Your Baby Can Read - A Review: 1st installment

Hey everyone. I've never done this before, but there has been some buzz about a certain product, and I wanted to chime in.

I am going to review (1st of a series) the video learning series Your Baby Can Read. This is a video series that claims that after watching (and using the supplemental materials), your baby will be able to read. Now, they don't make any specific claims (that I know of) that say that by a certain age, or after a specific amount of time, that your baby will be able to read.

The product comes with 5 volumes. Each volume comes with a 30 minute video, a flip book, the really cool flashcards with pictures that slide in and out, a slide book with words from each of the videos, and some other flash cards.

One of the claims that has not proven true AT ALL is that they say that the video can keep your kids attention for hours. Um...not in my house. I mean, both of my kids will stop watching attentively after like 10-15 minutes, depending on if they are tired or not. I usually pause the video if they stop watching, and turn it back on later if they are interested.

One of the "tips" that they give is that you should cut out all other TV from your kids lives. No cartoons, no baby einstien, no movies, etc.

Your kids watch each video 2 times a day for about a month or two (depending on the video).

They tell you on the videos that children take a long time to learn the first 20 words, but after they know about 50, they will start to actually be picking up the phonics and the letter patterns which enable them to actually read, and not just recognize words.

Ok, our experience: We have BoyD (3yrs 10 mo.) and GirlM (1yr 9 mo.)
We have been using the materials for like 6 weeks. We have gone through the first video and are watching the second. (they are actually watching it right now so that I can type this!) We don't watch TV during the week anyway, but we still let BoyD watch cartoons on Saturday morning, and we eat dinner on Sat. night in front of a movie. (this Saturday it will be Cinderella)
So, we have not followed that suggestion.

The videos have cute songs and poems that my kids love. My kids (especially GirlM) really participate in the videos. They watch them, follow along, say all the words that are printed and spoken, dance with the music, and do the directed actions. For example: the video will have written the word "nose," it says "nose," and then shows a little kid touching their nose. It will then tell the kids to "touch your nose". That part is great.

Now that we have moved on to the second video, we will occasionally watch the first video as a "review." It gives a little bit of a variety, which helps my sanity!

We also don't watch it twice a day every day. We probably do twice a day for BoyD maybe 4 days a week, and for GirlM like 2-3 days a week. Mostly they watch it while I am preparing lunch and dinner. GirlM watches less of it than BoyD, but when she watches it, she interacts with it more. Maybe that is a girl/boy thing, or maybe it is an age thing.

The other materials (that go along with the video) are FANTASTIC! I mean, I love them. The kids love to look at the flip books. The have the word printed on the page, and then you either flip it up or down (I wish that if flipped sideways) to show the image of the corresponding word. It also gives little things to do with the picture like "touch the dog's nose" or something. The sliding flash cards are fun as well. It gives the word, and then you slide out a tab and it shows the image. The kids think it is fun to play with those.

We probably look at 1-2 of those materials every day. I think that using those things really enhances what the videos show.

Our results (so far):
GirlM does not seem to recognize any of the words.
BoyD recognizes most of the words from the first video, and a couple of the words from the second. I am actually amazed! He really can look at these words, only printed, in any order, and tell me what it says. He recognizes the following words:
elephant, dog, cat, mouth, eyes, nose, gorilla, arms, arms up, hi, wave, and a few others that I can't remember. He also will put his hand over the "se" in "nose" and tell me it says "no." This was with out prompting from me. He does the same with eyes and the word yes. At this point he isn't reading per se, but he is recognizing the words w/o seeing any pictures. I think that is pretty cool!

I don't know how long it will take for him to get to that 50 word mark, but with very little effort, he is picking up words.

My current conclusion (this could change as we continue the process)
-This is a good program that seems to be working well, at least for our 3 yr old.
-Because the AAP recommends that children under the age of 2 should not watch any TV, and because BoyD is picking this up SO MUCH FASTER than GirlM, I don't think that the new baby due in Jan will be watching this until they are at least 2.
-It probably does "work" in that babies younger than my children could eventually do what BoyD is doing, but since it takes so long, and actually reading to your babies is probably better suited to them, I don't see recommending this product for 3 month old babies, like the info-mercial suggests.
-I will be using the cards/books and other materials that came with the program with the new baby, because I don't see how it can hurt!

Ok...I know that is a ton of info, but I hope it helps! GirlM will continue to watch the videos with her brother, and I will post another update in another month or two to note her progress.

Interesting day

GirlM got stung by a bee this morning. It was floating in the dog's water bowl, and she just reached in and grabbed it.

