Welcome Gwenyth & Nehemiah!

I'll let Lindsay make the announcement in her own words:

It has been a few days & life is a little nutty, but AMAZING. Gwenyth Hope & Nehemiah Jackson were born on January 28th (their 36th week out of 40). Gweynth was born at 9:43pm weighing in at 5lbs. 11oz. 19in long and her brother Nehemiah followed at 9:58pm weighing 6lbs. 12 ozs. 18in long. They are both doing really well and are at home with us. We are all doing really well too. The girls love to help do all the mommy things and Titus is learning to play with his tools and footballs away from the babies :) He's adjusting wonderfully! Thank you for your prayers and your excitement we look forward to introducing them to all the wonderful people in their lives very soon!
Love, The Willmers

i just had to say...

HALLELUJAH!

just for Beth...

And if you're totally lost, this morning we watched Session4 of the Believing in God series by Beth Moore. And in her charasmatic, praise Jesus way, she commented to those of us not live in the studio audience, that you can say Hallelujah on the internet too. Just type it BIG. That's what those large fonts are for!

I hope you're believing:
God is who He says He is.
God can do what He says He can do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ.
God's word is alive and active in me.

Rainy Day Activities

You know you're thinking about them right about now, here's a quick list I whipped up! What do you do on rainy days??

Make a fort or tent with sheets (read books with a flashlight or play games inside)

Make a train with a cardboard box

Finger paint with shaving cream and food coloring on a cookie sheet

Turn on some music and have a dance party; play freeze dance

Blow up balloons and play hockey or volleyball

Bake: anything!

Pour/Scoop/Measure: use a shoe box or similar container and dump some Rice/Beans or popcorn kernals in it, add spoons, measuring cups, strainers, etc (this requires supervision)

Collages: make paper plate collages with whatever you have on hand, cut up paper, tissue paper, cotton balls, and glue on a paper plate

Handprint/Footprint art: if you have butcher paper they can make feet trails or just use whatever paper you have!

Make Greeting Cards for the next holiday

Jewelry: Cheerios/FruitLoops necklaces/bracelets on string or pipe cleaner

Count the house: count all the windows/doors/beds/chairs/sinks/etc.

Bath/Bubbles: let him blow bubbles in the bathtub or take a bath

Doggy scavenger hunt: if you have a dog, hide some treats and then let him loose to find them

disney.go.com/preschool has games and videos

The Parenting Box

My parenting box refers to the resources (ideas, activities, tools, etc.) I've gathered to help me parent better. One of my favorite resources is a list of tried and true activities used when the kids are fussy or cranky or just need to be pointed in another playful direction.

Now I'm sure you never run out of things to do in your house. You likely have endless ideas and enthusiasm for playing and teaching your children - and if that's really the case....well, can I come live with you? But around here and at certain times of the year (like tax season!), my days seem really long. And I find myself wondering what am I supposed to do with these children?

Enter parenting box. It took some deliberate thought and lots of inquiries to build up my parenting box. And I'm so very grateful to every parent out there that helped me fill this box as its been a HUGE help to me as a parent.

Below you'll find 5 of my favorite, tried and true activities:

1. Bubbles - seems to be a great activity at any stage and works year round.

2. Rice/Beans/Pasta/Oatmeal Box - Take a fairly good size plastic storage box (mine is about the size of a shoe box) and fill it with your choice (or whatever is handy in your kitchen cupboards) of rice, beans, pasta or oatmeal. You can use a little food dye on all but the beans if you'd like which can make it even more fun. Include something to scoop, pour and fill. Dixie cups, old laundry detergent scoops, measuring spoons, etc. The younger the child the more hands-on supervision you'll need to provide - but these items are edible, so a taste here or there won't hurt. I started this when my first was about 18months, and she still pulls it out to play with.

3. Build a fort - now this comes with a warning. Once you do it once, be prepared you'll be asked to do it again, and again and again. Forts are big in my house, and you can make 'em out of all sorts of things, a couple of chairs with a sheet thrown over for one. When I was a kid, I used use the couch cushions as walls and make a couch fort - hours of fun! I think Emma was about 3 before I discovered this fun activity, but Audrey loves it too at just over 1.

