How I Got my 18 Month Old Interested in Books

Apparently reading requires a safety helmet. ;)

We established a reading routine. We read many books immediately after breakfast every morning. We also read books before her nap and before she goes to bed. This was something we did from day 1, she was teeny-tiny but we read to her anyway, pointing out pictures, ooooo-ing and awwwww-ing, interacting with the book. 

3 months old

The mentality, "She's too young for this!" never entered into our mind. Do not underestimate the power of reading to your child early. If you're enthusiastic about reading, your child will follow suit. (My little Bean is living proof!) I was surprised how early we saw results.

When she brings me a book I stop whatever I'm doing to read it to her, even if it's for the 100th time that day. Reading will always be a top priority in this home. (I think the stupid book Baby Feels has the record for "read most often" in this house.) Yes, there are many moments I have to do a mental attitude check because, quite frankly, I don't want to do it. But it's the one thing I make a priority even on a day full of things to do. There are moments, however, I lay the book aside and say, "Let me finish _____ and then I'll read with you."

There's a reading nook in her room. Before she received an overstuffed Minnie Mouse chair for Christmas, she LOVED having a blow up turtle as her little seat. Cute. Giving her a place to enjoy books was the best thing we could've done.

After our breakfast reading time I give her the books we read together while I read a book of my own. I love this because I can read my book of choice! It's so cute to be reading on the couch next to my daughter as she jibber-jabbers about the book in her hand. Sometimes I'll hear a word mixed into the jabber, like "cookie" in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or "out" in Itsy Bitsy Spider or "appy" (happy) in If You're Happy and You Know It. On the weekends Daddy joins us. Showing enthusiasm for reading in your own life will be contagious. Parents are the biggest influence even with things like this!

We attend the story hour every Wednesday at the Library. She's still learning to sit still and listen, but it's a change of scenery with other kids with someone else reading to her including play time and a craft. Afterwards I always pick out new books to take home while she plays.

I pick out books with specific words she already knows or with things she's showing interest. Right now she's obsessed with roosters, which she calls "do's" (cock-a-doodle-doo) so I find as many books as I can with roosters. She also enjoys farm animals and songs! She LOVES Iza Trapani's song books for classics like I'm a Little Teapot and Itsy Bitsy Spider.

I put interactive books on my phone and iPad. What's not to love about this? Playtales is a fun app and so is any FisherPrice book. This is perfect entertainment while traveling or while I am busy making dinner.

When I bring a little bag of things to do, the majority of the items in it are books. This bag of goodies is pulled out at restaurants, the vehicle, a friends house, &etc. It's always fun to pull out the bag and let her sort through it. Sometimes a friend will join her.

She's 6 months old in this picture with our friend Kirk.

We limit screen time to less than an hour a day. Sitting in front of the iPad (even with interactive books) or TV (even educational shows) limits creativity and imagination. We put together puzzles, play with blocks, read books, go to the park, (whatever) and she also has plenty of time to play and read independently. I'm always pleasantly surprised how often she picks reading during these times.

My 12 month old with a trail of books. 

My first job as a teacher was 7th and 8th grade reading and I also taught struggling high school readers as well. The struggling readers were usually the students who's parents ignored the importance of reading to their child from the start. They didn't have memories of reading with an adult. They didn't have parents who gave a lick about reading themselves or set aside a specific family reading time. Reading was never a priority in the home. If I were to make any suggestion that'd be it: make reading a priority. There are SO MANY ways to do that.

There are many sources I'd recommend for parents but this book is by far the best I've seen:

Check out her blog full of wonderful ideas for teachers and parents alike: http://planetesme.blogspot.com

Tuesday's Top Ten {Thankful Journal}

Here's 10 reasons why you should start a Thankful Journal:

1. Your perspective on day to day life changes. The rule is that you must write at least 5 EACH day. So no matter how your day is going you search for things to be grateful for, thus shifting your focus on the negative to the positive.

2. You begin to love the little things. Admit it. Life gets busy and when it gets busy you tend to lose sight of those things that should matter the most; like when your child stops what their doing to show you how much they love you, or truly enjoying a compliment someone gave...