She came running into the house crying forcefully. When I saw her, I saw that she had something on her hand, and I though that she had picked up a piece of dog poop. Nope. It was a bee stuck to her thumb. I flicked it off right away, but the stinger was still in her. Brandon came out of his office with his trusty pocket knife and scraped the stinger off.

After some meat tenderizer, tried and failed crushed papaya extract, and finally a compress of chewed up pipe tobacco (thanks Brandon...you are a great father), she was as good as new! In just a couple of hours, the swelling had gone down and she was using her hand like normal.

Then this evening, a couple of Guatemalan kids who shine our shoes and wash our cars on Sundays came by. They told us that they couldn't find a bus to their town (about 45 min. away) and asked if they could stay here. Um. No. No, they can't stay here.

We called Gladys (the lady who works for us) and asked. Turns out the last bus was not for another hour and a half, so we gave them bus money and sent them on their way. We should have given them some food, but we didn't think about it until it was too late.

I made southern cornbread for lunch. With the bee sting episode, it wasn't ready until 1:45, so we ate it for supper. But in one cast iron skillet, there was 1/2 cup of butter. That is 90 grams of fat, just in the butter. That doesn't include the 1/8 cup of oil that greased the bottom of the skillet. Needless to say, it was really good cornbread.

So we had that for dinner with some black beans and some queso fresco (fresh cheese). Yum! And then, for dessert (for the kids only...so sad), I fried a piece of cornbread in a skillet with a pad of butter until it was crispy, and then we layered it with some cookie ice-cream. We are trying to fatten up GirlM, and BoyD could use the fat as well. I tasted it. It was to die for. A great way to use up left over cornbread.

Ok...that is about it for the day. Oh, and BoyD, after dinner, said his tummy was hurting. Maybe we over did it with the butter.

Last Saturday:

Last Saturday:
This is how the day started: Normally, I am the one to go and get her up, so she was excited to see her daddy! (This video is really for the grandmothers)

(You can see the bumper that I made for the rail of her crib b/c there are bite marks all long the top. I need to add some straps and make another one for the other side, but it seems to be working)

Then, after a good bout of cartoons, we got all dressed and ready and headed out:

Poor GirlM doesn't have any Texas Tech gear, so she commandeered BoyD's hat.
We went to a place called "el vaul" which is a city park located on the top of a large hill (or small mountain). It has a view of the entire Xela valley, and these really large, really cool concrete slides built into the side of the mountain. They did have some smaller ones that the kids can use by themselves.

This picture was not posed. These are the amazing men in my life! Aren't the handsome?

Introducing...

BabyK (check our newsletter for the full name...if you are not receiving our newsletter and want to, put your e-mail address in a comment here, and we'll send you on)

The little baby that is being knitted together in my tummy is a BOY!!!

BoyD and GirlM will have a baby brother on or around January 20th.

(Quick photo of me and the kids...you can't see BabyK very well, he's in there!)

BoyD is thrilled, Brandon is thrilled...we're all thrilled!

Now I must clean out BoyD's closet to make room for another kid, we must buy/build a bunk bed for BoyD's room, I need to make some boy bassinet bedding for our room. That is just to begin the list! And we are only in the states for another 7-8 weeks! Augh!

Praise God with us for this miracle. In the ultrasound, we got to see him open and close his mouth, we got to see him push up on his tippy toes, and we saw his little face so well. We also watched as his stomach and bladder filled and emptied! It was absolutely magical.

I had a hard time being on my back towards the end of it, as I am getting quite large, so I had to keep pausing the sonogram to sit up. We made it though, and it was worth it!

New Women's Study

I've been wanting to post this for quite a while, but I'm a little occupied right now. I am forsaking some study prep time to get this blog out.

Today will be the second meeting of the new study that I am teaching: How to study the Bible. It is based on the book "Living by the Book" by Dr. Howard Hendricks and on the Precepts inductive Bible study method. I am having to adjust the material somewhat to fit the culture.

Last week we had 12 women come! It was fantastic! We had 8 women from our new church, 2 missionary wives, and Gladys (the lady who works for us) and Gladys' daughter. I am really curious to see how many of those women come back this week. They had homework, and everything! It is interesting, because at our last church (it was huge), I had on several occasions invited women from our Sunday school class to the women's Bible study in our home. Not one of them ever came. At our new church, (very small) I put out one invitation, and 8 women came! It was unreal!

I really enjoyed teaching it. I mean, teaching in Spanish is a little difficult...well...it can be very difficult where there is something that I want to say, and I'm just not sure how to say it, but the two American women are a huge help on so many levels.

Please pray for us! Please pray that I can be a good steward of the resources as I translate and adapt the material for Guatemala. Please pray that I would be humble and teachable. Sadly, my unintentional tendancy is to have an attitude of superiority. Not necessarily that I am superior to them, but that my methods, my education, my techniques, are the best, and the poor Guatemalans need to be enlightened. That is so incredibly foolish, and if you would please pray that the Lord would keep me from such arrogance as I teach this study.