4. Bathtime - sometimes we take more than one bath a day. Because bathtime, makes everyone happier. Our current favorite bath toys are rubber ducky's so of course we've got about a dozen different shapes and sizes we've collected here and there. But we've also had lots of fun with a couple of tupperware containers and a washcloth or two. Bubbles, bath confetti and bath dyes are also favorite special treats.

5. Cleaning with baby wipes - not only is this a great activity, but it teaches them hardwork, works on coordination, and saves you time. Both my kids love to take a babywipe to the kitchen cabinets or the floor. They'll "help" me clean almost anything I put in front of them. Just be sure to limit the number of wipes they can use or invest in the baby wipes industry.

So what's your favorite tried-and-true-never-fails-to-kick-the-fuss-right-out-the-door activity? Would you post it in the comments section so we can all grow our parenting box a little bit more?

Pick Your Own Oranges: Sat January 9 - 9am to 10am @ Heritage Park, La Verne
Saturdays starting January 9 until March 13
5001 Via De Mansion, La Verne

Tortilla Time: Family Fun Class @ the Arboretum - Sat. January 30, 10am - noon
$10 per member family/$12 non-member family, pre-registration required

Snow Day - Fri. February 19th, 5:30 - 8pm, Finkbiner Park, $6

Butterfly Brigade: Family Fun Class @ the Arboretum - Sat. March 20, 10am - noon
$10 per member family/$12 non-member family, pre-registration required

Spring Egg Hunt - Sat. April 3rd
Activities begin at 9am @ Finkbiner and Dawson Parks, Egg Hunt @ 10am

Grateful Monday

The gifts have been given, the decorations are put away, the 2010 goals have been made, the girls and I are reluctantly going back to our regular schedule and Jon headed back into the office this morning. I am always sad to see the holidays go, because I love the awe and joy and gratefulness that surrounds them, and the time spent with family and friends rejoicing. But mostly I'm sad to see them go because it means transition is around the corner.

Every January is a month of transitions in our house. Not only do we transition back into the regular daily routine following a vacation, but we begin to transition into tax season. We send Daddy back to work after having him home all the time, and as the weeks progress his hours will become longer and his work week will go from 5 to 6 days. It's hard on each of us in its own way, each year being different too.

And then it hit me. Like a billboard. Gratitude. The things in life that are hard to deal with are often things I could turn into gratitude. So this morning I am grateful, today I choose gratitude. I'll be taking time this year to record something I'm grateful for each day, and I know it will do me good to start off this season of transition with a little bit of gratitude.

I am grateful for today. I am grateful for another day to spend with my kids teaching them, playing with them and loving on them. I am grateful my husband has a job he loves and excels at, and I am grateful it provides enough for me to stay home. Thank you Lord for these things and all your blessings day to day, help me to recognize and remember them over the next few weeks, when the days are long and we all miss Daddy.

What are you grateful for on this Monday?

Psalm 136: 3-4
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
⁴ to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

New Year's Resolutions

Many of us approach the New Year with good intentions. "I'm going to exercise more." "I'm going to keep the house cleaner." I'm going to play with the kids more. And then sometime around March, April, or May we realize we've long forgotten those well meaning goals. Many a year, I played out this tired old tradition too.

Until last year, when I was introduced to the idea of really looking at the year in review. Taking time to thank the Lord for all the things He's blessed us with and all the lessons learned along the way. Looking back often helps you look forward too and I was introduced to the idea of a personal or family breakthrough prayer request.

If you've been around COD for a while you've likely heard about breakthrough prayer requests. These are the big ones. The out of the box desire of your heart you pray earnestly for all. year. long.

So Jon and I sat down and spent some time thinking about where we had been in 2008 and where we were headed in 2009. We came up with a family prayer for 2009. And then we prayed it. What a blessing and a challenge it was, but so very worth it!

Jon and I have already taken time to talk and pray about our 2010 Family Prayer and in HUB a couple of weeks ago we challenged everyone else to take some time to do this exercise too. We started with a time of thanksgiving and shared with one another what we were most thankful for in 2009. What an absolutely encouraging, faith building experience! Many of the thanksgivings mentioned were things we've prayed for over the years we've been meeting together. Answered prayer! Much thanksgivings!! And then from there we looked at where we'd like to go as families in 2010. And then we prayed them. Together.

