No After All

So I didn't do the chore/job thing after all. Mostly because I haven't had time to set the whole thing up, and also because I have been able to keep the house clean with no problems. Now that we have furniture in the front room the mess gets spread out making it much simpler to keep it in check, and the house looks good! Though we still need to paint and clean the carpet.
And my kiddos are SO good at helping me with out me needing to pay them for it. I haven't scrapped the idea all together, but it is on hold for now.
Christmas is coming so we are dealing with that now. I like seeing the kids' joy at recieving toys and such, but I have to say I'm not too keen on the holidays. I'm no scrooge, I promise. I'm all for people getting into it if they want to. I just find it too plastic and superficial not to mention it is extremily commercial.
I saw a movie where a couple would go on vacation to some tropical destination during the holidays instead of celebrating them. If we didn't have kids we probably would do that too. Or better yet, we would go on a mission trip to truly celebrate the joy and love of Christ with others. I rather use my money for that than to tithe it to the Black Friday gods.
In fact, it is something that I would consider doing with the kids someday, once they get bigger.

Working Chores

I've decided to implement chore charts once again. The main reason is that I need help around the house. I still don't believe in making their life miserable for my convenience, so I will motivate them with good ol' cash. The more I thought about how to do this the more I realised that it can also be a lesson for them in working and earning wages. In past chore charts I also did a money earning model, but I think I will make this one more like a job than just chores.
I will make a sign listing all the "jobs" available, how much each will pay, and by when they need to be done (dead line).
They will have a choice of jobs, meaning I will not assign them specific chores, instead they will chose what they want to work on themselves.
They also will get to chose if they want to work at all or not. If not, that will fine. Just like in the rest of the world, if they work they will earn money, if they don't work they will not. Simple as that.
I will make "time cards" where they will log in the chore they did, and if it was done properly and on time. They will recieve their wages only if the job was done as required, no half effort will be payed for.
Then every 2 weeks they will turn their time cards in and receive their wages, then they are free to spend their money as they wish.
There will also be a "direct deposit" option they can chose which is that instead of me just handing over the cash to them I will be the "Bank" and keep it for them. If they chose to save their money in the Bank they will also earn interest. The longer they keep their money in the Bank the more interest they will earn.
There are some details about this program that I still need to take care of, but I think this is a good way to combine both our belief in freedom of choice, and showing our children that hard work, wise choices and faith in God yield prosperity.

Life has been a roller coaster since August but God has been faithful and all loving as always to us. Two weeks after we had to leave the in-laws house Nick found the best job he's ever had. It comes with so many opportunities for us for now and the future!
About a month and a half after that we found a cute little house in Parker, AZ just a block away from the Colorado river.
I have been a bit stressed out with the kids though. I think all the chaos has hit me in the past couple of weeks and I feel very tired and that makes me more impatient and irritable. I really don't have a reason to not be full joy. I know that I also need to get back to more Bible reading and study also get into some sort of fellowship, not just for me but for the kids and Nick as well.
The relationship with the in-laws is on a healing path. I must admit that I've been reluctant to even communicate with them, but as any Christian knows ignoring the Holy Spirit is all but the hardest thing in the world to do! In my humanness I preferred to get rid of all toxic people in my life for good, but the Lord's plans and higher than mine and perfectly good and He won't give me peace until I obey His command to love even my enemies. Peace does come after obeying Him, even when my flesh resists. I still have some healing to do but I give it to the Lord because I know He will finish His good work in me.
Life is good right now. I feel as if it will only get better. Of course, with the Lord no matter what happens our joy is eternal will surpass any circumstance!
Thank you my precious Jesus!

living situation

Our living situation right now is not a good one. Things are not working out as we had hoped with the family members we share a house with. The kids and I want so badly to move out and have our own home again, but if we do that Nick will have to quit working on our biz and go back to working for someone else. This is a sacrifice we must make. My trust is wholly on the Lord which is why I have not taken matters in to my own hands. If I didn't believe that somehow it will all be OK, I would long ago have done things to change our circumstances. But one thing I am certain of, specially because I have seen in in our life as well as the lives of so many others, when we take matters into our own hands instead of doing God's will the consequences will disastrous.
Part of that is the reason we are in this mess in the first place. If we would have done God's will from the beginning over 10 years ago with the biz instead of relying on our own so called wisdom I know that right now we would have the awesomely abundant life God has always wanted to give us. Instead we are here, trapped in a prison of our own doing having to start from square one.
Sometimes the fear and desperation seem so unbearable, but this time I turn to the Lord instead of my own means. I need to trust in His plan. I need to remember that as hard as life is now we must press on and not make decisions again motivated by impatience and desperation.
Oh, it's not easy to practice self restraint in that matter! But I must once and for all just let go ad let God to His work.
For now we are afflicted and it breaks my heart and ails more than anything that my children have to endure this as well.
I suppose this is a chance to teach them lessons as well. I can show them what happens when one doesn't follow God's will and relies on one's own wisdom instead. Also, a lesson on loving the unlovable (the family we live with) and letting the grace of Christ shine from us to them.
It is an up hill battle to say the least. I have no idea how long this particular road is, and that is not easy to bear, but I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Nicky asked me if we could go to "Dora, Diego" I was like like "huh?". Then after some questioning I figured out he meant San Diego! He must have over heard us talk about SWC in San Diego next week and now he's all psyched about going. So am I though, yay, can't wait!!!

My Body Is Where God Has Created 4 Miracles...So Far!

My body is now 219lbs at 5′2″. The Lord has me on a journey to love myself just as He created me to be. I’m on it for my sake and that of my kids. Even for my hubby who has always thought of me a beautiful and sexy whether I weight 130 or 230lbs (I’ve wighed both and more while he’s known me), and he hates when I don’t see myself as he and God do which is perfect just as I am. My body is where God has created 4 miracles!!!

Haven't written here for a while. We've been busy, as always (haha). Since the last time the kiddos and I took a trip to California to visit the family for a week. Had a nice time there, but we missed Nick =(. When we got home our fish were dead, save for one so that was an excuse to buy an aquarium complete with 2 more gold fish, an algae sucker fish, and a tiny fiddler crab. Lets see how long those survive, lol.
Rosie discovered the joys of listening to books on CD all the way home. We listened to most of the book during the 5 hour drive. Isabella, amongst other things, works hard on reaching various levels on her Toontown game, and Rosie is too. Nicky has been testing his independence more, and Nick and I are trying to show him how to do it with out disrespecting others. Eva is just becoming more and more curious and loves to take risks. That is why we always have to keep an eye on her, even if from a distance. Though unless she is in true danger of course, I rather let her explore the world with minimal interruptions.