Finally, pray that this would multiply. A goal of ours is that after this study, one (or more) of these women would have a desire to then teach this material to other women! It would be wonderful if I could just be a help to the next "set" of women who are teaching this.

Check back later today...we have some news to share with you!

A Day in The Life Of...

I get a lot of questions regarding what we do here. Specifically, what I do, as the wife of a missionary. I wanted to briefly post my schedule for today, just in case you were interested.

5:15am - BoyD wakes b/c his pull up leaked and his shirt and pants are wet.
5:17 alarm goes off
5:45 - I pull myself out of bed, head downstairs with a load of laundry.
- I put in the load of laundry. Thank the Lord for a washing machine.
- I make a cup of decaf coffee and head upstairs for a little alone time.
6:00am - BoyD is waiting at the top of the stairs for me, ready to wake up.
- I end up reading Mark 14 to him and Jeremiah chapter 3. (Not a very toddler friendly passage)
6:30 am - BabyM is "talking" in her crib. We go and get her up. The kids and I play with BoyD's dinosaurs, I get their clothes for the day picked out, and get my bag ready to go swim.
7:25am - Brandon is showered and ready and the fam heads downstairs for breakfast. Brandon makes oatmeal, I eat a quick bowl of cornflakes (sharing bites with the kids while the oatmeal cooks)
7:50 - I head out the door to go to the public sports complex. I swim for around 30 minutes and head back home.
8:50 - I get home, Brandon has dressed the kids, fed them breakfast, and cleaned up the kitchen. I have a super husband!
- I shower and get ready.
9:30 - The kids and I pick up the upstairs. We head downstairs and I hang the laundry on the line. I make the menu for next week and the grocery list.
10:30 - The kids and I go to the grocery store and to a big lots type place that is having a 40% off entire inventory sale. (I find crayola color wonder finger paints!!!! and Rite-aid pull ups!!!!)
12:20pm - we get home and I make lunch: corn tortillas, refried black beans, scrambles eggs.
1:30 - I put the kiddos down for their naps.
1:45 - I head back out to the Market (fresh fruits and veggies...open air market) to barter for our veggies, etc. I find BabyM a pair of knock-off hot pink converse for less $4
3:00 - I arrive at home, clean the kitchen of lunch dishes. (Too bad we don't have a dishwasher!) And begin the arduous process of washing the fruits and veggies. This consists of scrubbing each thing with a soapy brush, rinsing, placing in a large tub of bleach water, letting it sit for 25 minutes, and then rinsing with filtered water before laying it out to dry.
3:40 - The kiddos are up (I had to wake up BoyD, while BabyM had been laughing in her crib since 3:20!)
4:00 - The kiddos and I head downstairs, them to play in the sandbox, me to work more on the veggies.
4:30 - Brandon finishes with work a little early, helps me in the kitchen, and gets the kids ready to head back out. I pull in the clothes from the line.
5:00 - The whole family heads back to the big lots type store so that the kids can look at the toys (we didn't have time earlier, and I wanted Brandon to see what all they had) We purchased a plastic wisk - ours was broken - a bug collecting kit for BoyD, and 2 caramel KitKat bars - for movie night, all for less than $4.
6:00 - we get home and make a quick dinner of left overs. The kids eat great (even BabyM).
- we clean the kitchen while BoyD tries to find bugs in the house and BabyM pours her milk onto her cookie on the table.
6:45 - everybody heads upstairs to start bed time (little you tube video, take baths, pick up toys, read books, sing songs, say prayers, etc)
8:00 - I blog...sit down for the first time today, Brandon picks out a movie, makes popcorn.

Busy day! Good night everyone!

Just because she was being cute!

Just because she was being cute!

Just in case...

Just in case you like looking at my kids:

A little video of us getting ready to go to out. I pulled out the camera because they were just chatting away about what we were going to go do. Then, the camera comes out, and they get quiet! They are so funny.

Oh, and to explain, BoyD is calling me "dad" because he is pretending that I am the dad triceratops and he is Cera from The Land Before Time.



BabyM is wearing a shirt that my grandmother made for me when I was her age.

Yesterday was a pretty afternoon (meaning it wasn't raining which is a little rare) so I took the kiddos to the park that is inside the walls of our neighborhood. So, I took some pictures. 150 pictures actually! The following are a few of my favorites.

BabyM "smelling" the flowers.

BoyD just exploring and being BoyD.

My kids loving on each other. What isn't in the photo, is the hug that they were giving each other that ended on the grass like this. Look at BoyD's content face in that second photo. You also can't hear BabyM fussing while he is just so happy. It was really cute.

