Trying to win me an ESV study bible, from the kind blogger who owns “A Boomer in the Pew” blog.

What is he talking about?

Check out http://www.boomerinthepew.com/2009/02/win-a-calfskin-version-of-the-esv-study-bible.html

I’ve been told on numerous occasions that I should let my children be when they refuse to listen, speak unkind words to each other, strike another person, get angry, etc., because they will simply grow out of this particular phase.  In other words, I’m told that I shouldn’t be so uptight about their developmental stages.  I’m even told of other’s children who were poorly behaved as little ones, left “to be,” and are now much better behaved without much intervention on the part of the parents.

The problem with such an approach to parenting children, esp. little ones, is that it flies in the face of God’s Word.  The book of Proverbs is filled with numerous commands to train our children.  Just a few examples suffice to make this point:

Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Proverbs 19:18
Discipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on putting him to death.
Proverbs 29:15
The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;
he will give delight to your heart.

I’ve encountered several cases where the kids grew out of an annoying or destructive behavior without any parental guidance.  Once again, my “advisors” point out these stellar examples so that I may follow in their footsteps.  I admit that when I encounter such “stellar” examples, I become a bit disheartened and discouraged.  I work so hard to train my children in the way of the Lord, yet these other children don’t need such training and simply grow out of it.  Their parents took the easier route and succeeded.  I, on the other hand, took the harder route and am still laboring through it all.  It doesn’t seem fair, does it?

This morning as I was going about my duties, a revelation came to mind.  These kids didn’t simply grow out of a phase!!!  Whatever undesirable behavior they exhibited while they were young simply evolved into something else.  Yes, they no longer strike another person when their toys get taken, but what about the anger they’re still harboring in their hearts?  They may not show bad outwardly behaviors, but their hearts are still bad.  When a child is not trained early on to obey his parents, he will not all of sudden have a desire to obey when he’s older.  When a child is left to his own selfish desires, he will not all of sudden become selfless when he’s older.  As a child grows, he simply becomes better at not displaying undesirable outward behaviors, i.e. temper tantrums.  We adults do the same.  Our sins are not as outwardly apparent, but our hearts remain the same.  The sins of anger, selfishness, bitterness, and resentment are still well and alive in our very hearts.  When I strive to train my children, my goal is to train their hearts, not merely outward behaviors.  This should be our goal and this is difficult.  It may seem our labor is fruitless or seem less effective than the “grow out of it” believers, but rest assured that our labor is not in vain.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:58 ~

The kids and I made some Valentine’s butterflies for themselves as well as for their little friends.  I like this craft because all I have to do is print it on a card stock, cut out the butterfly, decorate it with stickers, and insert a tootsie pop.

Here are the boys cutting out the butterflies:

Finished products:

Happy children with their butterflies:

I woke up late today due to having to get up three times in the middle of the night to nurse.  Whenever we have a late start in the morning, I feel overwhelmed.  There were baskets and baskets of laundry to fold, a sink full of dishes to wash, and tons of toys to pick up.  Oh. .  and then there were the five kids I have.   On top of that, the day is dismal with rain, even in the supposedly sunny California.

I decided that we needed a little sunshine in this house.  I made smiley peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the kids.  It was an instant hit!  This little creativity brought  smiles to my children’s faces, which is utterly priceless!  I love their excitement.

The smiley sandwich:

Smiley children with their smiley PB&J:

Recently quite a few people have asked me how I do it with five kids.  Many were surprised that I don’t have a nanny or any other kind of hired help.  It’s just me, myself, and I taking care of the kids (and me).   Some go as far as saying I’m a “Super Mom.”  Such a title immediately catapults my mind to thinking that I really gotta make a superhero outfit for myself.  I’d love to be Mrs. Incredible/Elastigirl.

In reality, I’m no super mom, and even though I secretly envy Elastigirl’s superhero abilities, I’m indeed human.  Just a regular Joe (er, Jane).  At times I just don’t know how to answer the question because I simply do it.  Yes, I have five kids and I just do what needs to be done managing a household.  Such an answer is not helpful for people who are truly seeking for advice, encouragement, and tips.