And so here it is: your part. Would you take some time to do this? Ask God what he'd like you to focus on in 2010. I know He has big plans for you! And then pray it. All. Year. Long.

Don't forget to get a journal and keep record of how your prayers are answered and how they change. I know you'll have so much to be thankful for at the end of 2010.

Here's a great article (my inspiration for this post) from Pastor Ed about Not Wasting This Week - spending time looking at the year in review and thinking and praying about where you're going next year.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

That's right, MoneySavingMom has issued a challenge, and you all know I'm hard pressed to back down from a challenge. So I'm passing it on to you! Will you join me?

Are your cupboards full of stuff you bought ages ago? Is the freezer stocked? And yet, how many times did you go to the store in the last week?

Thus, the Eat From the Pantry Challenge. The idea is to cut back on the grocery bill and use up what's already in the house over the next month! The rules are easy cause you set the goals yourself. Sit down and make up your goals for the month and then set out to accomplish them.

I haven't determined my goals yet, but I think I'm going to attempt less than 3 trips to the store in January (which is about half I think...) and to cut my grocery budget substantially.

You can check out MoneySaving's goals here. And she's teamed with another blogger FishMama
in this challenge. So ... are you game? I am!!

Time to take the tree down...or not?

Okay Christmas is over and I miss it! So do I really have to take all those wonderful Christmas decorations down? I know some of you already have...but here's another suggestion for that ol' Christmas tree. Turn it into a New Year's Tree!!!

Most kids don't get to stay up to celebrate the New Year at midnight. But why leave them out of the celebration? Instead of sleepy cranky kiddos put them to bed on time and then decorate the Christmas tree (yes, it's still up!!) with New Year treats! Poppers, hats, noise makers and confetti. You'll instantly have a New Year's Morning Party! Whip up some waffles and snuggle together to watch the Rose Parade after the confetti hits the floor!

Happy New Year!!

More Fun Stuff:
New Year's Wish List - A fun printable which aids in setting some New Year's Goals for kids.
Tons of New Year's Family Fun - over at Family Fun Magazine

Tutus & Turtles thanks for the reminder this year!!

Jingle Bells for Mom!

If you missed Gum last week here's a bit of our creativity on paper!

From Judy's Table:
Dashing thru the house with only one hand free
O'er the piles I hop landing in the tree
Cell phone starts to ring but its out of sight
Oh what fun it is to be a mother all uptight

Crying kids - diaper smells kids are still not dressed
I can't wait till they're in bed and I can clean the mess
Dad comes home thinks he's tired wants to go to "bed"
I tell him that I'll meet him there and fall asleep instead.

From Carol's Table:
Dashing thru the house with a broom and mop in tow
tripping over toys, I broke my nail - Oh no!
Friends are coming soon and all the relatives
My mother in law will check my tub to see if it is clean

Oh Jesus came, Jesus came who cares if it is clean
She won't like it anyway, Fing'rs crossed she won't make a scene
Oh Jesus came, Jesus came Let's celebrate this season
Toys and mops they come and go Jesus is the reason!

From Tina's Table (a true story):
Dashing thru the snow on the way to Idaho
over the icy road w/the temp of 2 below
We cut a 9 ft tree, decorate 'til 3
We gazed at all it's glory until it collapsed on me.

Idaho, Idaho Crying all the way
Oh what fun it is to see the in-law family!
Idaho, Idaho Crying all the way
Oh what fun it is to see the in-law family!

The very next morning much to our surprise
We heard the doorbell ring and right before our eyes
It was the lawyers hand no presents did he lay
He served the in laws for a bill that already had been paid

Idaho, Idaho Crying all the way
Oh what fun it is to see the in-law family!
Idaho, Idaho Crying all the way
Oh what fun it is to see the in-law family!

The very next morning we thought it would be bright
we started with a bath that didn't end quite right
A 12" bear fell of the shelf on top of Johnny's head
4 stitches later he's ok were glad that no ones dead!

Idaho, Idaho Crying all the way
Oh what fun it is to see the in-law family!
Idaho, Idaho Crying all the way
Oh what fun it is to see the in-law family!

Merry Christmas!!