I've started reading a "new" parenting book, "Say Goodbye, to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes.... in you and you children". I've never heard of these authors but I was introduced to the book through a homeschooling parent resource guide. It labeled this book as the practical companion to "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by T. Tripp. And having many conversations with other moms with preschoolers I quickly realized we were in the age and stage that this starts to appear :)

Here's picture taken of our family yesterday after church. Do you see my sweet middle child moping in the "family picture"? Just previous to the picture he was happily running around and riding his new bike. SO you can see I want to know how to guide my children. How to teach them to have good attitudes, to respond joyfully and to have a truly happy family.

I've been soo thankful for the book already as it addresses the need to teach children "obedience" and "honor". Obedience being the action and honor being the right attitude (this is a very quick and simplistic overview).

While reading this afternoon I caught this example and it kind of got me thinking.

Developing honor in a family is like refinishing a valuable piece of furniture. A woman went to into Tom's Refinishing Shop to get an estimate on her antique chest of drawers. After looking it over, the owner said , " We can paint it for $50 or we can stain it for $500."

"Why the difference in price?" the customer asked.

"Some people want a quick paint job. It doesn't cost much, and it covers many of the blemishes. it looks good at first glance. But paint just deals with the surface. Staining requires that we strip the wood and fix blemishes before the stain is applied. Stain goes down deep. Even if you scratch through the surface, the stain still shows. With care and time, stain even enhances blemishes in the wood, adding personality to the furniture."

Families are like that. Some families want to look good in the outside appearing clean and nice. Many parents, though, aren't content with the superficial. They see the need for more substantial answers and are ready to make the sacrifices necessary to help their family succeed.
-Say Goodbye to Whining...., Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, pgs 42&43

In many ways it is easier just to sit them in time-out and then let them play again in a few minutes or to "pop". But discipline needs to be taught continually even when there aren't any conflicts. And it needs to be authentic....not just out in public but in the home 24/7!!

And the title of this book doesn't leave Mom and Dad out... we need to treat our kids with honor and model for them how to have solid, God-honoring relationships :)

Another reaction.......

These food allergies require constant vigilance.... We just have to be constantly " on guard" to what our kids are doing and what is laying out- or at least what they could get to. This evening at the start of our meal Christopher started breaking out on his chin. We just couldn't figure out what he had touched. Then his whole face started breaking out, his eyes were getting itchy and swollen. Then he started sneezing and getting a runny nose!!

It was then that we realized that a cup that Brian had taken from him while cleaning up the dinner table probably had milk in it. But that is really our best guess......

We gave him a strong dose of Benadryl and totally removed him from his place at the table and anything he had touched. Then we cleaned him up. As quick as the reaction came.. it quickly passed. Although his eye was still a little swollen when he went to bed.

Praise God for keeping our little one safe even when (as hard as we try) they find things that are dangerous to them. And thanks be to God for giving them reactions that are pretty mild and have yet to be life threatening.

In the discussion that followed we decided that while we keep the house as safe as possible (no milk- except with company, peanut products HIGH up with a label that says NOT for the kids) we needed to teach the kids NOT to play with or drink from cups that aren't theirs! And not to touch plates or foods that aren't theirs. This type of training would be beneficial for when our kids are outside of the house (like revival meals the week after next) and when we do have allergy-sensitive foods!!

Local Sight Seeing

Since we had a morning and afternoon free with company we decided to take the "fam" on the road to check out a local bird sanctuary....we call it the "bird zoo".

Here are our highlights :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pics with my NEW camera

As you can tell.... I'm just ecstatic that I've managed to coax a few awesome (by my abilities) pictures out of "my" new camera!!! All I read was the "Getting Started" section!!!! I'm hoping to borrow a library book on photography during our next visit so see what else I can pick-up about this picture taking stuff!! I'm just blessed to have an easy crowd to photograph!!!

Mr April

Isn't that a goofy (almost sad) smile???