorknob guard on her door, so now she can't get out. A 21 month old roaming the house in the middle of the night can't possibly be good. There have been a few nights when she has pounded on her door, but it's been generally a success. She'll also pull back the spring door stops, and we'll hear the "boing" repeatedly until we go see what she wants. She loves her milk, and she has to have a full cup of milk with her at night, so most of the time, she just wants more milk, then she will get right back in bed.
My Aunt Pam and Uncle Tom came in town from Georgia for Christmas, but they had to fly out on Christmas morning, so we had the Six Christmas at my grandma's house on Christmas Eve. We had barbeque brisket, chicken and ribs. We opened packages, and the girls loved their gifts. Of course with little kids, it's all about the quantity of packages to open, because they love ripping open the paper.
When we got home, we all changed into our pajamas, and I read the first Chistmas story from Luke 2 to the girls. Macey was a little upset there were no pictures, but that's a toddler for you! Then I read "The Night Before Christmas" to the girls. Most of it was from memory, as it is my favorite Christmas book, and I remember reading it every Christmas Eve growing up. The girls sat in front of me in "criss-cross-applesauce" and listened intently with wide eyes as I emphasized the dramatic points.
After story time, we opened packages, and Mikayla and Macey both got Little Miss Muffins from Adam and me. Little Miss Muffins are over-priced, underwhelming dolls that fold into themselves to resemble a muffin.
That's what Mikayla wanted, so we got them. There were presents from Grandfather and Grandma Mary, as well. By this time, it is past Macey's bed time, so we put her to bed. Mikayla and I put out carrots in the front yard for the the reindeer, and made Santa his glass of milk. Santa decided he wanted baklava this year, so we set that out with a couple cookies for Santa to take back to Mrs. Claus. When the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, Santa and Mrs. Claus went right to work. Santa had to put together Macey's sit-and-spin, and Mrs. Claus went outside to grate the carrots so it would look like the reindeer ate the carrots.
On Christmas morning, at 6:09, through the baby monitor, I heard Macey's door shutting. "They're up!" I said to Adam as I threw off the covers, and hurried to the living room. Mikayla and Macey were standing in front of the Christmas tree, eyes wide with amazement at the presents Santa had left. We spent the next few minutes going through all of their gifts and presents. Macey understood much more this year, so it was so fun to watch both of the girls with their presents. Mikayla and I went outside to see if the reindeer ate the carrots, and sure enough, Mikayla comes out, stops her foot to the ground, puts her hands on her hips and says, "They ate the carrots, but they made a big mess!"
After Santa presents, we packed up the car and went to Mom & Dad's for Christmas brunch. We had breakfast casserole and pigs in the blanket, then opened packages. Mom and Dad got the girls beautiful Gotz dolls from Pottery Barn Kids. Mikayla of course got the blonde doll, while Macey got the brunette doll. Mom has always loved dolls and loved giving dolls to Lauren and me. She probably spent a small fortune on them for us when we were younger. I think it's a wonderful tradition to continue, and one that I am in hopes the girls will continue for generations.
After we spent some time with Mom and Dad, it was time to head out to Weatherford for Christmas #3. We packed up and headed west to Grandma and Grandpa's. We had a Christmas feast of steak and potatoes, with mushrooms, deviled eggs, pimento cheese and more! It was nontraditional, but it was quite the feast nonetheless! We opened packages, and once again the girls loved ripping thorugh the paper. Grandma and Grandpa, with the help of Grandpa Lemaster and Ross, got the girls multi-colored fans to go in their rooms. Mikayla had been asking for this particular fan for well over a year, and she was ecstatic to finally get it! We spent the night in Weatherford, so we could spend extra time just hanging out with Jane, Robert and Ross.Not only was it nice to spend time with family, with the time off from school, I really wanted to be able to deep clean the house. However, when you live with two little tornadoes like Mikayla and Macey, any form of cleaning is futile, because they will follow along behind me making more of a mess than what was there before. On one day in particular, I was trying to clean, and both girls were just right on my heels following me everywhere. In frustration, I yell at them both, "STOP following me!" Mikayla's heart visibly breaks as her face falls, and tears spout forth. "Mommy, we follow you because we love you!" she cried. Immediately, I fell to my knees and hugged both girls. "I am so sorry! I love you, too!" I said as tears fell down my face. I never had looked at it that way, and the girls just wanted to be near me, even when I didn't want them near me. That's true love.
The girls have taught me so much, not only about love, but about our human nature. Friday after Christmas, Adam and I were in our room folding laundry and resting, while the girls were in their rooms for quiet time. Later in the day, we were planning on going to Mom and Dad's for dinner and gift exchange with Lauren and Justin. They had come in town late Tuesday night, so this was the first time we could all get together to exchange gifts. As we were in our room, I couldn't tell if I heard the noise through the baby monitor or if it was coming from the living room, but I knew I heard paper being torn. Adam hurried to see what the sound possibly could be. With the two tornadoes our children are, it could have been anything - a book, mail, stickers, boxes, anything! A short minute later, Adam comes in and says, "I'm going to let you handle her." I walk to the living room to see Macey sitting under the Christmas tree. Tiny pieces of beautiful wrapping paper encircle Macey. The hand-crafted gold bow is balled up at her feet, with pieces of the cardboard box surrounding it. On her left sits what is left of a box, still containing Justin's Christmas present. My eyes widen, as I gravely say, "Macey! No ma'am!" There is no crying, there is no weeping - only expressionless eyes peering at me. As I point to the remnants, I again admonish her. The only movement from this tiny human is her eyes shifting from left, then back to me. Then she shifts her eyes again. This time to the right, then back to me. I held back my smiles, because she was demonstrating pure understanding of what she had done, and I found insight into human nature. She knew what she did was wrong, and she knew she was in trouble. She didn't want me to be disappointed, and she knew I was.
Being a mommy is most definitely a learning experience. Each new year brings its own adventure, and I'm sure that 2012 will as well. I'm looking forward to the new year, and making many more memories!
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