The other day my DD9 and I had a conversation about why we unschool. The subject began when she told me that the father of her BFF asked her, "How can you learn anything when you do nothing all day?". He assumes that because we don't force on our kids any rigid curriculum or "learning" schedules that it means they do nothing and therefore learn nothing all day. That is an illogical statement since, unless one is dead, one cannot truly live life doing nothing. Every human being at all moments of life, even in sleep, is constantly soaking in and processing information as they experience whatever circumstance they happen to be living in.
I asked DD about her opinion on being unschooled vs. traditional homeschool. She said that when I used to homeschool her in the "mini-school" way she felt as if she was "trapped in a cage starving", "desperate" and that she "couldn't wait to get out". She said that she didn't feel like she was learning anything and she simply did the work to get it over with. And that when we began to unschool she finally felt" happy and free" to love learning. That was the first time she had ever expressed her feelings about the subject in that way. Her analogy is perfect for the way I felt like in school too. It's just too bad that it took me a couple of years of homeschooling her for me to realise that I was "trapping" her mind in the same way that schools do to children. But I am grateful to God that He showed me and Nick a better way!

I know I need to add more pix on here. I would like to start a picture journal. I have some friends who do something called "project 365" where they take a pic every day of the year. Even though I didn't start at the beginning of the year I still think it would be cool to do.

Adios!

I've been felling the enemy's attacka lateley. Thoughts of could have, should have would have have ben reeling in my mind. When that happens I do as God's word tells me to do I resist Satan and i begin to think of all that is good in my life. I have much to to be greatful for, much more than I have to complain about! But the regrets are something I always have to fight against. Those are mostly of choices my husband and I hav made. Not all bad choices we've made I regret however. But there are a couple I do. Right now I don't see a way out of our current situation. In fact, ceratin matter have arisen that might get us deeper into it. My husband sees those as good things but I see those as tightening the chains around our family. From past experinces I know that my isnticts have ususally been correct, though I do not depend on that but on the Lord.
There is a movie I like called "Cast Away". The main character is a guy who is busy going about his life when his plane ends up crashing in the middle of the Pacific and he is washed ashore of a desert island. Despite his best efforts to escape, even by death, he is unable to. Finally on day, 4 years after the crash the tide washes in a big scrap of metal from a port-o-potty and he ends up using that as a sail that allows him to escape and eventualy be rescued. The whole experience made him into a better person, even though while he was in the island all alone all he could do is just survive.
I feel like I am in that island with no control over what happens next. I try and try to escape but all my efforts are in vain. I am tired, but unlike that man I am not alone. I have my Lord Jesus Christ who sustains me through this moment and through this season He has made me more like the woman He created me to be. I have sen more clearer than ever many of my worst impurities. I've discovered I'm not as good as I once thought. I've discovered that the darkness in my soul is much deeper and much uglier than I could have ever realised had I not been walking through this desert island. Although it has not been easy, this period in my life has been one of the best circumstances for me because the Lord is refining me like I probably couldn't have been had things gone as I would have liked them to. Even as I write this I am greatful for that, even though the enemy still attacks me in my vounerable state. I rest in this:

"But He said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in your weakness'
Therefore i will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2Corinthians 12:9)

Wow, so I boast about my weakness so that Christ's pwer rests on me. God Almighty's power is made prefect in my weakness!
If my life has to crash and if I must be stranded in a small desert island so that Christ's power is made perfect in me then let it be so!!!
I know that when the time is perfect in His will God will allow the tide to bring me a sail, but a greater sail is already here by the shedding of his blood and I have been saved and set free from my chains forever!

I've been having bad lower back aches or the past week. I refuse to turn into a back aching whiny old lady at 31 (lol) so I've decided to lose 30lbs. I need to lose a lot more than that but I like to do small goals at a time so that the task doesn't seem to daunting for me and I quit. Since Monday I've been doing Slim Fast. I do a shake for bf, fruit for lunch and snack and then a regular dinner. I don't know if I've lost weight yet, but the last time I did SF in December I lost 10lbs in 2 weeks. My obesity is not what gave me the back pain. About 10 years ago I lifted something very heavy and that messed me up. Usually though my back doesn't bother me until late in pregnancies, but this time unfortunately I am not pregnant yet my back is aching. I think though that this time I threw out my back while cleaning our KIA van. I hopee that by loosing a big chunk of fat, specially off my belly, it will take strain away and I will feel better.

As for the rest of the familia, the kids have been so happy that we have our van back. We've been out almost everyday to the park and the library and such. I've missed it too! There have been times that we've felt like Rapunzels, stuck in our tower with no way out. The kids get bored and I have had to find ways to keep them busy. For the most part it has been tolerable, but my babies and I need to get out most days. God is so good to us though and I am so grateful He has provided for us to get the van fixed and here to AZ. Now I can make more plans to take advantage of the free museum days and to explore more of the area with the kids. I know there are many nice outdoor spots to walk about around here. I have to do more research on that. I would also love for us to begin doing volunteer work. I'm not sure where we can do that and include the little ones like Eva and Nicky, so I pray there are places that will take us. I want our kids to get used to not just thinking about themselves and that they think they need, but that they learn to follow in the steps of our Savior Jesus Christ and put the needs of others above their own. That is a lesson I also need to learn.

I haven't writen on here for several days. I've been busy. Mostly with the kids but we've also been out of town. Last week we went to mysister Beatty's new house to pick up the van that was at my mom's old house. It was so nice seeing my family again.
When we got home we were able to enjoy the house all to ourselves because the in laws are gone. They come back tomorrow, so that means I better get to cleaning so they don't complain to Nick. Not that the house is very dirty. Lord knows I spend all day wiping counters and sweeping floors. It's mostly things that the kids play with that get all over the place. In a regular home those things would not matter but living with older folks who want a retirement house more than a child house I must make sure to keep some sort of order in order to keep the peace. So until we get our own place that is the way it has to be.
Anyways, Rosie has been working on a "series" she's making with MS Paint and Windows Movie Maker. believe she's gifted by God. What she has done being just 9 is so good and as she gets older her talent will get more refined, if that is what she desires to do.
Isabella loves to paint and she was glad when I found the paints that my mom bought us last time she was here. I would love to buy Bella a more serious painting equipment. There is one things that she paints every time. After she paints other things like trees or faces, she mixes all of her paints together and covers an entire page with paint. I wonder what she means by doing that. I asked her why she does that and she said "Because I like it. I think it looks pretty." She's so cute!
Nicky likes to paint too and as always he is very chaotic when he does. That's who he is, a boy, and I love him like that! Eva dances and dances and dances to any tune on the TV. I'e been wanting to hand her paints and a brush to see what she does.