3. Your prayer life improves. God gives and He takes away; when I'm writing in my journal I'm making a conscience effort to thank HIM for all that He has given me. It's an easy way to glorify Him. Now I'm finding myself thanking Him as I enjoy a simple walk to the church while holding my husbands hand - something I never would've done a year ago.

4. You suddenly don't need anything. As I began to thank God for all that He has given me I began to realize that I don't need a single thing. I don't need more shoes, clothes, scarves, money, a nicer vehicle, a bigger kitchen, finished house, because I have more than I could ever want or need in this lifetime.

5. Satisfaction in all life's circumstances improves. No matter what happens, I have at least 5 things to be grateful for during any given day. So on those days that are difficult, I go back and read all that I've been blessed with and "satisfaction" takes care of itself.

6. Reflecting on past "thank-you's" is a mood booster. This one is pretty self explanatory, but if I'm feeling down I read what I've written in the past and it always improves my mood, because I have so much for which to be thankful!

7. You become more disciplined in your thinking. Any negative thoughts are pushed aside as you focus on finding your 5 thank-you's.

8. Buying a cute, empty journal is so much fun! Shopping in and of itself is fun, (call me a nerd) but I get all giddy when buying a journal full of empty pages to fill (with some fun pens to use). I also go home and decorate it, which is also a ton of fun. (Simple pleasures often bring the most joy.)

9. Your HISTORY is recorded. You'll know what happened on such-and-such day and reflecting on any event in a positive way changes the way you think and feel. Most of the time you can look back and see God's hand in it all and glorify Him in it.

10. Doing it with someone draws you closer together. Every day since February my sisters and I read our thank-you's to one another. Recently I have two friends that joined me in starting a thankful journal and we also share our thank-you's daily. I invited the girl I disciple to do it with me as well. So I'm privileged to listen to 5 different women share their "thank-you's" from the previous day and I get to share mine with them. I'm sharing some of the most intimate pieces of my day with some amazing women - that would draw anyone close together. Plus, sharing my thank-you's with my sisters and friends also holds me accountable; knowing that I have to share my thank-you's forces me to think positively and BE THANKFUL no matter what.  

The moments I enjoy most are sitting down to a cup of coffee and listening to my sisters tell me their thank-you's. Life is good.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank my sister Mel for starting this and being consistent in it. She's a blessing. Because this simple task has changed my life in so many ways, I want to encourage you to start a thankful journal as well. It's a journey that will change you. Being thankful day in and day out for ALL life's blessings is a discipline, not just a season. Begin your "Thankful Journal Journey" this Thanksgiving Season and enjoy all God has given you - big and small.

"A Giraffe & Her Half" Baby Shower

This shower was a joy to throw. Not just because I love the mommy-to-be, but also because I had the privelege to work with her best friend Jessica. It's always way less stressful when I have people willing to help me put it together, especially when it involves evenings filled with wonderful food, coffee or hot chocolate and plenty of good laughs. Plus, it's so much easier to throw a shower for someone when the person helping you knows that person's likes and dislikes.

It all turned out so cute and God made His presence known throughout the planning and preparation for the shower in more ways than I can count, but I'll share one story specifically. I ordered 2 yards of burlap from JoAnn's Fabric (I had a 50% off coupon to use). Four days before the shower I received an email stating the fabric had been processed and will ship the very next day. When I ordered it I thought standard shipping would do because three weeks was ample time to get it here and complete the project, right? Well, the email specifically noted that with standard shipping I should typically allow 4-7 days, once processed! (EEEEEEEK!) That meant that I'd be getting it after the shower and because I live in a place that does not have a store that offers burlap, I freaked out a tad and wrote in my thankful journal, "Lord, PLEASE work a miracle and get me the fabric here before Saturday!" Well, "work a miracle" HE did. I received it the VERY NEXT DAY. I have been in awe of Him ever since. Yes, it's just fabric, but the fabric isn't the point. The point is that it took less than 24 hours for God to answer my prayer, because He's amazing!

Due to the fact that God is amazing, we were able to complete the projects we had in mind. The Mommy-to-be loves burlap and she seemed to enjoy what we had made, so I'm beyond thankful for that answer to prayer.