It dawned on me the other day that I do have at least one tip to offer for those who truly want to know how I do it with five.  The tip is: Train your kids to sit still.

While I was making dinner the other day, the kids were wild.  They were running about, bickering, crying, and the whole nine yards.  It was difficult to get dinner going if I have to stop now and then to referee.  Then I had a light bulb moment.  I could have the kids sit in the kitchen to listen to a story on tape (or iTunes in our case) while I cooked.  With that I was finally able to make dinner and have the kids reined in.  On top of that, the kids got to hear a nice story from our favorite storyteller Jim Weiss.

To show you what it looks like in our house, here is a picture of the kids sitting in the kitchen listening to a story:

The reason I could have the kids sit and listen to a story that day with a simple command was because I had already trained them to sit still previously.  I wrote about such training two and half years ago:

When my oldest was 15 months old, I started training him to sit still. I placed him in a regular chair or a highchair. I then set a timer for five minutes. He was required to sit and not come down. Whenever he tried to come down, I told him “no” and then placed him back in the chair. I did this everyday and as he got better, I increased the time to 10 minutes. Slowly and surely we worked up to 30 minutes. Eventually we transitioned into listening to a sermon together every morning, and this lasted anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour.

(To read more, click here)

The reason I have the kids in the kitchen with me and not in a different room is that if a quarrel breaks out, which occurs more often than not, I am right there to address the problem.  I know that some people use their TV as a babysitter so they can do other things.  I find that letting kids watch TV while I make dinner actually gets them more wild.  After all, they had just spent the last hour being entertained.  On top of that, when it is time to turn off the TV so they can come to the dinner table, it is inevitable that at least one of them whines and cries because they still want to watch.  Having the children sit and listen to a story engages their minds actively, which is quite different from TV watching.

So there you are.  Weapon #1 in Lois “Elastigirl” Ding’s arsonnel.  Stay tuned for next time when I share how to morph into a parachute.

This past week I had my 25th birthday + a decade.  As a surprise, my hubby bought me a serger.  All you men out there, this is where you say, “A what?”  My husband said, “In plain words, a serger is an expensive specialized sewing machine that does one complex stitch, quickly and easily.”  So, what exactly is this stitch?  I can’t explain it in words, but here’s a picture of what that one stitch looks like:

A serger is extremely useful for creating strong seams for a variety of projects like cloth napkins, blankets, and clothes.  In case you still don’t understand what seams I’m talking about, check the insides of your shirts and pants and you’ll find the seams.

I had thought of getting a serger for quite some time now, but decided against getting one because of the price.  My husband knew that if left entirely up to me, I’d never get one.  So, he insisted on getting me a serger for my birthday.  He even went to a local sewing store on his own to understand what a serger does.  After that, he researched some more on the internet.  Finally, he brought me back to the sewing store to see a demonstration and then purchased one for me.  I was so happy and excited!

Here is my new Janome serger:

My hubby cleaned out my sewing room and rearranged my sewing station so I can put my serger and sewing machine next to each other:

I recently read The Golden Thread by Norman MacLeod to the kids during our morning read aloud time.  The kids were so captivated by the story that we finished the book in three days.  The publisher’s summary of the story is as follows:

There was once a kingdom near the treacherous Hemlock Forest where an evil king and his followers dwelt. Only those who held on to the Golden Thread could wander past the boundaries of the kingdom and return safely. It is a fearful thing to lose one’s way, and Prince Phillip must learn the lessons of the Golden Thread if he is ever to return.

This story reminds me of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and The Squire and the Scroll both of which depicts elements of the Christian life in an allegorical fashion.  Even though we can’t know for sure what the author intended the Golden Thread to serve as a reference to, there are many reasons to compare it to the Word of God in a believer’s life.

This book is published by Lamplighter Publishing that reprints classic stories with the purpose of building character.  Even though the Lamplighter books are expensive, I think they are worth the extra cost.  All the books are hardback and beautifully bound with gold etchings.  Besides the beautiful appearance, the stories are excellent.  I highly recommend Lamplighter books.

Note: as it happens, my husband discovered that this book, as well as others published by Lamplighter, is online for free at Project Gutenberg.