I'm thanking God for his provisions. Nick had a good festival this weekend and I pray this is the start of a great season.
The kids and I stayed at home most of the time this past weekend (with one walk to the park). We kept busy, though Isabella who is more of an outdoor kind of gal would have liked for us to go somewhere. Yesterday since Nick was finally home we had a nice afternoon of shopping and had an all-you-can eat Asian dinner, yummy!
During the day though we spent the hours reading library books, using the computer, Nicky and I fixed our leaky toilet, cleaning, playing a math board game, playing Candy Land, making a planter for planting potatoes out of an empty laundry detergent bucket, putting up our continents of the world posters and figuring out where the family lives all over the world.
We bought Rosie an art kit that included different types of drawing materials and we also got her 2 sketch books, so I assume she will stay busy experimenting with that for a long time.
We still need to get soil for our potatoes and I found a great project to teach the kids about Easter so I need to get the materials for that too.
This morning Nicky and Isabella woke up very energetic (I guess most mornings they do) so they made masks out of copy paper and a pen and are running around the house roaring and chasing each other. I'm surprised Evangeline is still asleep because they are loud!

Things have been so peaceful in my soul and with my babies. Nick and I are growing in Christ through many things that the Lord has taught us lately. But with that come the attacks from Satan. Though my spirit is full of God's light, there is much darkness all around me. Lord, help me not to get oppressed by the ugliness of other people. Let your light drown out that darkness and give me the grace and love I need to give those people. It's so hard, but I know your power is great in my weakness.
In Jesus'name I pray.

Bella and Nicky were just in the front yard playing when suddenly I hear them let out blood curdling screams and they both stampede into the house, sobbing. I just about had a heart attack because I though something really terrible had just happened (of course I'm right by the door watcing them so I don't see anything is wrong which scares me even more). Through their screams I make out that they are saying "Bee!". Ay, ay, ay, it really turned out to be just a flying beattle. After getting over my own adrenaline surge (and after the feeling came back to my limbs) I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing at how cute they were fearing a beattle as if it were a man eating beast! LOL

Nick began selling yesterday and the Pinal Co. Fair. We pray for abundant sales for us and all the vendors there!
The kiddos and I have been home staying busy as always. This week it's been warm and the days have been gorgeous so we've spent a lot of time outside. The kids swim, jump on the trampoline, dig in the dirt, play at the park. I found an old science kit that came with a solar cell that powers a small motor so Nicky and Bella put together a solar powered fan. Nicky LOVES it and spends hours outside experimenting with it. He also has a new favorite movie, "That Thing You Do". He watches it and plays and sings along with the band in the movie. We've also done a lot of baking and cooking together.
I love these days spent with my babies! They seem to go by so quickly and the kids grow so fast. I feel tremendously blessed to be able to have the honor and privilege to have my kids these few precious years with me. Oh, nothing is better in life! God is good =).

Eva is moving from babyhood to toddlerhood more each day. She's mastered the stairs for one. She's been able to climb them for many months, well before she could even walk. However, she just learned how to go down the stairs by. That gives me some relief, but I will not remove the baby gate completely since she is still very small and not big enough to be let free to climb up and down the stairs like the other kids. Well, honestly the main reason is because we live with the in laws and they don't keep the upstairs very safe for baby to roam on her own. If we lived on our own I would make the rooms safe for her to play in. So for now the downstairs gate stays on. She also understand a whole lot more. She can follow any command I give her. If I ask her to get a diaper, she does. If I ask her to get off something she does. She can turn lights and TV's on and off and knows what those actions mean. Today for the first time she was able to play in the playground by her self with out my constant presence next to her. Of course I remained close by and kept a very watchful eye on her. She noticed that too. When I took her off the stroller she walked a few feet away from me, paused and turned to look at me and gave me a little mischievous smile as if saying "Do you realise how far I've gone from you?". When I smiled back at her she ran even further toward the playground and again she turned to look at me with that same smile. I smiled again and waved at her saying "Hi Eva!". Suddenly it hit her that I was letting her free and she went on to play with no more doubts that she was now on her own to have fun.
At the park we also had a very delicious picnic lunch that Isabella had prepared for us. The only problem was that she didn't make enough sandwiches so there was a bit of drama because of that. Bella ate too many, Rosie didn't get enough. In the end Rosie decided she didn't like the sandwiches after all and she ate a Go-gurt yogurt and drank some water. We finished eating our apples and played a bit more then we went home. It was a beautiful though very warm day so we were relieved to be back home.
Isabella decided to go for a swim and Rosie played for a while in the computer.

What do we want for our children?

What do we want for our children? A detailed answer to that question is of course extremely complex and there's no way I (nor most good parents) can answer it in one blog entry. Yet we do have a basic ideas that drive every decision we make as parents.
First what we want most of all is that our children have a saving knowledge of and relationship to Jesus Christ. The purpose for all of man kind is to know God thorough Jesus by His word the Bible and to make Him known. That is the core motivation in which we want our children to live their lives, regardless of what path they take. By living for Christ through the Holy Spirit God will continuously reveal His will and their calling for their lives. And by that they will also be sanctified to become more Christ like everyday.
That being said, we also want our children to know that they are indeed free to pursue the dreams God has put in their heart. Not in some distant future after they earned a diploma or when they reach some arbitrary age limit. We want them to know that they can reach for those dreams now! As a family we don't follow daily schedules. We do have routines, since that is part of basic human nature, but each day unfolds on it's own. Of course living in this world there are times when certain things have to be planned, such as play dates, doctor's appointments, business matter like festivals, etc. And we as a family have no problems fulfilling those obligations or making those appointments and then going about our lives. It's never a big deal. No schedule has to be rearranged and appointment books don't have to be reorganised. Those moments come and go and so do our days.
That doesn't mean that we don't have long term goals. We make sure that are children are well aware of the plans we have for our family and we consider their thoughts and opinions in much of the decision making. The final say is Nick's since he is the head of our family, but it always is a decision based on the input of all of us.
By living free from rigid schedules of any sort our children are able to pursue their loves and passions. They might need help from us to find the tools and supplies they require to complete whatever project they are working on. Sometimes we can answer their questions, but many times we can't so we seek the answers together. Often they don't require anything from us at all other than moral support and they can achieve their goals by themselves.
Interestingly enough "lazy" is not a word that has ever come to mind of when thinking of my kidskids. As a matter of fact when they work very hard when pursuing an interest. Rosie spends hours a day perfecting her anime art. Even when she's experienced frustrations, she pushes on and is getting better every day. Isabella pushed through her dance rehearsals, by choice of her own and not by our prompting at all, even though she came back very tired from the demanding routines every week after every practice, because her goal was to preform on stage. And she did! When Nicky is taking something apart or figuring out how something works he sits intently working on figuring things out and he doesn't give up until he's done. Ooh, and our Eva who so far has been our biggest risk taker. At 14 months there is no obstacle she has not mastered that she wanted to master! No chair is too tall, no stair is too high, no play ground too big. We constantly have to have an eye on her, even if she doesn't know it because her motto is "No Fear". Eva is the first and only child that we've ever had to take to the ER for stitches, and that was despite the fact that both Nick and I were in the same room right by her when she had her accident. She also loves to doodle and pretends to "read". Those are just a few recent examples. I can go on for pages and pages if I consider all that my children have achieved with out the need of us forcing them to or telling them what we think they should do at their ages. Lazy, nope, not our kids.
As for responsibility, my kids are amongst the most responsible people I know. Normal life has naturally provided them many opportunities to learn responsibility. First of all they see it modeled those those around them including, but certainly not limited, to us their parents. They've experienced the care of several children from pregnancy to birth and beyond by living with me their mother. They've seen their dad work almost every day of their lives, rain or shine, in sickness and in health. They see citizens of the world driving responsibly on the road, payng for merchandise they desire at the store, workers of all sorts doing theirs jobs dutifully, witnessed many acts of kindness by stranger to strangers, the list goes on indefinitely.
They see us, their parents, committed to each other in marriage through Christ for better or worse and our children have no fear, like sadly many other children do, that our marriage will fall apart because they've witnessed us go through tough times in our marriage, and yet not once did we ever chose to escape but instead we persevered through God's grace and our marriage has become stronger for it.
At home we all work together as a family to maintain a clean and safe place to live. No need for assigned chores or punishments and tears for undone work. The kids have been told by us time and time again that we are a family as as a family we must be united in keeping our home a joyful place to live and part of that includes chores. Sure, sometimes there are objections, but that is OK. I hate chores too! However they push though the unpleasant moment and the work gets done.
So what do we want for our children? We want them to know that when a life is lived for the Lord it can be lived free!

