Curly Q’s Special Day

She is finally four! She has been counting down and the day has arrived at last!  We celebrated with friends and siblings at Chucky Cheese.  She was thrilled with her gifts!  She especially likes her big doll.  Happy birthday to our sweet, spunky, curly headed little BIG girl!  We love you!!

Cutting Back

Since daddy left about four months ago there has been a lot of television and movie watching around this house. First trimester yuckiness also added to the laziness around here, not to mention the extremely rainy summer. Sadly, the television has been on A LOT!

I have been thinking about cutting back for a long time but never had the real energy it takes to stick to my guns! All that has changed in the last two weeks. I do not know what did it but I am on a mission! I have found myself saying no just about all day long. We are far from where we should be. We still watch way to much but at least that box isn’t on all day long anymore. Even the Wii is on a break because it needs the television to be on to use it!

It has been hard. Like any addiction, it is hard to kick the habit. It takes more energy to use your imagination than it does to just sit and watch. Even though I have my 8 year old and 3 year old trying to convince me “it doesn’t rot their brain, they learn”, I am sticking to my guns! So, there have been a few tears. There has been a lot of “I’m bored!” There is still the constant asking. BUT there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My children are starting to play again. They are using their imaginations! Their toys are actually being played with! We are making progress.

The television is still on too much but we are moving ahead. Once we are in full school mode we will be cutting back even more. It is so refreshing to see my children playing, imagining, and learning rather than just sitting zombified in front of the television! It is hard but so very worth it!

Does any one else struggle with this in their home? If so, do you have any tips or tricks that made it easier?

All is Quiet

All is quiet on the home front today. Not sure exactly how to handle it! ) One child is out looking for another job. Two children are at Bible study. One child is over at a friend’s house. Three other children went to the park with the neighbors. That leaves only the two little ones at home. They are strangely playing nicely together in the other room at the moment. What do I do with this QUIET!!!! Not sure I can stand it! I will do my best to enjoy it thought. It is just strange I tell you, STRANGE!!! )

Beautiful Baby….what???

Back and forth, back and forth.  If you have been following along you will know that I have been trying to guess the sex of this little bundle that I am carrying.  My gut instinct has been that we were having a boy.  I have guessed all but one child correctly.  Testing the heart rate has always worked for me.  Even the one I guessed wrong had been confirmed via ultrasound.  Only when I was told the heart rate later did I tell the doc that it could not be what I had been told.  The heart rate actually did win over the original ultrasound.  So I am convinced that for me heart rates can tell you the sex of the baby.

This baby has had me a bit confused.  The heart rate was high, then borderline, then high again.  All over the board.  My gut was saying it was a boy but I just couldn’t believe that it would be so.  After all, we have so many girls and my boys are now 19 and 14.  The odds are against us and the heart rate was not something that had been very consistent.

I went in for my ultrasound last week.  The heart rate was at 138.  I began to get a little excited thinking that just maybe my gut feeling was right after all.  The tech asked if I wanted to know the sex it was all I could do to keep from saying, “Heck yah, why do you think I’m here!?”  But instead, I very politely said, “Yes, I would love to know.”

He scanned over my belly and before he even said a word, I KNEW!  I responded before he could even tell me himself what we were having!  If you know much about pregnancy ultrasounds you will understand this….

There were no three little lines!  There was a turtle  instead!  Yes, indeed, my gut was correct!  We are having a little boy!!!!! Oh boy, A BOY!!  And isn’t he the cutest little guy ever?

Catechism Resources

I am interrupting the series which I am blogging to share this with you.  Jennifer @ Quiverfull Family left me a comment the other day about catechism resources.

I’ve been feeling led towards catechizing lately (I don’t come from a Christian background, so this is really totally foreign to our family.)

Do you use the Westminster Shorter? Any specific resources that you can recommend?

I decided it would be good to share the information with all of you.  Thank you Jennifer for asking!!  These are resources that I love and am so excited to be able to share them!

First, yes, we do use the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Second, here are a few resources that we use with our family! I am also listing a few others that are out there that we have not tried just in case you want to check them out!  I hope that these resources are helpful to you in training your children.

Big Truths for Little Kids

Training Hearts Teaching Minds

Vic Lockman’s Catechism in Cartoon form.

Songs for Saplings by Dana Dirksen

I know that Veritas Press also has a catechism songs collection and a song book but I have not heard them yet…they are on the order form for us to try out this school year.

We also have some of  THESE children’s catechism books…they were used along with their Sunday School curriculum a few years ago.

Covenant Home also has a catechism course which my hubby has used for youth group sessions.  It is designed for 5th grade and up.

Godly Conversations and Models

Today, I will touch on the last two means of evangelizing our children mentioned in the booklet Bringing the Gospel to Covenant Children: In Dependency on the Spirit by Joel R. Beeke.

• Godly Conversation

Scripture teaches that we must take time each day to speak to our covenant children about God.  Serious, spiritual conversation should be done in regular times of family worship and teaching, but also spontaneously through the process of everyday life.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

The Hebrew word for instruction in Deuteronomy 6:7 says that we are to “sharpen” or “impress” upon our children the teachings of God’s Word. The idea is that we are to mark, brand, penetrate, and disciple our children in God’s ways. That is our daily calling. Remember, it takes time and diligence to make a lasting impression (Isaiah 28:9-10).

• Godly Models

If we would have godly children, they must see God’s character in our lives.  Though they may learn much from what we say and do, they will learn most from who we are.  Our praying, teaching, and living must be one; we must be and practice what we pray.  “God cannot resist a parent’s prayer when it is sufficiently backed up with a parent’s sanctification,” wrote Alexander Whyte.

We must not fail to act as our children’s spiritual mentors.

There is so much more on the subject of modeling to our children in the booklet. Too much good stuff to share it all. If you hadn’t figured it out by now, I highly recommend purchasing the booklet so you can reap more from its pages!  Follow the link above to get your own copy.

Remember, if this is an area in which you struggle, as I am sure it is for all of us, take it to the Lord, he will equip you.