Spring is here!!!

The daffodils and hyacinths peeked above the ground today to wish me greetings as the sun kissed my cheeks hello. The squirrels are scampering to find their mates and long lost nuts securely buried during the long winter months; and the Koi fish seemed to wave their fins at me as I walked up to survey our pond. Spring is a time to rejoice!!! re-birth of all that was lost in the harsh winter and rejoice and rememberance in the resurrection of our saviour. Even though the bitter wind tried to dampen my spirits today during my walk, it can hardly touch the joy I carry inside. With every stride I took, my body seemed to sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah to Spring and the King!

Corned Beef and Easter Eggs and Birthday's

As many of you know, I enjoy celebrating all the Holidays on the calendar (Hallmark or otherwise) and I love birthday's as well. Last week and this week we were showered with All. I didn't decorate my house this year because I didn't know whether to put up St. Patty's day decorations or Easter decorations. I guess I could have decorated with green eggs, but then it could be confused with Dr. Seuss (Green eggs and ham). So..I combined a few holiday activities. Last Wednesday, March 12th I started a corned beef roast with potatoe's and carrot's in my slow roaster to have for dinner to celebrate George's Dad's birthday and for St. Patty's day. However, for lunch on March 12th, I put a blanket on the floor and spring nature sound's in my CD and had a picnic lunch with Melisa,Lily, Terri, Sophia, and Cooper. Afterwards, it was great fun to watch Lily and Sophie color easter eggs together. I enjoyed watching their excited faces as the eggs transformed into beautiful spring colors. It was a truly memorable day for me to celebrate some fun Easter and St.Patty's Day traditions, Birthdays, and especially spending time with people that are so close to my heart. Happy Birthday to Larry Best (March 12th), Happy Birthday to Jakin (2 yrs) Stewart and George Schmidt Sr. (March 14th) and Happy Birthday to Stanley Edward Curtis III, a.k.a. Cooper Curtis (March 21st)

Sacred Parenting Seminar

George and I just finished attending a two day Sacred Parenting seminar through River Valley Church by author Gary Thomas. It was not a "how to" class but more of a philisophical viewpoint with sound scripture as the cornerstone. The first night was especially emotional for me as we talked about how to model gentleness with our kids. This is such a hard concept for me to understand and MODEL; I equate gentleness with weakness of character. This is a learned concept from my youth, but after hearing this seminar, it really made me look at things differently. This author pointed out through various scripture that gentleness is an attribute of God. This is not to be confused with letting your children "run" the household or not setting consequences for bad choices. It is just adopting a manner of gentleness or a manner of the messiah in order to get your message accross to your children. Consequences and method of discipline can still be strict but the WAY we communicate these consequences should be modeled after Christ. This will and has been a good lesson for me to learn. I was always just concerned with the Method (how) and the Message but never concerned myself with the Manner of what I would say to Ashley when she was growing up. It makes me sad to know that I failed miserably in this area. However, this is still something I can begin to apply with Ashley during conversations of disagreement. Hopefully Ava will be able to glean the benefit from this approach also. We are always a work in process and I pray that God will continue to conform me to his likeness. The second night of the seminar had to do with fears and limitations of parenthood. There are many parents that manage their children and households out of fear and guilt. The author's point was that this is very damaging to not only our children, but to ourselves. Especially in the United States this has become the prevalent trend. American's tend to coddle and overprotect (out of fear and guilt) our children from disappointment, pain, adversity, conflict, etc. and therefore raise children that lack a strong character and do not have the skills/tools needed in life to be emotionally healthy adults. This second night of teaching was a confirmation of what George and I see on a weekly basis around us. Even our local school systems have bought into this way of thinking and teaching. The question we should be asking is what is more important, Comfort or Character? I know George and I would not be the people we are today, had we been raised under this new "trend." Let's hope that as with all "trends," they tend to fade away. I would highly recommend this author as a speaker and he is going to be doing a Sacred Marriage seminar the first week of May at another local church. For more information, visit Gary's website at www.garythomas.com

Labor Class

Tonight George and I had our first labor class together. Although the information and how it was presented was very elementary and basic, it was exciting to share this moment together and know that we are truly on our way to experiencing the birth of our child! The best part for me was to be able to sit on a exercise ball while George gave me the "double hip" pressure release. It actually relieved some of my lower back pain. I was also pleasantly surprised with the suggested items we could bring into the birthing suite. Some things have progressed since I had Ashley twenty-one years ago and other things unfortunately have stayed the same. George's favorite part of the evening was the short video we saw on a couples journey through the birth of their child. He was glad to see that he can be an important part of how the labor progresses. George and I couldn't stop giggling during the breathing relaxation techniques and I am glad we have only one other class to practice this. Our next class is on pain relief and the last class we will be taking a tour of the labor/delivery suites. We have also enrolled in a baby CPR class and will be attending a parenting seminar next weekend through River Valley Church. March is our month of preparation!!!