We spent the day yesterday hanging out at home. We read lots of books and made no-sew stuffed animals out of felt and used Isabella's stuffing machine to stuff them. Rosie made the patterns and she did a great job! The kids also spent time on the computer playing "Toon Town" and keeping up their various towns and pets on Facebook.

Today we went to the the park with some friends for a few hours. Then Rosie's BFF came home with us for a sleep over.

The Lord is good!

Lord, give me a tough hide and a soft heart! Let not the arrows of the enemy jab me so deep that I become confused no good to you.
In Jesus' name.

I finally got a copy of John Holt's book "Teach Your Own" from the library. I'm so excited to read it, yay! For the past couple of weeks I've been reading "When Children Fail" also by Holt and it echoes everything I always suspected was wrong with the way children are "educated" in schools. I see myself and my own experiences in many of the children Holt refers to. Anyways, I just wish I could speed read because I would love to devour all that info and insight right now!

As for our happenings today, in the morning the kids (Bella, Nicky, Eva) and I went to the Phoenix library. It was still closed when we got there so we walked across the street to the mall and the kids played at the indoor playground until the library opened. After the library, which the kids love by the way, we went to the dollar store to stock up on art supplies and some small board games. The days have been rainy and our budget is tight so I'm having to get more creative than usual about coming up with activities to offer the kids here at home, that is besides books, science experiments and the computer, though they really don't complain about that. I just like to have those things available if they are interested. On the way home while I was trying to have a conversation with Nicky and Bella, Nicky said "Mom, I'm reading my firetruck book. No more talking please!". I just about busted out laughing, though I didn't because he was so serious and I didn't want to embarrass him. At home Nicky and I played one of the dollar games I had just bought and it was a rhyming words game. Rosie spent the day in bed with the lap top engrossed with a new on-line game she just discovered (thanks to her BFF who plays it too) called "Toon Town". Her grandma Licha payed for her to have a monthly subscription so she spent hours on it. We just let her enjoy it. I know my girl and she will get bored soon enough. The only break she took was when I showed her the art book I got her from the library. It shows various forms of art through out history and it explains to children certain details and facts about each piece. We looked through it together and Rosie liked it very much. Isabella also went for a cold swim before dinner. Oh, my baby the polar bear!
This afternoon we received a wonderful surprise over the mail from our dear friend Angy. She's a nurse and she went to Haiti to help and to share the gospel with earthquake victims with a team from the Nazarene Church. She sent us hand crochet doily and doll dresses, a hand made toy, and a hand made gecko decoration all made my Haitian people. It was such a beautiful collection of artifacts and we all felt so blessed by her to have received those gifts!
Afterward, Isabella and Nicky wanted to bake a cheese cake so I went to cooks.com and got the simplest recipe I could find for me and the kids to make. Well, it turned out to be super delicious! Even daddy Nick said it was the best cheesecake he's ever had, and he is not a sweets type of guy.
Right now the girls are at AWANA and baby is sleeping, and all is good ;-). Thanks be to God for another blessed day!!!

My responce to a comment from a rude and vulgar "evolutionist" on a pro-creation fan page on Facebook.

I won't write his comment on here because of his vulgarity, but basically he insulted those of us who believe in creation instead of evolution. Here is my response:

As far as faith goes people who believe in evolution put many Christians to shame because you believe what you are told by your teachers and your media blindly with out question. Just because you once saw a cute little drawing of a monkey turning into a human on a text book, POOF, you became a believer. Wow! Congratulations.
Wish I had your amazing faith! I had to research both sides of the issue before deciding that evolution is a bunch of crap and creation is the only logical explanation based on real evidence.

Little moment

Today I witnessed a little moment in Eva's life that I believe is one of the amazing gifts that come from being able to stay home with my babies!
While Eva was playing in the living room she caught a glimpse of the reflection on the big screen TV (it was turned off) and abruptly stopped what she was doing. She stared at it intently for several seconds. I thought she was looking at her own reflection or mine so I began to wave thinking she might like that. Suddenly she turns and begins to walk toward the kitchen. Then she just stopped and stared at it. That is when I realised that it was not mine or her reflection she noticed, but it was the kitchen's which faces the TV. What intrigued me was the look on her face. It seemed as if she had just discovered some new world! She went back to the TV and looked at the reflexion again and then turned and looked at the kitchen once more. I wondered what was on her mind at that moment but I can only assume. This was of course not the first time she looked at a reflection. She sees mirrors in the house everyday. I think she just was not expecting to find a duplicate of the kitchen on the TV screen.
That might be a trivial little moment for someone else, but for me it was fascinating and part of the many reasons I feel so blessed to be able to be here at home to witness such moments of wonder and discovery in my children's lives!