This guy was super easy to make. I drew the design I wanted on a piece of cardboard, cut it out and then traced around it on a piece of burlap. I folded the burlap over to cut the two sides (front and back), hot glued the back side onto the cardboard piece, glued the top edges of the front piece on, stuffed it with grocery bags and finished gluing the edges. I then cut out purple giraffe spots out of felt, glued them on, and used pink felt fabric for his face and ears. (The eyes are little green buttons.) Once that was complete, I outlined what I had traced with permanent marker with puffy fabric paint. I used twine to create the puffs for the tail and hair, glued them on and drew a smiley face with puffy fabric paint. Once it was dry I glued twine on the back so this cute little burlap giraffe could be hung up... and voila! This took me a couple hours (not including dry time) to complete. So simple and so cute!

Jessica made this adorable frame, which was the theme for the activity (explained later).

The center pieces were my favorite part. It was so simple and it had special significance. The wooden pieces displayed were used in Ben and Jill's wedding a year ago. We couldn't resist re-using them for her baby shower.

Jessica happened to find the giraffe fabric pieces in a clearance rack and bought them all. We tied giraffe ribbon around the mason jars and filled them with giraffe edibles: twigs and leaves!

Scattered on each table were 10 giraffe facts. For a prize the guest were encouraged to mingle and decide which were true and which were false. Hmmmmm... is this statement true? :)

First thing we did was read a book, which was also the guest book and the inspiration for this showers theme: "A Giraffe & Her Half"

Close Up of the onsie I made...

The book inspired her invitations as well (created using Punchbowl).

The poem I wrote,
"Jill and her half are as cute as can be
So let's celebrate this new mom and her little "mini me"
It'll be an afternoon full of fun-filled laughs
An afternoon to bless "A Giraffe and Her Half"

Jessica had the honor of reading the book, Shel Silverstein is such an amazing author, the kids in the audience LOVED it (which of course was everyone)!

After she read the book we had devotions, where I talked about what Titus 2:3 women are to teach younger women: loving your husbands and children. In a very short few minutes I tried to give a glimpse of that and what it means Biblically. I saw this quote once that stated, "The greatest thing a man can do for his children is love their mother." and explained that also applied to women, "The greatest thing a woman can do for her children is love their father." So what does love look like? We talked about the qualities of love Paul described in 1 Corinthians: patience, kindness, self-less-ness, serving each other, &etc. Still, there's someone that always comes to mind when I think of motherly love and that's Mary, Jesus' mother. Yes, she was the mother of God, so we can (in all honesty) never relate to her, but every time Brielle does something I never want to forget I always think of Mary and how Luke described in her chapter 2:19 and 2:51, "And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart." That statement stops me in my tracks every time I read it. I didn't dive into what it means exactly, what it meant to treasure up the son of God, and I can't imagine the depth of love Mary must've felt for Jesus. Still, every single mother can agree that time flies, you blink and before you know it you're child is 1 and many mothers can attest to blinking and their child is off to college or walking down the isle, so treasure it up. Don't forget.

After devotions the women were encouraged to create something giraffe so that Jill could fill the empty frames as a collage of the wonderful giraffe items made for her. They were to go along with the frame Jessica had made...

Eat, Talk, Create, Laugh, Joke, Have FUN! That was the afternoon. It was so relaxing!

You can never go wrong with yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting, spinach-artichoke dip with chips and vege's, and a pumpkin pie dip with honey graham crackers. All washed down with hot apple cider (caramel and cinnamon sticks included).

The food encouraged crafting and the giraffe creations turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.

As the women were still creating, Jill opened presents. The diaper cake made by Rhonda, was my favorite. How adorable is that?!

I'd say it was another successful afternoon!

Jill & Jessica
Most importantly, the mom-to-be walked away with a ton of great stuff and I think SHE enjoyed her afternoon centered around her giraffe themed nursery and her little half.

Prayer Request [Action Packs for Persecuted Sudanese!]

