Wordless Wednesday - Toy Box Mission Completion!

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Josiah H. Vandertulip
21 years old from Irving, Texas
2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
October 14, 2004


Louise Vandertulip fussed at her son about his spending. He bought wild, overpriced hats that had flames on them or horns coming out of the top, she said.While in Army basic training, he bought portraits of himself. His mother told him to save his money.She's glad he didn't listen.The hats and the pictures are all a part of her memories now.Spc. Josiah H. Vandertulip was killed in Baghdad when his patrol came under small arms fire. Josiah Vandertulip joined the Army right after his graduation from Irving High School in 2002. He spent a year in South Korea before being stationed at Texas' Fort Hood in February. Against his mother's advice, he volunteered to go to Iraq. She told him to wait, to go to college."When he was determined to do something in his heart, he would do it and hell or high water couldn't keep him from it," she said. By going, he knew someone else with a young family could be saved from serving, relatives said.He always had the important things right, Louise Vandertulip said."There's a lot of rest in knowing that he died doing what he believed in and doing what he thought was right," she said. "We have a much more real sense of the cost for the freedom that we enjoy now," said his father, Robert Vandertulip."Josiah was the first brand new soldiers I recieved as a dismounted team leader in Korea. He was one of the Best soldiers I have had the honor to train and work with. He loved being a soldier as much as any guy I have met. He was a great leader in the absence of his superiors. I could always count on him to make sure the mission was accomplished. I watched him change over the year I had him from a goofy kid, to a hard charging soldier."Sgt. Nickolas Faul

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.

Friends and Fun at the Zoo!

We were convinced this Sea Lion was posing for us! It stayed there forever and would peek to see if we were watching! It was so funny, and the kids didn't want to move an inch! They loved it!

Today was a fun-filled day! We met several of our good friends at the zoo! Unfortunately, there were soooo many of us we had to split up in groups. We wish we could have visited with everyone, but we had FUN!! The day was beautiful, not too hot! The kids were keyed up and both were old enough to enjoy the adventure this time. This was JB's first time to have freedom to explore outside of the stroller. He loved it! We started off visiting the Alligators and JB and his buddy LM were amazed by a few birds flying free near us! They chased these birds back and forth! I believe they would still be content to chase those birds now, if we didn't force them on to see what other animals we could find in the zoo! They cracked me up! HC had a buddy too, OM was there to share this adventure with her. Here are some photos of our day! Enjoy!!

Our zoo has a water fountains for the kids to play in and HC wasn't interested! I was shocked! I think they were getting tired at that point! Below is our visit to the Butterfly Exhibit. They are both saying 'cheese' but it is obvious they are worn out!

Goodbye Zoo, Goodbye "Elphanent", Goodbye Sea Lion, Goodbye Giraffe, Goodbye Animals! We had a fun time visiting you! See you soon!

Sew, here's the dress!

Here is the halter dress! The hem isn't finished in the picture, but it is now!! Yeah! I wasn't sure I would get HC to put it on again without resistance, so I took the pic without the hem finished. This was actually the EASIEST thing I've ever made!! I could make this dress all day long!! :o) It was pattern #6361 by New Look! This was the first dress I made without any prior instruction! I did tweak it a bit because I did not quite understand what they were trying to say, but otherwise, it was simple! I also took it in a little after this picture. I am pleased and so is HC! She put her barrette in herself, she was quite proud of that achievement. The photo below is a close-up of the fabric.

As I was putting away the camera, I heard "I'm ready mom." So here is the picture of JB ready for His close up! He is used to being forced to join in on the pics, so I guess he thought he would go easy on me tonight! haha An added bonus is the bedhead and the pj pants stained from dinner. He must always wear shoes now, this is a new quirk!

Lesson 2: Beautiful to God

The topic today is Beauty. The reference to City Girl refers to the following: "We are City Girls, high-born daughters of the King and when people look at us they are to see peace and joy in our countenance in such a measure they will say, "Wow, she isn't from around here is she? That, girls, is the kind of gorgeous we are after." I desire to display that in my countenance. Not for an ego boost but to know I am displaying My Father's traits! I want to look like Him!