Discipline, discipleship and peaceful parenting vs. spanking

Around the beginning of the year Nick and I decided to not spank the kids anymore. After much prayer, discussion and lots of reading we realised that there were better ways of disciplining the kids. I've always felt that spanking was wrong, but conventional wisdom says that spanking is good and I, like many people, grew up being told that "I spank you because I love you". I don't doubt the sincerity behind those words, however it always seemed to me to be contradictory that in order to teach a child to do good that a parent must physically harm his or her child. Then while researching unschooling I found many articles that talked about non-spanking ways of disciplining children. I even found many Christian based articles on non-violent parenting which made me feel relieved that indeed the Bible does support a more gentle and peaceful way to parent instead of the pro-spanking stance that many Christians have and preach. After a few months of not spanking I began to forget what I had learned. About 2 weeks ago I started spanking Nicky again. To my own dismay I had once again given in to my old impatience and impulse instead of following the conviction and wisdom that the Lord had given me. I started to feel guilt and the memory of the joy my kids had when I first announced to them that we would not spank them anymore haunted me because that day I saw how much pain, not only physical but emotional as well, it had caused my children when I or my husband spanked them. So a couple of days ago I went back to reread the articles on peaceful Christian parenting and I even found some new ones and today I recommitted myself to not spank. One of the things I read that helped me was that the Bible tell us to discipline our children with love and grace like God disciplines us. He allows us to live out the consequences of our actions but He never purposely causes pain in our lives just out of frustration or anger (by "us" I mean his children in Christ). Even as we live out the consequences of our bad choices He is always there offering comfort, love and grace not pain and humiliation. Also, I read more about how Jesus himself treated and interacted with children. While his disciples saw kids as burdens and hassles to be done away with Jesus welcomed them openly into his arms and then told the people that in order to enter into His Kingdom that one must become like a child.
Another article mentioned that the same Latin root word as discipline is the root word for diciple or discipleship. Therefore when we discipline our children we shouldn't think that we must try to control their behavior the way one can train an animal to behave in certain ways under the motivation of reward and punishment. No, we should see disciplining in the same way as disciplship.
We first need to "practice what we preach" because as it is commonly known kids learn to do as they see not as we say. Most importantly we parents need to have the mindset that when one is discipling one is teaching the disciple better ways of living and equipping them with the tools to do so. In my opinion spanking doesn't work with discipleship. It simply offers an unnatural and painful consequence that for the moment might deter a certain behavior, but it doesn't offer better solutions to the problem nor does it encourage a child to become more Christ like.
So that is the lesson I'm learning right now. I'm seeking better tools that my hubby and I can use to dicipline (disciple) our children in the ways of the Lord. One thing I know for sure is that we both must start by becoming better deciples of Christ and His word the Bible.

We had a nice weekend. On Saturday it was the AWANA Grand Prix where the girls got to race their small wooden hand carved and hand painted cars. They didn't win, so Isabella was very bummed. Rosie was disappointed but she still had lot's of fun with her BFF who won 2nd place in the T&T category. I was proud of Rosie on how she handled her BFF's winning a trophy when she didn't get one. Sometimes there is an air of competition between the two of them, but in the end they love each other very much and they have fun! As for my Isabella I spent much of the event giving her lot's of hugs and kisses. Nick told her that next year we'll make a better car and he took her to the church's play ground to cheer her up. And it seemed to have worked because by the time we had lunch there Isabella seems happy again. Specially because they had hot dogs, her fave for lunch! And all the goodies they got from the bake sale didn't hurt either, lol.
Later that day we had Rosie's BFF and her little brother over to our house to hang out, then it turned into a last minute sleep over. They spent the day swimming like polar bears in the cool pool, jumping on the trampoline, playing "Toon Town" on the computer, watching "Ponyo", drawing, planning a play they never actually performed and other fun stuff. The little boy slept in Bella's room and the girls stayed in Rosie's. Nicky even became a buddy with the little boy. I heard them have a conversation about tools and other "man" things ha,ha,ha. Needless to say it was a great day for my kiddos.
On Sunday we went to church where they had a dramatic presentation of the Gospel according to Mark. It was actors dressed in plain jeans and black shirts dramatically reciting the entire gospel. I enjoyed it very much. The kids enjoyed it for a while but then it became too long for them so toward the end they were bored. They did think some parts were funny and even exciting, but Rosie wished she could have also had Sunday school which was cancelled that day so that families could see the presentation together.
After church I took the friends home and we came back right away because it was raining very hard. Nick stayed home with Eva and I found them cozy sleeping in bed. The rest of the day we just chilled at home.

Yesterday I finally found info on the internet for Rosie why the moon looks orange and really big in the horizon sometimes. The answer to the latter was awesome! It turns out that the big moon is an optical illusion. Some people call it "the moon illusion" because the moon in the horizon is actually the same size as the moon we see when it's right above us. Scientists still don't know for sure if the illusion is in our brains, but they know for sure it's not something from the environment.
Today the kids kept busy playing with play-doh, making chocolate dipped bananas and strawberries, reading library books, baking cookies, digging in the dirt in the yard, jumping on the trampoline, playing doll house (the girls) and doing target practice with plastic air guns and little rubber bullets (Nicky), caring for their virtual pets on line and our real pets (2 gold fish), shooting hoops on Nicky's mini basket ball hoop, and now Isabella is in the pool "swimming" with a dress on because she felt like it though it's too cold for her to truly swim so she is just getting her legs wet. Rosie has been upstairs watching "Ponyo" for what I'm sure is the 10th time since we got the movie last night. Oh wait, I just saw Bella jump in the pool with her whole body, but she quickly jumped out. And she's going back in and out over and over again. Nutty girl =)!
Eva sat in the potty again all by herself, but nothing else happened. I don't think she connects yet going pee-pee and poo-poo with sitting in the potty though she knows that she must sit on it with a bare bum. She's only 14 months old so it's a good start.
As for me I've been reading and reading and reading. I have a couple of books I need to finish and I just got my free "SALT" magazine issue and I must say so far I've enjoyed it. It encourages Christian families in our walk with the Lord and our convictions including quiver full, homeschooling, courting and such. I would like a subscription but I need to ask Nick if we have the funds for one.
Isabella just changed into her swimsuit and is swimming! That water must be about 60 degrees fahrenheit! But she is having fun and the other kids are trying to join her. Rosie got in, but it took her a long time to dip herself all the way in and Nicky tried to get in but he just could not stand the cold water so he is in the patio standing there naked (after taking off his swimming trunks) watching his sisters in the pool. Poor Eva is looking longingly from behind the screen door in the kitchen and probably wishing she was big enough to join her older sisters.

