Monday, Sept 26
- lunch: chicken & cheese hors d’oeuvre (lunchmeat chicken & blocks of mozzarella on toothpicks), grapes, crackers
- dinner: chicken & potato bake

Tuesday, Sept 27
- lunch: leftovers
- dinner: Shepherd’s pie

Wednesday, Sept 28
- lunch: leftovers
- dinner: homemade beef stew

Thursday, Sept 29
- lunch: pb&j, chips, fruit
- dinner: grilled cheese & tomato soup

Friday, Sept 30
- lunch: tuna on crackers, fruit
- dinner: pizza

Saturday, Oct 1
- lunch: chicken salad
- dinner: fish sticks, chips

Sunday, Oct 2
- lunch: chicken pot pie in crock pot
- dinner: leftovers, sandwiches, etc.

Monday, Oct 3
- lunch: leftovers
- dinner: Mexican night! Taco salad, beans, & rice

Tuesday, Oct 4
- lunch: leftovers, quesadillas for kids
- dinner: lasagna

Wednesday, Oct 5
- lunch: leftovers and/or cheese crackers, etc.
- dinner: chipotle chicken wraps, fruit & veggies or smoothies

Not impressive by any means, but I like simple. What are some good recipes you’ve tried lately and/or really enjoy? I’m always looking for new ideas, especially soup/stew since autumn is here! Please share in the comments!

Your love is stronger than…
- my fears
- my insecurities
- my mistakes
- any risks I (we) take
- worldly desires
- envy & jealousy
- the American Dream
- temptation
- bitterness
- pain, whether physical or otherwise
- hopelessness
- depression
- anger & rage
- doubt
- unwillingness to change
- a stubborn heart
- the needs we see
- addictions
- mindsets
- death, hell, & the grave

Isn’t that powerful? His love is strong!

Please leave a comment saying which one of these (if any) stuck out to you and why. And/or add to the list! Oh, and next time you see my kids, ask them to sing the “your love is strong” song. I’m sure they’ll be happy to oblige.

“They will act religious, but they will reject the power that can make them godly. Stay away from people like that.”

Whoa. I try too hard to do things in my own strength. Is this not, in a way, rejecting the power – the resurrection power! – that makes me godly?

Chewing on this. And praying for God’s power to get over myself & move in His Spirit!

In her book, she opens up a window into her home & invites you to learn along with her as she shares the reality of what life is like with children. The book, in my opinion, is about a change of mindset. From learning not to compare yourself & your children to others, to seeing your children with a new set of eyes, to learning creative ways to discipline, this book has practical advice on how to correctly respond instead of react to our children.

Giving real life examples from her family, and a look into her past & upbringing, & also being honest about how she wants to continue to change, Jessica pulls you in & makes you think, “Yeah. I can try that. I DO want to have a better relationship with my kids!”

One unique thing with her book is that at the end of each chapter is a “Chapter Challenge” so you can immediately apply what you just read about before you forget what was said.

Even if you find you may not agree with everything written in the book, it is a wonderful & quick read & I think we can all learn from it.

*I was given the ebook for free in exchange for reviewing the book, but I was not told that I had to give a good review. All these opinions are honest & I really do recommend purchasing a copy for yourself. You will be helping out a family in need as well. Here is the info to make the purchase today!

http://www.bohemianbowmans.com/wildbook/

So, he was sick all day Thursday and only had a fever for a couple hours. Now, if you remember what the weather was this week, you would realize that Thursday and Friday were in the 40′s. FORTIES, people! I had big plans of walks, possibly the zoo, possibly meeting up with friends, going to the park, etc. I was going to enjoy the almost spring weather, by golly. Then Sam got sick. And we spent the day inside.

On Friday he was doing pretty good and even started jumping up and down Friday night. So we thought he was on the mend. But we stayed in that day as well just in case. At one point I had plans to go out two different times for Friday night, but those of those plans fell through. I tried to make last minute plans, but no one was available. So I spent a couple of hours alone… Organizing our spare bedroom/school room. And I had FUN!

Then Saturday morning Sam wakes up, crawls in our bed, and threw up. Lol yes, in our bed. (I need to mention here how I hate doing pukey laundry!) He also was showing signs of dehydration, so I told him we’d have to take him to the hospital, explained briefly the IV they’d do, and that was enough for him to decide to drink. After drinking some, and having crackers, he was sitting up, playing games, and acting better. And this morning, he’s fine! We are so thankful for friends & family for praying for his healing!