Discussion Questions:

What is your initial response when anyone suggests you are beautiful? I say 'Thank you'. I do not 'feel' beautiful on a regular basis though! It isn't a focus, just a fleeting thought as I get ready in the morning. I notice other people's inner beauty and secretly hope my inner beauty shows as well.

Do you find you engage in a lot of negative 'self-talk'? How much of your thought life does this form of thinking consume? I do have negative 'self-talk', I find it is worse when I watch a lot of tv. The more tv I watch the more I feel I do not measure up. I recently watched a Youtube clip that made me realize we are trying to measure up to a hoax! To see the video, go to Oh Amanda It really made me think!

Has it ever occurred to you that you are a City Girl? How do you plan to use this knowledge?

I do feel like a City Girl mostly. There are moments I disappoint myself by not being the City Girl I am called to be! I do like this new thought '(heavenly)City Girl', to reflect our Heavenly Father! I want to reflect His peace and joy more than I do. I have it on my mind but there are times I focus on the petty issues of the day and forget to keep my focus on what is eternal! We had a Pastor who would ask us, 'What eternal significance does this issue/problem have?'. I try to remember that but I do get out of balance from time to time! I HATE when I make a mess of things! In the future, I will think of the City Girl term and try to refocus!

In what ways has your view of Godly beauty changed as a result of these Scriptures?
I have seen people or known people who just had a glow about them. You could tell they spent time with the Lord just by seeing their face. Their was a peace and a joy that was different. I never realized the reference to Beauty regarding Moses. Then when you think of the lack of beauty Christ had it really was a unique perspective! I do not want to make any thought pattern an idol! I want my worship to be for Christ alone.

In south Louisiana, the following segment would be labeled 'Lagniappe':

The other morning I was walking downstairs and heard my son say, 'Wow Mom, are you a Princess?'. Talk about an ego boost! It was a moment I gladly accepted a compliment! It was a genuine moment!

FYI: Lagniappe = a little something extra! :o)

So far so good!

Two days down and the charts are working wonders!! Anytime my daughter's behavior becomes out of control or she won't obey with ease, I simply tell her I will remove her 'Happy Heart' star and she will not earn all of her stars for the day. She immediately complies and says 'Please don't take my Happy Heart star Mommy." I tell her she can have one more chance! She giggles with joy and then hours later she asks me "Mommy, do I have a Happy Heart right now?" I tell her yes and she is pleased! I guess she likes this!? I hope this works because I am tired of begging her to obey. It seems as though SHE is carrying the desire to behave now and with a happy heart! I like it and I hope it becomes contagious! The best part is I have not mentioned a prize or reward. So she is motivated by the stars. I don't know if or when to add a reward. It may be naive, but I hope she just gets it without the reward as the focus.

On another note, my son is now in a big boy bed too! Last night we took off the 'bars'! :o) haha Now that I look back, I do NOT think we planned it out too well though!! It was an innocent mistake! We were getting the kids ready for bed and an impulsive bug bit us! Let's take JB's bed rails down since he did so well the other night. The kids were ecstatic, jumping and screaming and dancing! What were we thinking? So then, this was the ultimate worst! My husband was caught up in the joy and the freedom-vibe racing through our veins, when the question came! "Can I sleep in JB's bed too?" Before he realized what he said, my husband enthusiastically says 'Sure'! I knew we had gone too far.

Two minutes later, we hear 'pitter, patter, pitter, patter, door opening, then DaAad'. It was JB feeling bold with his new found freedom. That was round 1 of at least 10 (no joke!). After 2 times we separated the kids and so by the 10th time JB was down for the night. Tonight he was only up 3 times. I hope he will not get up at all next time!! Progress!

Ok, I debated whether or not to share this picture. Here it is! I had to share it because I have had this on my to-do-list all week long! I finally cut the pattern and the material (not pictured) last night! I had to share this because it took so long to get this step done! Once the material is cut it is a breeze! Looking forward to sharing the finished product with you by Monday! It is going to be a halter dress! Keep tuning in to see the final product!

Calling all Moms, what do YOU do?