We're finally home and thanking God for a fun trip and that Nick made many new business contacts. I pray the Lord continues to bless the business and giving Nick wisdom.
On Tuesday the kids and I went on another walk on the strip. W didn't walk as far as we did on Monday, but we did have a good stroll. I took the kids to the Cesar's Palace Hotel where there is a mall and they also have replicas of Roman statues. I had a chance to discuss with them some Roman history and myth behind the statues as well as some of the artist and their techniques. We also admired the beautiful clothes from the ultra famous designers that were in the stores' windows. Many of those pieces are pure art! I've always enjoyed fashion for the sheer beauty of it.
There we also saw a show on a big fountain, with life size animatronic characters and fire and water shooting up and loud music. It was very cool but Nicky got scared and he cried the whole time. We had a front row view so I took Nicky to the back while the girls watched the rest of the show in front. Afterwards we tried to find a place to have lunch but everywhere the food was outrageously expensive. Ice cream was $10 a scoop, a Chinese fast food meal was $17, a hot dog was $8! It was so ridiculous. So we walked back to the hotel and on the way we found an AM/PM gas station and we got hot dogs and goodies from there. Thankfully that satisfied the kids because they were very disappointed when we couldn't find a cheap place to eat on the strip.
I also got several comments on how many kids I have from strangers on the street. A couple of comments were more like "you have your hands full, but one was down right rude. It's so sad how people are so selfish that they don't see the amazing blessings and miracles that children who are made in God's own image are. One lady asked me "How many kids do you have?" and she gave me this look of disgust. I told hr boldly "I have 4 and they're ALL blessing!" She said nothing after that, I doubt that she expected me to let her know so bluntly that my children are blessings to me. We chilled out at the hotel the rest of the day.
Yesterday we took a quick trip to L.A. because Nick needed some merchandise for a customer and then drove home. When we drove through the desert we saw an awesome big red moon and we talked about it and how the moon affects the tide. I promised the kids that today I would look up the reason why the moon looks so red and big sometimes. I was so proud of how well the kids did with all the driving. Rosie had a bit of trouble with her reflux but eventually she flt better. Isabella did so well and so did baby Eva and Nicky!
The Lord is good!

Today is our second day in Vegas. It's Nick's birthday but he has been at the trade show since the morning. Before he went though he had to go buy Rosie a pair of flip flops since hers broke yesterday (I think when I tried them on at the market I must have stretched them out, oops!). After he did that he went off to the trade show and we went off to our excursion.
I looked on the Internet to see how far the strip was from our hotel the Tuscany, which by the way is very nice. I would rate it amongst our top 5 places we've ever stayed. It's a suite with a kitchenette and a king bed plus a sofa bed. The room smells like a new house and the property looks like an Italian villa. So pretty!
Anyways, the yahoo.com map said that the strip was less than a mile walk from here so the kiddos and I dared to walk down E. Flamingo Blvd. toward the strip. The area might seem shady but in reality there were many people walking along with us including several people dressed in business attire. When we were almost at the strip Rosie saw the MGM Hotel at what seemed to be a short distance. We decided to walk to to it since there is a free lion habitat exhibit. Well, I figured the walk would not be that easy but I decided to keep my opinion to myself because I wanted the kids to experience walking down a city street. At first Rosie was nervous, but the rest of the kids were excited at all the things they saw as we walked along. Soon Rosie relaxed and she began to enjoy herself too. We stopped at various places along the way and back including a big fountain at the Bally's, walked across one of the many bridges along the strip, the M&M store, the Coke store where we took a picture with a 7 foot polar bear (a guy in a costume), went up and down various escalators and people movers, saw the monorail and they all wished we could ride it, saw the faux Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysées and I discussed with them about where the real ones are and many other things. They also loved seeing the 2 story buses and people watching all the people here from all over the world of course.
Finally we saw the lion habitat at the MGM and the kids had fun watching those huge animals doing the "cat" things they do (mostly napping, lol). Unfortunately there were also many ads for filth on truck billboards and along the street and that bothered Rosie and me. It was the first time I noticed so much of that. Perhaps because it's the first time I walk so far in Vegas with children (no lectures please!).
At the end of our hike we ended up, not surprisingly, exhausted and sore! But over all it was a very fun time and I'm glad we did it. When we got home I made sandwiches for the kids and now we are just relaxing and waiting for my love Nick to come home. I assume we will celebrate his birthday somehow when he gets here.

We're going to be out of town with Nick for a trade show in Las Vegas.

Today was a busy one. I had to wake up the girls at the crack of dawn to make it to their docs appointment on time for a physical and a referral for a pediatric dentist. So Nick stayed home with Nicky and Eva while the three of us went to the doctor's office. Everything was OK with the girls. Bella is perfect. She's 4 feet tall but I didn't get her weight. She was nervous so they had to take her blood pressure twice since the first time it was abnormally high. Rosie, though she's perfect too, still has reflux so we will return next week to get that checked out more thoroughly. Oh, and she's 5ft tall now!
After the doctor's appointments we went home and while the girls and I ate a late breakfast Nicky watched his new favorite movie "The Right Stuff". Of course being only 3 years old he completely ignored all the drama but has become obsessed with rockets and astronauts. So much so that yesterday when he saw the movie for the first time he made me take him on a quick book run to the library to pick up as many books on space rockets as we could find for him. So today we spent a few minutes looking through his library books and he asked me dozens of questions on what was happening to the astronauts in the rockets in the movie and then he adamantly told me that one of the astronauts on the movie was him. Later Bella, Nicky, Eva and I went for for a walk to the park. We played there for a while and I even got a chance to talk to my sister Beatty when she called me on the cell phone. It's nice hearing from her even if we don't get to talk much anymore. Afterwards we came home and waited for Nick to get home from running errands and we went to take Rosie to get her hair cut and to have dinner.
Right now I feel drained but blessed to have had such a full day with my loves! I look forward to later having nightly devotions with the kids and a good night sleep!
Thank you Lord Jesus for all you give us and for all you provide.