I am so so excited about this post! I receive a free magazine every month from The Voice of The Martyrs which tells horrific story after horrific story of Christians persecuted for their faith. What I loved about this issue is that the entire magazine was dedicated to telling the story of the Sudan civil war. "They face the world's worst poverty, war and even genocide, in which Arab-Sudanese are trying to eradicate the black African Sudanese people in conflict areas like the Nuba Mountains. In addition the Sudanese government is trying to eliminate all Christians and churches in an effort to Islamize the nation." (An excerpt from "Strengthening Those Who Stayed" by Jim, of the Persecution Project Foundation) The only way I can think how to help my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith is by praying for them, however, this month an excerpt was included titled, "Taking Action for Sudan" and inside details HOW you can specifically help them!

Because of the persecution Christian Sudanese are experiencing, they are fleeing to South Sudan for safety with only the clothes on their back. VOM has organized assistance through Action Packs which are vacuum bags filled with blankets, jackets, sweaters, gloves, hats, socks, t-shirts, sheets, towels, soap and toys. They need help! You can fill one for someone in need. All you do is go to...

www.vombooks.com/July2013 to request your Action Pack and follow the directions given. It costs $7 to send a filled pack OR you can donate $30 and they will fill it for you.

When I filled out the request for my action pack I thought I was making a $7 donation, however, once the donation is made, that's your request for the pack.

Let me give you an idea, a glimpse, of what these people endure through one story of a pastor named Matak. He was arrested multiple times and although sentenced to life in prison, he was there 8 years. During those 8 years he endured severe torture. He was beaten with wooden slats and metal rods, electrodes were attached to his ears, his genitals were crushed, fingernails removed, and he was whipped with wires. They tried to force him to turn away from Christ because they knew he was influential. What amazed me was Matak's response to his torture, "God reminded me that the body can die, but the soul cannot. Once I said to my torturers, 'You can torture me, but if you kill me, I will just see Jesus Christ!" W.O.W! When he was transferred to another prison where he was sentenced to hang to death, he held church meetings where 170 attended! The churches planted inside the prison still grow today!

Here's a video from 2007 (make sure you have a kleenex).

I'm sure that these two stories are some of thousands and thousands! Can you imagine the fear that they live in day in and day out? Gathering food is a fearful task! They are quite literally "taking up their cross" to follow Jesus, because they know that by being a Christian might mean death.

I have no idea the strength it requires to endure something like that. These people inspire me! I don't know how to help them beyond praying for them and doing little things like sending them an Action Pack or writing about it here, requesting prayer from my readers. So, I'm asking for your help in two specific ways, 1. Donate an Action Pack and 2. Pray for the Sudanese people.

I highly encourage you to order a free subscription to this magazine, or if you feel lead to help the persecuted church in any other way, contact:

www.persecution.com
orders and contributions: 800-747-0085
ministry information: 877-377-0302
email: thevoice@vom-usa.org

If you go to the website www.persecution.com you can also sign up for specific prayer requests by scrolling all the way down to the end of the home page, you'll see the "Sign up for VOM's prayer alert" button.

A Mommy & Her "Deere" [Baby Shower]

When I took over the task of throwing baby showers for all the new mommy's in our church I didn't realize the plethora of ideas that came with it. I'm all about party planning, but now, I can whip out a plan or two in just a few minutes thanks to Pinterest, Punchbowl, and the experience I've had thus far. This John Deere shower was no exception.

I always ask the mommy if she's going with a certain theme for the nursery. I haven't had one similar response. There's so many creative women out there! Cassidy's hubby is a farmer and obviously a John Deere fan, so she decorated little Aleeah's room with John Deere. So that's what I did for her shower as well. It all turned out so cute. 

Cassidy and her little "Deere" Aleeah

Colors: Pink, Green, and Yellow

When you walked through the door you saw...



I try to do something new and unique for the guest book. This time I wrote Aleeah a "Deere John Letter" except I wasn't trying to break her heart, here's what I wrote and the guests signed around it:

Deere Aleeah, How precious you are to so many. There's love aplenty. We wish you the best in all you do. We will pray for you in whatever you pursue. Remember to celebrate each day. Don't forget to pray. Give thanks for all your blessings. Let God take all your worries; nothings worth stressing. Delight in God's Word. If you live by it, your focus will not be blurred. In Jesus alone take refuge. His knowledge, His grace, His embrace is HUGE. Love, (all the guests signed it.)