So this morning we skipped church, just in case he’s still contagious, and to help him gain back strength and not overdo it. But I didn’t want to just be bored again today, so I decided to teach the lesson they were supposed to learn about today at church. It was the story of Rahab & how she saved the spies. So I told the story then we made a “wall” from a bunch of boxes, left a space for a window, and each kid took turns lowering a “spy” (played by Sam’s superheroes) through the window. Even Micah tried!

I got pictures of it, and they look so cute, but I still haven’t figured out how to add them with this app I’m using, so I’ll ask Chris for help & hopefully get them on soon.

P.S. – Texas was great!! I loved spending time with my brother, sister, and nephew. They are a wonderful family!!
P.P.S. – anyone know why I titled this post lemonade? Make a guess in the comments below.

I’m on my way to see my brother, his wife (my best friend!), and their new baby. I’m actually in the air while writing this (to be published later). I am flying with just Micah, my one year old. I left my older two in the very capable hands of my wonderful husband. It’s funny. We told them this morning that I was leaving but also played it up that Daddy was staying home all week so it would be “Dad Camp” for them. They also get special cookies – one a day – to count down the days I’m gone. I thought they’d be concerned with me leaving, but they couldn’t wait to get rid of me (lol) because they knew so many fun things were going to be happening soon. That’s good, though.

Micah has been the best traveling buddy! He’s made so many people smile, he has only fussed once or twice & that was briefly, for a reason, and easily remedied. He has been cheerful, the taking off & landing hasn’t bothered his ears, and he’s slept 2 out of the 3 “legs” of the trip. I thank God for such a great trip so far, and I’m not even there yet!

I’m looking forward to blessing my sister-in-law and brother this week. I hope to be able to spend time with my best friend, finally squeeze my nephew (I have a nephew!!), and catch up with my brother. I’m excited to serve them in any way possible & it’s going to be great!

God gave me this opportunity, I am so full of joy, and have literally been smiling all day. It’s so much better to have God’s joy, be prayerful & thankful, and give Him the credit than it is to be grumpy, impatient, & forget what life is all about while traveling. God is good and it’s going to be a great week!

So a lot has happened since then. Micah is not only walking, but he is running now. He loves to steal a toy from Addison, then run as fast as he can, just to get a reaction out of her! It is hilarious. If you see him, you would know right away by the bruises & bumps that he doesn’t always know how to stop running without something stopping him. He just turned 1 on Sunday (the 23rd). Let’s just say the 3rd baby’s first year flies by quicker than the first two kids. Crazy.

Samuel is 4.5, is very smart and is using it for his advantage. He is a deep thinker & stumps us a lot. We just got a new Bible – the Jesus Storybook Bible – because the others were getting too boring for him. We were all getting frustrated because Chris and I know the Bible’s not boring, and we want Sam to love it. This new Bible brings every story back to Jesus and it is amazing. Sam not only listens to the stories, but he asks questions. It is great!

Addison turned 3 on Friday, and she is getting so big! We memorized Philippians 2:2 a couple weeks ago and Addison can say it all by herself. And I’m not talking about a short version. I mean the whole non-dumbed-down version. It surprised me and also made me realize the responsibility I have in teaching our kids the Bible!

Our church has been doing 21 days of fasting & prayer and it has been amazing. Family members have been reconciled, people have come to church that wouldn’t before, attitudes have changed, & our church has seen the most people ever been ministered to this past month. This past week we reached over 300 people with our various ministries. God is so good!

Oh and another thing! My brother and sister-in-law had their first baby! Dominic Truth Parker was born in Texas on January 20, 2011 at 8:44pm after a long labor (and 2 weeks past his due date!). He was 8 lbs 7 oz & 20.5 inches long. He is absolutely gorgeous & I get to go see him soon! I am very excited!

Well that’s a quick catch up. Next time I blog there should be pictures. Thanks for reading!

Other lessons my kids teach me daily… To smile, to laugh, to enjoy life, to be creative, to be quick to forgive, to trust even though they’ve experienced hurt, and to love with everything they have. I am so tremendously blessed!

What lessons do you learn from your kids (or kids around you)?