Some of the toughest lessons for me to teach my children are how to forgive those who hurt them. Not because it's tough for them to forgive, on the contrary they usually tell me to not say anything to anyone when someone is mean to them. They worry about those people's feelings and sometimes they are also are afraid that those people will be angry at them. The real tough part is dealing with my own feelings of anger when I know someone did my children wrong. Today I was talking to them about a couple of situations when certain people didn't respect their belongings and because of it one of my children's toys were damaged and other toys were lost. I asked my child, the one who's things were damaged, if *** wanted me to say something to the individuals who were responsible. But my angel said no, *** didn't want one of those people to get in trouble or have that person get angry.
That is not the first time people have been disrespectful to my children. In fact I've witnessed how some people are out right rude to my babies. I think there are only a few sins as abominable than hurting a child on pourpuse, even emotionally. I remember years ago certain visitors to my home would ignore my kids when my baies tried talking to them or when my kids brought them a book to read to them or asked them to play. Once someone even read a book as fast as she could to my child, so ridiculously fast that I couldn't even understand what they were reading, to rush and to get my child away from her as fast as possible. I don't know how those adults could be so hateful to innocent children, even with me right there?! Others have yelled at my kids for things they didn't do and my poor babies, being so meek, tell me that even though their feelings got hurt that they don't want me to say anything. Inside my blood boils, my heart breaks and tears swell up in my eyes, however the Holy Spirit keeps me from going after those people and just slapping them. I usually manage to muster up the calm voice to tell my children that I am proud that they can forgive those who hurt them. Then I tell them we must pray for our enemies. It's sad to say enemies because 99% of the time those people have been family. After a situation like that it takes me about a day of prayer to give me the strength to forgive. Then I realise how amazing my children are! When I was their age if someone hurt me I took delight in seeing them suffer and punished. But my kids think about the other person's feelings and well being before their own!
I have no doubt that my babies have the Lord in their hearts. Even though I should be the example to them of how a godly person should react to being hurt emotionally or being disrespected, the truth is that they are the ones who inspire me to become more like Christ and I consider them my heroes!
Lord help me to have "faith like a child". Give my husband and me the wisdom to show them how to gave a Christ like attitude towards our enemies and that my precious and amazing children don't lose that meakness and love they have even to those who don't show them that same love.

It's another day of recovery for our clan. This "bug" trully hit us hard. Eva has been the only one who seems to have avoided it. But we're still praising the Lord that everyone does feel better today than yesterday!

I'm almost done reading one of the 2 books I'm tackling now. Honestly I skimmed through most of it because I had read it a few years ago when I first began considering to unschool (the book is The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith) and now I was surprised to see how it was sort of like old news to me. The book gives parents ideas and encouragement from the author's and other unschoolers' lives to new and potential unschooled families. Yet, as I read through it this second time I noticed that we already do live a very free and unschooled life! I could relate to the stories of the unschoolers in the book. I felt special (hee-hee) to find that our family fits in the ranks of other well seasoned unschooling families. The chapter that I am reading all the way though is the final one on grown up unschoolers. It's mostly for the sake of encouragement for me. I know that I shouldn't seek for the approval of others, except from the Lord. But in a world where my beliefs are unconventional and where many of the people around me find it hard to understand what we are trying to accomplish for our children , it is nice to read about other families who have gone through this same path we are on right now and that they came out all the better for it.

I've been praying for the Lord to bless us with more babies. I've even thought about how awesome it would be to have twins! Yes, I know what some people would think and say if I told them this. But the Lord has shown me what true blessings and treasures children are and how no where in the Bible does God say we should be the ones to control the number of children we ought to have. Oh, I know how radical that sounds in our culture, even amongst the most conservative of Christians. Yet, as I've been seeking the Scriptures for answers regarding this subject all I see are verse on how children are an inheritance from the Lord and that HE is the one who opens and closes the womb. Any verses that have to do with not having children say that it is a curse to be barren and it condemns people who try to stop life from happening when a man and a woman "lay" together. God's command to wives and husbands to be fruitful and multiply is made quite clear throughout the entire Bible, including the New Testament.

That is the conviction that the Lord has been putting in my heart lately. It even goes against what I've believed all along, so I know it cannot be coming from me. As recently as a year ago I was trying to convince Nick to get a vasectomy. I felt we were so done having kids. Yet, just in this past year the Lord has led me to a new (but not so new) way of seeing who He is and His will for our family!

Yesterday was Isabella's birthday and the day was a good one for her, thanks be to God. The kids had fun at Chuck-e-Cheese and afterwards we took Bella to get her presents at the store. Nick got her a cute little white cake with blue frosting and we celebrated at home.
The only negative part was that Rosie got ill in the truck on the way to lunch and she threw up. So I had to go to Target to get her a new pair of shorts. She still had a good time but after a while she wanted to come home and rest.

7am:
It seems Rosie feels better but in the past 12 hours Nick, Nicky and Isabella also got sick so I spent all night and all early morning cleaning up messes of the not so yummy type. My poor loves! I pray they all feel better soon and that Eva and I are speared.

Right now Nicky and Eva are playing with his play-dough set, Rosie is sleeping in and Bella is resting on the couch. I suspect today will just be a day of recovery for everyone.

It's 10am now and the crew still feels yucky. Rosie is better but still has a headache. She played on the computer for a while and now she went back to bed. My stomach began churning but I'm praying that I don't get worse. I can't afford to get sick! I'm taking care of everyone, who'll take care of me? That's a mother's conundrum. Eva is the only one who is doing just fine. In fact, she's having fun dancing and having free reign of the toys while her siblings lay in misery on the couch watching TV.

It's about 11:30am. All but Rosie and I are sleeping. I can hear her upstairs playing her electric piano. She loves to experiment with the different notes and tries to figure out how to play songs. She also likes to listen to the prerecorded songs that came with the organ and trying to recreate those herself.

It's odd for me when my loves are down for the count. I'm so used to being with them all day and doing things with them. I do have more time right now to read and to be on the computer (hence why I am on here now), but I miss them! I cannot imagine how empty my life would be if we did send them to school. No thank you!

It's 6:30pm and Nick and little Nick just left to take Rosie to AWANA. My poor Bella is still feling very sick so she had to miss it. I know she must be bummed because she loves AWANA. Right now I'm sitting next to her in bed keeping her company. I feel ill too but I've tried to not eat a lot today so that my stomach does't get too upset. Nick took Eva and Nicky to the store earlier so that I could take a nap and that helped me so much! I'm so graeatful for my awesome hubby!

Today is Isabella's 6th birthday, yay!!!! We feel like we are the most blessed and happiest parents in the world because she is in our lives. Thank you Lord for our precious little one!

The kids are excited about the days events bcause every birthday is a fun one for everyone! Our plans are Chuck-e-Cheese, the store to buy gifts and the cake, then we come back here and celebrate more at home. My Isabella chose to get a swing set and a train set (that she said she will share with her brother). She is one of the sweetest most unselfish people I know. For Christmas my mom got her a kit to make stuffed animals and she gave all the stuffed animals she made to her siblings. I love my baby!

My Rosie got ill today just from thinking about bacon, so she said. I think she just has a bug. She rested a while before breakfast. Poor baby.

Nicky requested that I print him out a "Prince of God Chart" like his sisters have (the girls' charts are called "Princess Charts"). It's a way for me to encourage them to act like "royalty" (1 Peter 2:9) of God. So before breakfast I printed his out and he already earned 3 check marks for helping me throw away dirty diapers and for doing it joyfully with out complaining.

Later Nicky helped me cook "chorizo con huevos". Lately he's been my little sous chef helping me crack eggs, measure ingredients, mix them up, etc. He's such a good little man!

