Kids Remember Journal = Complete!

Years ago, when Nathan started talking, I made it a habit to occasionally jot down funny things he would say or his toddler pronunciation of words.  I used yearly calendar books to record the things he said and I still continue to do this.  These are the calendar books which have accumulated over time.

My entries weren't for every day or even every week, just whenever I could manage it or remember to do it. For example, here is just a single entry that I quickly scribbled one week in 2010:

A while ago, I took advantage of a Paper Coterie special and ordered the journal where I planned to consolidate all these calendar entries.  The journal turned out really cute (photo by Amy Kaylor) and it would seem I was ready to start.  My hangup though was which pens to use.  I deliberated over this for an unreasonably long time. For this type of memory book being passed down to someone, I think handwriting is best because it's personal and nostalgic.  However, I hate mistakes and I didn't want this cute little journal filled with scratch-outs.  I needed a good quality, multiple colored, erasable pen.  Enter the Pilot Frixon pen set.

These pens saved my project!  The ink is thermo-sensitive gel ink that disappears with erasing friction.  The end of the pen includes a gray rubber nub, used to rub away ink. Best part is there are no eraser crumbs.  I consolidated all my calendar entries entering each one in my Remember journal and used multiple ink colors to differentiate between the years.

I'm all done and the journal will sit and await the remainder of the entries for this year.  Oh. I just realized by typing that statement this project isn't really complete...it's ongoing.  I can never mark this off my project list? Well, it's totally worth it.  As I worked on this I had already forgotten some of the silly and at times, profound things, my little one had said and I was so glad I had written those things down.  And therein lies the whote point! ;)

My Personal Testimony of Jesus Christ.

I've been studying the life & ministry of the Apostle Paul. A person, like me. He made mistakes, just like me. He was bold and had courage. Not like me. Not at all. 

This morning, I was blindsided by the simplicity of what Paul did. He told people his Damascus Road experience. That was it. He just told his story. Over & over. Some wanted to hear his story & believed him. Others didn't. He was whipped 5 times, beaten with rods 3 times, stoned with rocks and left for dead.  At the end of the day though, Paul's story was his story. It didn't change.

This is my personal testimony of Jesus Christ.

My hands are shaking. Tears are in my eyes. Where is my courage?  I'm challenged by Paul's example but I'm such a coward. Behind this keyboard is the only courage I can muster.

This is my personal testimony of Jesus Christ.

As a child, my parents were not a consistent presence in my life. They were just not capable of taking care of me at times and for that reason I was left to live with other people. My childhood was so unstable that by the time I turned 18, I had lived in 13 different homes. Not one of those environments was a healthy functioning household and I experienced nearly every type of abuse that exists.

As a child, I believed in God, in Jesus. On the night of my 12^th birthday, I prayed with a child-like faith a very sincere prayer. “Please let me die tonight, God. I don't want to live anymore. Please don't let me wake up tomorrow.”

I was so disappointed in God's unanswered prayer, I vowed I would no longer follow a God that would not help me. So for the next 10 years, I became my own primary abuser in every way.

When I was 23, the road I had been running on came to a dead-end.

It was at that time, I experienced God's love. God's forgiveness. God's mercy.

God's love for me simply could not answer the earnest prayer of my 12 yr old self.

God's forgiveness covered the multitude of sins from the former 10 years of my life.

God's mercy was new every morning, as I fumbled through following him for the next 18 years.

I have embraced that Jesus Christ died to set me free.

I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that the power of Jesus Christ has moved in my life in ways I never could have imagined.

I know, that I know, my mind has been renewed and I really am a new creation only because of the power of Jesus Christ in my life.

I have loved Jesus for some time now and I've learned so much from this relationship. I often, Often! stumble but I'm never condemned for it. Instead, my savior encourages me to stand up, try again. He gently reminds me, I'm not alone, he is with me. He is for me. Always and forever.  

And I find a tiny bit of courage to do as he prompts me - today its behind a keyboard.

That is my personal testimony of Jesus Christ.

Signed,

Myra Jane Julia Dianne Davidson Hull

A Conservative Conscience.

We live in a consumerist culture.  And, I'm a consumer.  I hate it but I accept it. I don't have any grand solution to our consumerism, I'm just acutely aware of our waste and excess, which makes me conservative in some very practical ways. I try to reuse and recycle where I can-when I can.  I love the creed that was recently posted by a friend that stated "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." Totally aligns with how I try to live!

Simple example, when I have a bottle of any liquid product getting low, I grab a funnel and tip the bottle over and walk away for a while.  Waste not.

 

I also save leftover water from glasses or water bottles. I can't stand the idea of wasting water, it's a precious resource and I probably worry about it more than I should but I collect leftover water in a watering can, kept under the kitchen sink and later use it for plants.

Additionally, I use the cabinet above my microwave specifically to store empty containers that can be reused later for some purpose or another.  You just never know what you might need one day....

Like when I started saving used coffee grounds for fertilizer, I used an old coffee container from the storage cabinet! 

Going a step further, I buy new clothes from time to time but I also buy previously owned/resale clothes just as regularly.  For example, the outfits Greg and I wore in last years family Christmas picture? Mostly resale!  The only new items I purchased were Greg's suspenders and my scarf, that's it.  Clothes, shoes, accessories were all resale.  Recycling at it's finest, if you ask me.