On Monday we did several projects to learn about the wind. We went outside to blow bubbles, to see how they were “created” by wind, and then blew around in the wind. I also had Sam & Addi look around to see what they could find blowing in the wind. They found leaves, grass, flowers, and a couple of flags.

For an art project, the kids got to paint with all kinds of colors (cuz the sky CAN be all sorts of colors, and we talked about that too) on a huge posterboard. Here’s a before picture:

And here is a completed picture:

To store this, I am planning on cutting it to make it into a huge floor puzzle.

We got some library books about the sky & different things that are in the sky (Sam’s favorites right now are hot air balloons & airplanes). Oh, and we were at Target this week and happened to see some pinwheels, so I let the kids each get one (thank you, dollar section!) and try it out in the wind when we got home.

Then, Monday night when Dad was home, we went to our local park & flew a kite! Sam had never flown a kite before and he loved it!

Sam on Chris’ shoulders, to hold it high enough to fly it:

The kite, blowing in the wind:

Look how high!

So here’s my “problem”. I do SO good on Mondays, then I totally bomb the rest of the week! I think we did 1-2 things Tuesday-Friday that had to do with school… Yeah. Great, huh? It’s a little disappointing, but I’m trying to cut myself some slack. I have 3 kids now, so things will be a little different. I’m hoping that by mid-winter I may have this schedule down a little better. As for sky week… I think I’ll continue it into week 3, because I had so many more activities (clouds, etc.) that I’d like to do, and *drumroll please* we’re planning on going to a hot air balloon festival next Friday night! I haven’t told Sam, so no one mention it! He’s gonna totally flip out.

Thanks for reading!

