You slapped WHO?

Sitting on the living room couch, nursing the almost three month old sweetie, I hear >SLAP< >wail!<

Me to the 6 year old Offending Party: Come down here!

Offending Party: But MOM! I had to, he hit JESUS!

Me to the 3 year old Slapped One: Did you?

Slapped One (still crying): It was just a picture, MOM!

How does one punish for these sorts of offenses? This was not in the parenting manual they gave me at the hospital...Offending Party got punished for slapping his brother and Slapped One had to get punished for hitting Jesus, even though it was "only a picture."



The Fifth Commandment.

Thou shalt not kill.

Was is Das?

We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.

A confession and a commentary.

I am going to "say something out loud" that an college educated person is not supposed to admit or even believe...especially if that college educated person was an English major. I do not like reading poetry. I have a hard time reading Shakespeare even. I enjoyed studying Shakespeare in AP English class, but I wasn't familiar with the stories or the history so I had a hard time remembering what was going on.

That is why I love children's adaptations, not all of them, but I have some that I really love because in reading them to my kids, I have learned so much that I did not know!

Our library has one such book detailing The Epic of Gilgamesh for kids! It is so interesting! I know that I cannot bear the poem, but at least they will know the basic story that so many believed in the ancient world for thousands of years.

Then there is the series I found by Mary Pope Osborne, of Magic Tree House fame, that tells the tales of the heroes of ancient Greece. Tales of the Odyssey is a series of seven books that retells the story of the Odysseus and his travels at about a fourth grade level.

Rosemary Sutcliff also retold the story in The Wanderings of Odysseus. It's companion, Black Ships Before Troy, retells the story of The Iliad. The pictures are oh so lovely, but I had a hard time with this one too. Maybe I just have lost brain matter over time or maybe I I am lazy and do not want to have to work at reading.



Charles and Mary Lamb have long been THE children's version of Shakespeare, but I would heartily recommend Bruce Coville's picture books. The illusrations are gorgeous, and appropriately dark for some of the stories.








I guess I have to admit that I even enjoyed Terry Deary's renderings in Top Ten Shakespeare Stories .

That is my confession of the day.

and this is our homeschool...

Today, I got this book out of the library for my 10 year old son (at least) to read. It is the first book in a series of seven of an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. As I handed it to him, I asked him to read aloud to me so I could help him with the unusual names.

We get to the name "Agamemnon" and he did not even flinch as he read it fluently. I asked, "Agamemnon? You could read Agamemnon??" "Yes, Mom, I know this story!"

(Huh? You do??? How can you know this story when you refuse to read and I am always finding you watching Disney Channel???) So I ask, "How do you know this story??"

"Mom, you know High School Musical? Well, there is a guy on that show named Troy. That is not his real name. He picked it for himself because when he was a little boy, his dad used to read to him a story about Agamemnon. Troy was the name of where the battle was fought and he thought that would be a cool name to have."


So there you go. He doesn't really KNOW the story of Odysseus, but he knows there is a story which is more than I can say for myself at that age. It was a point of reference that made him excited to read the books, so I am happy.

I cannot count the number of times this has happened over the years when I have gone to teach something and they already knew it from some other place in their daily lives....tv, video game, comic book or some other "unacceptable" place.

Luke 18:9-14

Today's sermon was of particular interest to me today. You know the story, the one where the Pharisee and the tax collector pray and Jesus only hears that of the sinner/tax collector. Jesus does not even acknowledge that of the upstanding lay-leader in the church.



I was thinking about how being a wife and mother is probably the most humbling vocation one can have. I see my own failures at every turn. How submissive a wife I am NOT, if not outwardly certainly inwardly. How patient I am NOT, how compassionate I am NOT, how content in all things I am NOT and last but not least how bad I am at communicating. In case you wondered, I really hate seeing my own failures at every turn. I hate for them to be pointed out too. I find myself repeating, "Lord have mercy" many times each day.

The vocation into which God has placed me has allowed me to desperately cling to Christ's promises to be with me always. His promise to never give me more than I can handle and to always give me the things I need to support this body and life. Failure or even the feelings of failure enable me to see my need for help, my need for Christ and His mercy. Why then do we ever strive to help our kids NOT have failure? We do not want them to have a hard life. I know that I do not wish that for my children! I need to remember that He works through weakness. In fact, the Scriptures remind us the His power is made perfect in weakness! Christ became weak at the cross for our eternal salvation!

Favorite snacks

These are the snacks we make and eat the most:

CHEERIO TREATS

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 package (10-1/2 ounces) miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 5+ cups Cheerios

Directions:

Place the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl. microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-2 minutes or until melted. Stir in the peanut butter until blended. Add the cereal (and 1 cup milk chocolate M&M's optional)Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. pan; press down gently. Cool slightly before cutting. Yield: 15 servings.



CHEX MUDDY BUDDIES ( or Puppy Chow..we call it Dog Food!)

9	Cups any kinds or mixtures of Chex cereal
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2	cup peanut butter
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1	teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2	cups powdered sugar

	Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
	In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
	Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Difficulties

When folks find out the size of our family, there is one comment that almost always gets shared, "You must be so patient!"

I usually laugh and say, "I wish!" or some such thing. I can tell by the look on their faces that they do not believe me and I that they think I truly must have some sort of super-power.

My "superpower," if I even have one, is making beautiful, healthy babies...and yet, even that is truly God's Work, not mine.

I do have a hard time being a parent. I was SO glad to be done with classroom teaching for several reasons:

• I cannot stand bickering

• I hate being the "judge" when I haven't even been a witness to the "crime"

• I didn't like when parents did not see the "spin" their kid put on a classroom situation

And now, guess what I live with everyday?
Lord, have mercy.

I just pray that when my children become parents, they have the ability to deal with all of those situations more perfectly than I have been able to.

What?

Fifteen? Just fifteen????
Daughter, this should be your FB pic...yes?