Speaking of recycling, I do. We have 2 trash cans in our kitchen, one for food waste and one for recyclable products.  Fortunately, our city trash service provides a separate can for recyclable items, making it easy for us to participate in recycling. 

Another area I recycle and reuse is with toys.  Occasionally, I purchase something brand spanking new for Nathan, like Legos.  Very often though, I find used toys that work great. For example, this Playdoh Mega Fun Factory retails for $29.99.  Can you see the price I paid in the picture?  Score!  Ironically, when I gave this to Nathan, he told me he saw it on TV and wanted it so bad that he told me about it.  I honestly don't remember that but in any case, I was hero for the day!

Could I do more? Of course. But instead of getting caught up by what I don't do-should do-could do, I just do what I can, no matter how small it may seem. My little baby steps aren't going to change the world but at least it eases my conservative conscience a little bit.

Fact About Me and Potato peelers.

This is nothing more than a fundamental fact about me that until now, only Greg and my father-in-law knew.

FAM (Fact about Me) : I cannot use a regular potato peeler.  I am a ra-tard when it comes to using a normal potato peeler.  I cannot seem to apply the right amount of pressure without gouging the potato, thereby getting thick chunks of potato skin stuck between the blades.  The only potato peeler I can successfully use is a 'palm peeler' that rests in the palm of the hand and held in place by a ring that slides over the middle finger.

FAM Disclaimer : This issue is long-standing, been going on for years, just sayin. ;-D

Disneyland. Best Surprise Ever!

Greg and I pulled off the best surprise this Summer.  We didn't tell Nathan we were taking him to Disneyland until we were ready to walk into the park.  It was awesome. :-)


None of us have ever been to Disneyland, so it was a first for Greg, Nathan and I.  After our trip, we now understand the tagline "The happiest place on earth." There is just something about it, that makes it a happy place.

We have friends in AZ that seem to go to Disneyland once a year.  We didn't get it and they didn't get how we had never been!  Now...we get it and fully understand the magic of Disneyland. 

I guess I brought back some magic pixie dust with me because I was able to pull together our family vacation video within hours instead of days which is more my speed.

I love that Nathan will have this video to look at in the future so he can remember this very special surprise Dad and I pulled on him!

How I became a Lego Nazi.

I love Legos. And I hate Legos.

I love Legos because they are an excellent toy.  They build fine motor skills, require complex problem solving, etc, etc.

But I hate Legos because they end up everywhere...every room in the house, my car, etc. etc.

The situation at our house was out of control.  Therefore, control measures had to be put in place
and that's when I became the Lego Nazi.

This how a Lego kit is packaged.  A box, separated parts in bags and instruction booklets.  It's great. Nathan builds the kit, plays with it.  Add 10 more Lego kits.  Nathan builds them, plays with them. Now Lego parts are all mixed together. Nathan tries to rebuild a kit but can't because there are missing parts, insert a meltdown, weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And now Mom is finding Lego pieces every-freaking-where. It's not so great anymore.

When I thought about the dollar value for each of  these kits and realized they were an investment, I began the process of creating a Lego Library.

The first step of the process was collecting every Lego and separating them by color into individual buckets.  Second step was take each Lego kit booklet, which provides a part list that makes up the kit. Thank goodness, Lego does this!

This is what the sorting process looked like.  This process took months.  I even had friends pitch in to help one night.

Each kit was assigned a Sterilite box, 3 different sizes available, found at Wal-mart, between $1.99-$3.99, very affordable when you need multiple boxes!
 

I copied the front of each booklet, taped it inside each box on both ends.  

Once each kit was completed, it went in the Lego Library.  The key here is only 1 kit can be 'checked out' at a time. Judge if you want but this way parts do not get mixed together and the kit stays in tact, which is the ultimate goal for these 'investments'.

When Nathan completes a build, he puts it back in the box and returns it to the Lego Library and checks out a new kit.  I quietly check the kits once in a while to take apart what's built, so they are not already built when he checks them out again.

Believe it or not, Nathan completely respects the process and checks out/in kits on his own. He's ok with this system because he enjoys the building process and when all the parts are available, there's no frustration, just fun.

So that is how I became a Lego Nazi and I have no shame!

This is what Kindergarten looks like today.

This is what Kindergarten looks like today....

Above is a picture of Nathan's homework and classwork for his Kindergarten year. 

• 137 pages of homework (yellow section of paper)
• 743 pages of classwork (white section of paper)
• 19 phonogram tests (10 blue ribbons for scoring 100%!)
• 6 recited poems
• 180 days of school

Two weeks before the end of school, Nathan came home with 'Graduation' pictures, much to my delight...

On the last day of school, there was "Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony"...

The children were awarded certificates for moving up to First Grade...

As part of their performance the Kindergartners recited the Preamble of the United States Constitution.  Seriously. Here's the video:


Lastly, I discovered as I read the program from the Kindergarten ceremony that Nathan has formally started his political campaigning....Hahaha!!

In a nutshell, that's what Kindergarten looks like today.  I have a sneaky suspicion that everything I just described is far from what you personally experienced as you moved from Kindergarten to First grade, right?! My, how times have changed!