I woke up around 7:00am on Saturday morning, January 23, 2010 & was having contractions that were more painful than usual, around the under part of my belly, and radiating around to my back. I thought to myself, “These are different” and figured that “today may be the day”. Addison woke up before anyone else around 7:45am and since I knew it was probably the day she wouldn’t be the baby anymore, I got her up & spent some time with her. Chris stirred around 8am & I asked him how he was feeling (he had been sick) and told him it may be the day. My mom had come into town on Wednesday, so she was there to help out. I told her I thought it may be it too. Samuel woke up shortly afterward and everyone started going about the day. My contractions were pretty bothersome, painful, and about 4-5 minutes apart for the last hour. As I would soon discover, I also was nauseated with each contraction. This was the worst part of the labor for sure. I called my midwife, who wanted me to call her early in labor to warn her (she had an hour drive to get here) and she said since I had been sick (just got over bronchitis) that my body may just labor “off & on” all day then pick up at night so to get some rest. I really felt like I was supposed to be “up and moving” though to get things going. I was supposed to meet my online & phone friend & doula, Celeste, at 10:00 that morning. I called her at 9:00 and told her she may wanna pack her bag cuz I thought I was in labor. She got here around 10:30 and I came downstairs to meet her. The kids were downstairs, as were my mom & Chris, so it was more chaotic than upstairs where I had been laboring alone. After talking with her awhile, we decided to go upstairs. She showed Chris some massage techniques (hip squeeze & counter-pressure) which really helped. Around 11:30am, she said we should start timing my contractions to kinda get an idea of what to tell Linda when we call her to give an update. Apparently I was laboring so quietly & calmly that no one really knew “where I was at”. Celeste (doula) said she couldn’t tell when I was getting a contraction unless I told her. During this time as well, Chris blew up the birth tub. It was so loud & sounded like it was sucking all the air out of the room. I am so glad it only lasted one contraction or I would’ve probably started hyperventilating. After about a half hour of timing contractions, we called Linda. The contractions were 2-3 minutes apart & lasting 60-90 seconds. I was in active labor. Linda asked if I was calling her to just “let her know” or if I wanted her to come. I wanted her to be there already so I told her to come. Celeste then talked with Linda in the other room and they hung up. Linda got Sue (birth assistant/lactation consultant) and began their trip up here. I labored for awhile on my bed on my side, on my knees kinda leaning on the bed (which is on the floor), on my knees leaning against the birth ball, and on the toilet when I had to use the bathroom. Celeste was an awesome help because during my whole labor Chris was trying to fill up the birth tub. We didn’t take it for a trial run (oops!) and the hose kinked in so many places it was impossible to get it straightened out. He eventually started filling it with water from the tub using totes. We ran out of hot water very quickly, and it was disappointing to look at the birth tub, with about 2-3 inches of water, wanting so badly to get in. My mom was boiling water on the stove, we had the crock pot with water in it, and Chris would fill up the tub with water as soon as it got warm again. Did I mention it was torture to see the tub without water in it? Linda & Sue arrived at about 2:15. They came to check on me & I think I was deceiving everyone. I had been ready to push for a half hour or more before they got there but I wasn’t in a comfortable enough position (side lying). I told Linda I didn’t want to get up and push if it wasn’t time. She said I could always try pushing a little bit and if it was time, my body would take over. If it wasn’t time, I’d feel a pinch & should quit. I got up on my knees, leaning into Celeste’s lap as she sat on a chair. I also found out later that Celeste was praying for me throughout my labor. I have no doubt that is why my labor/delivery went so smoothly. Celeste’s position in the chair was too high & I was too uncomfortable & holding myself up so much that I couldn’t fully relax during a contraction. I tried pushing but just couldn’t “do it”. At some point Celeste asked me that when I was getting a contraction if I felt like I was “on top of it” or if it was getting the better of me. They were definitely getting the better of me (meaning, transition!) but I didn’t really understand what to say so I didn’t answer, except to say, “I don’t know what you mean.” I had some bloody show during the next few contractions, I wanted to be DONE with it all (and said so, hoping to hear someone say the magic words that “you’re almost done then” but they didn’t!), and I just felt like it wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Finally, a little after 3pm, Chris put the last little tea kettle full of boiling water into the tub & got it just warm enough. They asked if I wanted to get in and I immediately said yes. I had been thinking, “I could get in while it’s cold. I labored in it lukewarm with Sam!” So I got in (how I got my laboring body over that high wall is beyond me) and immediately got on my knees, the same position I had birthed my first two kids in. I was faced toward the futon, and Chris sat down across from me. As soon as I got in the position, my water broke. I said, “Water broke!” and had just enough time to catch my breath before the next contraction. The next contraction, however, was the “pushing contraction” that lasted 3 1/2 minutes, with about a 5 second break in there somewhere for me to catch my breath. Chris said, “You can squeeze my hand” but I said no cuz I wanted to be able to relax my whole body. Apparently, however, I did end up squeezing his hand so badly he thought I’d break his fingers! I didn’t grunt or moan this time; I sang. I sang notes up & down the scale for 3 1/2 minutes (he came out so fast there were some capillaries in his eyes that burst!). While singing, I was pushing, but no one knew it! Celeste said, “That’s it. Sing it out.” All 3 ladies took turns going to the bathroom quickly because they didn’t know I was so close! I wanted to tell them, but I couldn’t. When Linda got back from the bathroom, I looked over & saw her getting her gloves on. I felt the baby’s head come out, but no one said anything so I thought, “What?! Is this just a bulging bag of waters? What the heck? Does that mean the head is going to be even harder to push out?” They just didn’t know it was happening yet. (Pretty funny, looking back on it!) My body kept pushing, and I felt like he was stuck. (Later I found out that Linda said he was kinda stuck – he was trying to put one shoulder through first, instead of both at the same time.) I then thought, “Oh no. I’m going to have to try a new position… I think he’s stuck!” Then he came out the rest of the way. He apparently caught everyone by surprise, slipped away from Linda, and next thing I know I see a baby in front of me at the bottom of the pool. I thought, “Oh. There’s a baby. I guess I should pick him up.” I think I may have even asked, “Should I get him?” I sat down with him & tried to see the gender. His cord was in between his legs & it took me a bit to move it. Then I saw he was a boy and said, “It’s a boy!” We told everyone the name shortly after, Chris went to get my mom & the kids, and they came up to see him. Sam RAN up the stairs, very excited, and we told him it was a boy & his name is Micah. I told Addi, “Look, it’s a baby!” and said, “OH!” We tried to get the kids to touch him, and Sam did – barely poking him, and acting a little scared – and finally Addi did (in Grandma’s arms) too (also a poke). We decided on a middle name shortly after he was born. Micah Andrew Chowdhury was born at 3:12pm, 57 minutes after the midwife arrived, and after 2 meconium poops & one breastfeeding session weighed 10 pounds, 2 ounces. He was 21 inches long. Apgar scores were 10/10. He’s perfect – a miracle only God can do!

Micah – “Who is like God?”

Andrew – “Warrior”

Chowdhury

= MAC