Saturday, March 26, 2011

Ready to Dig Deeper?

My kids have been mesmerized by the tv lately... and sometimes that's not a bad thing.  Let me explain.

In the past, most spiritual education involved parents opening up a Bible storybook and reading the many, many different awe-inspiring, child-friendly accounts to their kids.  They are popular with the young ones, but this system can also cause a couple of different problems:  First, the little ones will tuck the stories into their minds the same as any other bedtime story, not realizing the Bible stories are a cohesive message of how God has a plan in rescuing His people.  (Quick sidenote: As you read the many fun stories of God's power and provision to your young ones always, always tell them that this story is true, it really happened - this will help them start to see the Bible in it's proper perspective.)  Secondly, many times it's difficult to help the kids progress past the storybook level of learning the Scriptures... the story of Jonah always ends with him preaching in Ninevah... the Israelites obediently followed Moses across the dry land of the Red Sea and live happily ever after... and once Jesus ascends back into heaven the whole Bible is pretty much over.  That's what most storybook Bibles would have you believe anyway.  There are few resources available to aid parents in moving their kids on to the next level spiritually.

Admittedly, the Bible is full of very abstract concepts - things that little guys just won't grasp - so there is definitely a time and place for such basic Bible story teachings.  But as your little guy grows bigger, are you having trouble figuring out where you should even start in teaching your child about what the Bible is for and what it's message is all about?

Now to the point of worthy tv viewing... Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales, has moved on to something I would deem as one of his more nobler pursuits.  He has launched a new kids' series that can be described as the Muppet Show meets Biblical Studies 101 - a strange combination?  Maybe.  But my kids love it and they are learning a lot.

The show/dvds are entitled What's in the Bible? with Buck Denver... but you can preview many of the songs, sketches, bits, and pieces at JellyTelly.com.  The dvds will take the kids through the Bible step by step - starting by answering the questions of where the Bible came from, who wrote it, and why it's important... and then walks them through each of the books, giving a synopsis of each of the books in a fun, creative, entertaining, and informative style while still pulling the kids back to give them the overall perspective of how each book fits into the big picture of God's plan of redemption.  Parents, you will learn things too!  (The shows even have a segment called Tricky Bits that will tackle the really hard questions the Bible presents...)

What's in the Bible, Vol. 1-4 are available for purchase, and Vol. 5 comes out in May... but you can view many parts of it for free at JellyTelly.com so go check it out.  They hold Lillie's attention pretty well, Avery is grasping basic concepts from them, and Huston and Isaiah are being educated as to why this book we read is so very important.  This is not a paid endorsement, this is an excited mom wanting to let others know of a great educational tool.

I'll leave you with a clip of one of their many silly songs... my kids laugh and learn all in one.  Priceless.

Monday, March 21, 2011

The Progression of Lillie











What a difference three years makes, eh?  These were all taken on her actual birthday (March 19th).  She had a great time celebrating this year - the first year she knew what was going on really.  The presents, people singing to her, everyone telling her happy birthday.  She ate. it. up.  I think if it were up to her, everyday would be a Lillie day :)  Anyway, I won't bore you with all the details - it was a pretty quiet, yet fun day.  And heck, we're still celebrating.

Friday, March 18, 2011

This is Not my Baby Girl

Yes, yes, she will always be my "baby" - but tomorrow this little widgit turns 3...


She was playing with stickers when I snapped this photo - and she was decorating herself - cuz who needs paper.

I thought the sticker she chose was rather appropriate...


We all think she's pretty wonderful (of course we should).

And she's also pretty goofy...



So anyway, tomorrow is her birthday - she will be "free" - and is insulted when I call her my baby (most times...)

I will try to recap the weekend celebrations - but wanted to throw this up here before I forgot to.

Happy Birthday dear Lillie Frances - your whole family is quite smitten with you.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I Have No Words...

so I'll make some up.

Yes, yes.  I've neglected you, but I'm sure after the first 3 times you checked back in to see if anything new was ever going to materialize, you simply gave up and moved on with your lives.  And I'm proud of you for that.

I have sensed for quite some time that I am shifting seasons within my life.  I've alluded to "the shift" a few times before (yeah, in some of those posts that were written like a million years ago... and in at least one of those posts, I kinda got in trouble for it...) but I see that this newly budding season has arrived.  And I'm not completely talking about spring.

Peoples, I'm getting older.  Now I'm not saying that I'm old.  Cuz, I'm not.  And I don't particularly care for younger people going around saying that they are old, especially when about 66.8 % of the population is older than them.  But in just a few months I will have three elementary aged children and my "baby" is soon to be 3 years old - not really a baby anymore.  She talks, she walks, she uses the potty (when she has time for it) - she's practically growed. (yes, I homeschool).

So, evidence #1 of new season - my kids are growing older.

Follow the dominoes with me - my kids are growing older, therefore I have more "free time" - what's that?  That's the time that you are not spending making decisions for all of your children, wiping their noses and bottoms, getting them bathed and dressed and feeding them (oh yeah, I still feed my children.)  But the rest of that stuff - so many of them, if not all of them, can pretty much do on their own with some success.  This allows me to focus on other things.

Evidence #2 of new season - I have a new focus.

My job has slowly become not so fuzzy anymore.  Lots of opportunities presenting themselves before me - lots of them rather exciting, but still - I'm not completely sure of where things are heading.  I'm becoming more of a resource for young families - looked to as the one that's been there, done that.  (see? getting older)  I like the change, simply because it shows that I'm not completely living the preschool life anymore - it's kinda nice.

And finally evidence #3 - I have no idea what I'm doing.

The new season of parenting has me guessing more than knowing - and that's the nature of the beast.  That's a season that I anticipate that I will never grow out of...which makes me that much more dependent upon God and studying His Word, which makes me that much more interested in teaching others what I find out, which makes me that much more curious as to where this new season of life will lead.  What did I tell ya.  Dominoes.

So I guess I did have words - and here I thought I couldn't produce a blog entry anymore.  This rambling stuff may continue after all.