Signed and Framed.

Guest Book table.

I made the little onsie's with puffy paint, here's a close up:

Daddy's "Deere"

"That's how I roll!"

Each table was set up with a table runner (that was John Deere wrapping paper) and vases of wild sunflowers. I made Kyle drive me to a random ditch to pick them and I didn't even make a dent there are so many. They're beautiful.

I love this picture.

Who knew wrapping paper would make such a fantastic table runner?!

The food table was the highlight...

Dirt cake.

Chocolate donuts as "Tractor Tires"

Rice Krispies as "Hay Bales"

Gone Fishin'

Daddy's Corn Dip. (This stuff is highly addicting. I got the recipe from here. She calls it "Irresistible Corn Dip" and she's not kidding. The only thing I added was shredded cheddar cheese. Yum!)

The "John Deere Punch" consisted of sprite, lemonade, pinapple juice and lemon and lime slices.

The set up.

As is tradition when I throw a baby shower, I read a children's story. This time I read the classic, "The Little Red Hen" who finds a grain of corn, but nobody will help her plant it, reap it, take it to the mill, or make the dough. So nobody will help her eat the loaf of bread either. It lead right into the devotions. I told them that I wanted to be careful relating the parable of the sower to "The Little Red Hen" because I doubt the author of "The Little Red Hen" was thinking of the parable of the sower when it was written and I seriously do not think that Jesus had "The Little Red Hen" in mind when he told his story either. But stories and parables have this amazing ability to teach lessons that everyone can understand. Jesus knew parables and stories were a common way of teaching for Jewish Rabbi and "wise men" from the east. In other words, the crowd He was speaking to were familiar with this form of teaching. Jesus told the parable of the sower to the crowd (Matthew 13:3-9) and then explained the meaning to the disciples (Matthew 13:18-23). The seeds are God's Word, the ground is our heart, we can either let it take root, be grounded in it and not be swayed when trials and tribulation come; OR we can hear the word, but let the things of this world become more important; or let sin become what rules our life; or love it at first but when trials and tribulations come we forget it. It's important to not only hear God's Word, but let it take root, study it, live by it, let it change us and mold us into the likeness of God, so that when trials and tribulations do come we are GROUNDED in God's Word, with deep roots, and will not sway. We must (as James says in James 1:22) to "... be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving  yourselves." Just like a Farmer who WORKS hard to produce fruit, or the little red hen who WORKED hard to produce a loaf of bread, we too as Christians need to WORK hard to produce GOOD FRUIT and it starts with God's Word. Do not be like the other farm yard animals who too busy with everything else to want to help and thus missed out on the reward.

The game was guessing baby food "from the farm". There were six different types. The winner received the delightful John Deere cookies (click here to see how I made them).

The labels were taken off and each tub of food was labeled with numbers, there were six: green beans, squash, beef and beef gravy, peas and carrots, and sweet potato and carrots.

The prize.

Mingling, chatting, giggling, and trying to figure out the beef and beef gravy combo (Yuck, everyone guessed it was TUNA!).

Mommy Deere asked specifically for wipes and diapers (smart mom!). So I made her a diaper tractor, click here to see how I did it.

I wish I would've taken a picture (do I say that in every shower I host?!) of the awesome John Deere diaper cake another woman from church made. It was cuuuuute.

She walked away with a ton of stuff. I hope she felt blessed. This shower was originally planned for the month of July, but little Aleeah decided to come a couple months early! Scaring the beejeebes out of mom and dad. Mom spent 5 weeks in solitude with her 4 pound baby, but looking at her now you'd never know. She's a growing, healthy baby girl. Thank the Lord for answered prayers.

Cassidy and Her Little Deere

I have a couple showers coming up, one involving cupcakes and the other giraffe's. I'm super excited about spoiling both of these mommy's as well. The ladies of our church are amazing. The same women attend shower after shower after shower and spoil each mom with a plethora of much needed items. I am forever thankful for them because without the women who are constantly there when these momma's need them, these showers would not be worth my time and effort. Until next time ladies!