Isabella played computer for a while I fed the other kids. After breakfast Rosie found a rainbow on the carpet because the glass table acted as a purism as the sunlight from the window shone through. So we had a discussion about the subject of light and prisms and such.

I'll write more about how the day goes later tonight.

Poem I just found.

I thought that one day
I would be a famous artist
and create great works of art

Instead, God made me a mother,
and my children are His masterpiece.

The design of their lives
will live on after me.
What is painted on their hearts
will last an eternity
- Anonymous

This morning I woke up a bit groggy. Bella woke up several times during the night and therefore woke me up to go with her to the bathroom, or to turn on the TV (for the light because the dark scares her). By the time we got down stars it was about 7:30a.

Before breakfast we did our daily Psalm reading. it's something recent I began to do with the kids every morning before breakfast and so far it's gone better than I expected. The little ones play while the older 2 girls listen to me read a Psalm. That has led to interesting discussions about our faith and to many questions about the Lord. Sometimes those questions are not even with in the subject of the days Psalm, but that's OK. I'm just happy to get the kids thinking and asking about the Lord!

After that I prepared breakfast while the kids played with the Wii and the lap top. The kids sat down to eat while I did some dishes and started the laundry. By the time I got to sit and eat my bf the kids were done with theirs so they went back to their games. I thought it would be a good time to do some reading but that did not turn out to be the case. After I put Eva down from her high chair to go play she became a bit fussy. I thought she was still hungry so I gave her 1/4 of my bagel. She ate some but she was still not happy so I sat her on the ground to play with foam letters and numbers puzzles that she loves and that kept her busy while I finished my bagel and coffee.

After bf I sat with Nicky who wanted to watch Santa Claus music videos on youtube.com. Soon Isabella joined us and we watched the videos and laughed at some weird ones. That lead to us finding even more silly videos and we did that for a while.

In the mean time Rosie made some Miis. Those are character avatars the kids make on the Wii. She also showed us her collection of "giros" (sp?) that she had collected on her Animal Crossing game and we had fun looking at some other people's Mii's. We love to see how creative people can be and the kids like to figure out how people made those.

Isabella wanted a snack so I made her PB&J and Rosie did some anime drawing in the front room. I announced that after Bella was done eating we would have "clean up time".

I don't assign specific chores to each child. I've found that becomes more of a hassle than help so instead we have "cleaning time" where we all clean up together and all of us clean up as needed. This time Isabella and Nicky had fun cleaning up. I allow them to play as they work as long as things get cleaned and picked up in a timely manner. Unfortunately Rosy had a hard time being "joyful" in her work today. So she and I had a conversation on why the Lord wants us to be joyful and great full in all things even when we don't feel like doing our work. We talked about how blessed we are to have a nice warm and safe home and that the Lord wants us to take care of the things He gives us. Also, I reminded her that there are many people who would give anything to have her life so full of love, health and blessings. That helped her to see things in a new way, and although she still didn't want to clean she volunteered to vacuum while the other kids and I cleaned up the upstairs and she didn't complain anymore.

After cleaning time we sat for a few minutes and watched some cartoons. It began to rain and the wind was blowing hard and that scared Bella. We prayed about it and sang "God Is Bigger Than The Boogie Man" but we made up our own lyrics "God is bigger than the scary storm". That made the kids laugh and Bella said she felt much better.
Eva began to get fussy again so I took her into the room to nurse her. Isabella and Nicky came into the room. Nicky requested we sing "Jesus Loves Me", one of his favorite songs, with sign language (we learned how to do that on youtube a few days ago). So we did, about a dozen times! Then Isabella wanted to play from the Rhyme Time Reading Kit my mom gave me. We made sentences out of sight word cards and then played the card game War with the cards provided in the kit.

In the mean time Rosie was in the living room outside playing with "Flip Note Studio" on her DSi (it's an animation program). I decided to write on this blog but then Nicky threw a tantrum about something or other. He needed a nap, but of course he didn't take one.
The tantrum was quenched by a swat in his butt after he smacked a drink off the desk in anger . I know , I wasn't going to spank anymore, but he doesn't seem to respond to any other form of discipline. I won't give up though. I still want to find a better way of disciplining that little dude.
Earlier when Rosie and I talked about being joyful in all circumstances we also talked about Christians like Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie who were persecuted during the Holocaust and how they were able to keep their joy, thankfulness and faith in the Lord during such horrific circumstances and how by their testimony many people, including some women in their concentration camps, have come to Christ. Also about how amazing it is that the Lord has used their obedience to bless millions around the world decades after the fact and even us here in little old Buckeye Arizona today. That is why, I told her, we need to be obedient with joy and thanksgiving to the Lord because we never know when or how the Lord will use our own testimony of joy to bring others to Him and encourage many more.
The rest of the day the girls kept busy with their drawing, computer and Wii games. While I cleaned my room Nicky and I watched a biographical drama on HBO called "Temple Grandin" about an autistic woman scientist who works to make conditions for livestock more humane and also to help fellow autistic people. I don't know how much of the story Nicky understood but he asked a lot of questions about what was going on and he sat through the entire movie very interested. He loves to watch non-infantile movies with me often.
Isabella took a bath, just for fun as she's been doing lately, and she even volunteered to scrub the scum off the tub! She seems to enjoy cleaning and earning check marks in her "Princess Chart". So does Rosie, but in her own way.

While I was reading the news on the Wii Nicky saw a picture of Obama. He goes up to the TV and points to it and says "Awaka Bama". Ha, ha, ha! It was so funny because we have no idea how he knows that!
Later this afternoon while dinner was cooking and after Rosie jumped on the trampoline she wanted to do a couple of science experiments she found on a kitchen science book. The experiment involved sugar cubes, hot and cold water. We discussed and looked at the periodic table of elements, solutions, molecules, atoms and how heat affects molecules. Isabella played with the foam letters and numbers.
After dinner Nicky played Wii (yes, they are Wii freaks specially since I let them put it down stairs). I showed Rosie how to blog (hee hee). It's about 5:30pm now and I suspect the rest of the night will be dedicated to jumping on the couch, playing with boxes in the living room (like they are doing now), doing a final clean up, showers, devotions and prayer, and finally bed.

Eva is going through what I call "the streaker" phase. You know, where baby discovers she has control over whether on not the diaper stays on. So all day I've been following a trail of diapers and puddles (with one round and brown surprise on the floor) leading to a little bare bum. Thank goodness for onceies! Well, at least until she realises she can still undo her diaper from the inside if she reaches into the onceie.Also, Nicky has become the expert screw driver man. He has been unscrewing everything from our kitchen chairs, to toys, to the central vaccum outlet thing on the wall. We really need to get him some gadgets he can take apart safely and ones wed don't need!