I bought a few different charts today for my kids. I find myself 'threatening and repeating' lately and I am trying to come up with a more effective method of motivating my kids. For those of you who are not familiar with the term 'threatening and repeating', it simply means constantly saying things like: 'If you don't stop hitting your brother I'm going to put you in timeout!' or 'Be quiet or you won't get a sucker.'. There are many variances to this fruitless repeating of threats. It is an easy rut to fall into and now I am trying to find a more effective tool for Mommy to use.

I bought these charts in hopes that I can use positive reinforcement rather than the threats. I do not always have this problem, it just seems to slip into my world little by little until I have given the power over to a 3 year old and a 2 year old. We can all see how deadly that can be!

Now is time for a few questions! Do you use rewards or charts to teach your kids self-control/responsibility or anything else? If so, once the child earns a sticker, do you have a set prize each week, what is your time line for the reward? How do you implement this tool? It may help me if you share a method you find effective with your kids.

I am always looking for ideas to get out of ruts I fall into! We are not having major issues, I just want to get out of this bad habit while my kids are still obedient! I know my son is too young to understand this, but if my daughter begins to respond to this method, my son usually complies!

Meme Tag - Thanks Annaliza!

Annaliza has tagged me to complete this meme.

Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

* It took 4 years for me to get pregnant!

* I learned to sew last September and I love it!

* My favorite method of studying the Bible is a Beth Moore study!

* I love shoes but haven't bought a new pair in at least a year - heartbreaking!

* I could buy a blanket (throw) everyday! I am a blanket freak! I love cute blankets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* My husband thinks I am crazy because I am obsessed about NOT running out of toilet paper!

* Everytime I go to McAlister's (or any restaurant with the big straws) I take extra so I can use it in my water mug at home. The normal size straws always fall through and get lost in the mug!

I did it! My #7 is a confession of sorts I guess! :o) I will now tag the following unsuspecting souls!! If you are not intersted in this game, let me know and I will remove your name!

1.AdoptedAsHisOwn I had to!!
2.Glass Half Full I hope you don't mind!
3.HopiQ For fun!
4.The Good, the bad & the ugly For fun!
5.Adventures in Babywearing For fun!
6.Oh Amanda For fun!
7.Living to Learn & Learning to Live For fun!

The next step, if you are not interested in playing I will remove your blog info from my list of 7! If you stop in for a visit and want to play - leave a comment and I will be glad to check your blog as well!

To my Meme victims, you now must make your list of 7 and then tag 7 other unsuspecting bloggers!

Oh, how sweet!

Well, today I will brag a little! My little girl went to sleep over at Nana's house last night. I told her JB sure would miss her when it came time to go to bed. They share a room. So she told JB, 'JB, I am going to sleep at Nana's house tonight, so don't be scared ok?'. He said 'Ok'. After she left, JB started to ask for HC and he wanted to call her. We called HC and JB told her, 'Wuwu Stister'. (Translation - Love you Sister). It was so sweet! My eyes were watering and my heart full! She replied with, 'Love you brother'. That was that.

When it came time to go to bed, JB was not happy. He is still in a crib because he hasn't tried to climb out yet, so why not. HC is in a toddler bed. JB climbed in HC's bed and said, 'My bed'. So, out of our effort to get JB to go to bed willingly we asked, 'Do you want to sleep in sisters' bed?' He said 'Yes'. So he did. We shoved the bean bag up to the side of the bed and tiptoed out of the room. We peered through the crack in the door and he didn't move at all! We were expecting him to get up a few times but he stayed in bed all night and didn't move an inch. He didn't fall out once. I guess we are going to transform his bed now too. The test will be, can they stay in their own beds when the temptation to play comes on them! We shall see! But we had a milestone of my baby boy getting bigger and my kids showing love to each other on their own. I felt like we ended yesterday with a family win!

We also had a small group today and we have a babysitter come to watch our kids. JB had to go alone today for the first time, HC wasn't there to lean on. He was a little hesitant but he walked in with great courage! But if you see HC, don't tell her because she loves to go to these little 'meetings'! That will be our little secret! :o)

(Excuse the fuzzy photo, it is nearly impossible to see what you are photographing in the dark while using a digital camera! Those picture screens are so tricky!)