M's book recommendations

These are M's favorite books from our latest library run. Both are fun and also contain recipes to test out with your little one!

For Shannon (this doesn't mean that if your name isn't Shannon, you can't read, too!):

Yes, I find myself making connections all the time (even though most the time it's not planned out) and going over the same idea quite a bit. I don't think it has to do with me being a good mama as much as it has to do with having a child who doesn't play by himself and who doesn't take long naps (the other day he woke after 23 minutes!) We simply have A LOT of time to fill!

As example, we recently read about the Good Shepherd from one of his bibles, and M made a little shepherd book from a template I got out of a guide. I also like to read little bits to him from my bible simply so he can see me using it! Then I drew a sheep outline on paper and let him glue cotton balls on it. Today we got out some marshmallows to use as sheep and a stick guy we made previously to serve as the shepherd....then we acted out the story with one of the marshmallows getting lost behind a candle on our table and the shepherd going to find it. Then M got to eat the sheep!

night games

At 1:45 AM on Sunday, I heard loud noises coming from M's room.

They were shouts....exuberant shouts.

"P! Q! R! S! T!..."

the stuff we do

I love to see what other bloggy mamas are doing with their kids, so I thought I would also share the stuff we do 'round here. We have a big craft drawer, but I also keep a muffin tin of "supplies" handy. The tin usually has dry black beans, goofy eyes, pom poms, buttons, and dry pasta. When I am cooking I always set aside some pasta for crafts.


Sometimes I will draw a big letter for M to fill in with stickers/beans/pasta. I let him use the stick glue, but I use the Elmer's. Usually I put glue in a small area, and then he decorates but sometimes we collaborate!
Sometimes we make faces and other designs.
Or decorate the rocks we find. M has excellent fine motor skills and can handle little items very well. If something does end up being difficult, then I ask him to choose the supplies and location where he wants them placed.

This morning we read a book that we made yesterday about M being a special creation of God. Then I got out a photo album, and we talked about the great qualities that God gave him. Next we made a picture of him...I only drew the head and put the glue in the right spots, M then put everything in its place.
I drew another oval for Daddy's head, put some glue on top and at smile, and just let M go to town.
For this next picture (of me!) I walked him through the drawing...like asking him how many eyes I have and where they are on my face...and then asking where the eyes should go on the paper face. I also asked him what color hair/eyes/lips I have before choosing our markers.
Here we started putting some penguin stickers on a paper and talking about how, even though they were different colors, they are all still penguins. This reminded me that we had a new library book about penguins, so we looked at the different types of penguins and noted their differences. Then I grabbed a calendar of kids from different countries and pointed out the differences between the kids...but talked about how they are all still kids and all special creations of God.
Finally we made stick people for each person in our family and had them dance and jump together.
Then I needed a nap!

new post on private blog

Just published a new post on the private blog. If you would like access for viewing, please email me.

milk

when do you recommend switching a babe from whole milk to 2%?

and from white milk to chocolate? haha.

you don't want to know...but you need to

As soon as I mention the topic of this post, some of you will immediately stop reading. Perhaps you will take the time to scroll down looking for photos...or you may just quickly hit that back button and get the heck out of dodge. Let me say...I totally understand.

But hear me out. I'm not saying you need to do anything drastic. I'm saying you need to know...to be aware. To have your eyes open to the realities of human trafficking.

It's difficult to face. Our minds don't want to "go there." But right this moment a little child, a young girl, or a woman IS THERE. Actually living in the place that we don't want to go.


You need to know that
- human trafficking, the buying and selling of people, is a business that is bigger and more prevalent that you can fathom...and it is rapidly growing in our country,
- forced labor associated with trafficking can be sexual in nature, but also includes working in sweatshops, agricultural settings, and domestic settings,
- the United States is one of the largest markets in the world for sexual slavery.

I'm not going to post stats because I think they can overwhelm and take the focus off the individual. But it's safe to say that by the time you finish reading this an American businessman will have had his way with an 11 year old Filipino child, a vanload of teen girls who thought they were coming to America for school will be herded into an underground brothel in your state, and a young woman will have sexually served, against her will, her 20th customer for the day.

God is not calling everyone to become ICE agents or open a transitional house for victims. But God does call us to free the oppressed. Is there really any who are more oppressed than those who are bought and sold to be used for brutal, humiliating sex or labor against their will?


You can
- do nothing
- pray (I even pray that God will bring the oppressed to my mind so that I remember to pray for them!)
- become more aware (look around when you are at gas stations or public restrooms...notice the people in your surroundings)
- become more active (research sites, donate $, host an event to inform your community)

Some resources:
Shared Hope Int
Life Impact Int
Kim Daniels w/AIM
Hagar Int
The Defenders USA (great site for men!)

I recently watched the movie Human Trafficking. I never watch these types of movies because I see no point in filling your mind with such things, but I feel that this movie accurately depicts various aspects of the scope and brutality of human trafficking. In the final scene, Mira Sorvino's character says that we must face the fact that "none of this horror would be possible if our culture didn't create a demand for it."

UGH! Doesn't it kill you that the men (and a growing number of women) in our cities...in our neighborhoods...are fueling this tragedy? PRAY for the victims, the oppressors, AND the buyers who are creating the demand for this product of human lives. As God answers prayers and brings His light to the darkness, healing and hope will come...but also future lives will be spared the horrors of human trafficking.

"modern day slavery is only occuring because we choose to ignore it..." - Human Trafficking, the movie

private blog

Our new private blog is up and running, and I have sent email invites to all who requested access. At least I hope I did! So if you didn't get an invitation or have decided you would like one (because all the cool kids are doing it), please email me!

This blog will stay a public blog if you care to join me in discussing topics ranging from trash-bagged windows to human trafficking to chocolate covered strawberries!