BabyM had a great time, and was sad when it was time to leave!

Being a mommy is cool.

Hey everyone! I'll just get started. I went to a baby shower but didn't have the time or the money to buy a gift. So...I made one. I used fabric scraps that I had here at the house, and I made this little receiving blanket quilt. It is not my favorite thing I have ever made, in that all the fabrics don't "go" together all that well, but they were all feminine and babyish. And it took me 2 hours one evening, and then 2 hours the next day to complete it, from cutting, piecing, sewing, pinning, and quilting. It went very fast.

I actually thought the bag (and card) was cuter than the quilt! I "made" the bag, in that I bought the yellow bag on sale for 50 cents and decorated it with twine, the letters of the baby's name, little tiny clothes pins, and a homemade baby card. (The "tissue" paper in the top is more fabric scraps)

The kids were being creative together and being so cute to boot!

I have since cut BabyM's bangs. They are less in her eyes, now.

BabyM wanted to use the paint brush, and BoyD wanted to use his fingers. Go figure.

I wanted to share some really cute BoyD sayings.
He was making play dough letters at the table this morning while I was making snack in the kitchen. Snack was deviled eggs, but he wanted them to be dinosaur eggs so I was coloring them green. And he says "Dinosaurs are extinct" "yes" I say, "they are." And he replies "are they extinct because they smell bad?"

Then he told me that he told his English teacher at school that snakes live in the wild west. We said "well, what did she say?" And he said "She didn't understand what I said. My English teacher doesn't speak English very well."

And then today, with his "cool" sunglasses on, lounging in a lawn chair in the sun, he told me: "look, mom. I'm in the wild west."

This afternoon, while reviewing some letters, we came across the letter "D." He has a hard time remember that letter, so I said "it is the first letter of your name..." well, so we started spelling his name in a little rhythmic tone "d-e-a-c-o-n" and he added in the same meter and rhythm "that spells the name of an Englishman" (like as in in fe-fi-fo-fum)

Oh, my, gosh. I don't know if reading this comes across even half as funny as it did hearing it in real life, but I laugh out loud even typing it. Maybe it is just because it is my kiddo.

BabyM's vocab has exploded. She now says "Look a me" if I am not giving her my full attention. She will also say "I don wan to" if I am asking her to do something undesirable to her. She will say "SKOOS ME!" if I am talking on the phone or something and she wants to talk to me. She'll say "i full" after meals, and the cutest of all, is when I tell her that I love her, she says "love me too"

She'll tell me "kime" before she climbs on something, and then while climbing says "i won fa" (as in, I won't fall)

Oh, I really do love my job.

A little about the baby

Well...I haven't talked much about the baby here. I am 23 1/2 weeks along and feeling pretty good. With both of my other kids, I felt incredible during the second trimester. Tons of energy, tons of mental energy, etc.


I guess that because I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 21 month old I just don't have that same energy level. I mean, I feel good, but I still feel pretty sleepy. Not sleeping well at night can cause that!

Also, I can feel that this is the third pregnancy in less than 5 years, and that I am 31 instead of 26. My hips get locked up if I do anything physical. I mean...I made a little lap quilt for a baby shower that I have today, and just the bending over for cutting, piecing, sewing, ironing, etc, made going to sleep that night very difficult. My hips would just get locked up in one position. Then, for a while the next morning, I had a hard time going down the stairs.

I also am not working out like I wanted. With the other two pregnancies, I exercised regularly. I just can't get the energy to get up early enough to work out. Excuses, excuses!

I am getting pretty large, although if feels good to have the belly growing at a faster rate than the rear end so that I actually look pregnant, and not just fat! :)

I feel the baby move ALL THE TIME like crazy! For a couple of weeks now, you can even see my tummy bulge and rock with the baby's kicks and turns. It is wild. I can't get over the wonder of it all.

We still don't know the sex. I am DYING to know! I have so much to do around the house to get ready, but I need to know if this baby will share a room with BoyD or with BabyM. That means putting together bedding, sorting through the appropriate newborn stash, organizing one of the kid's closets. (They aren't disorganized, there just isn't room in either closet for another kid's clothes.) Stuff like that. Since we leave in December to head back to the states, I need to get it all done soon. I still have to wait another month to find out the sex. That is a bummer.

Over all, life is great. I feel pretty good considering the state of my body, I love my kids and they bring me so much joy, and my husband is amazing.

We are also having to live ON THE CHEAP big time until we go back to the states. We are trying to save up enough money so that we can just pay the doctor bills and hospital bills after the baby comes. We also have to have enough cash up front (before we get paid in Dec) to pay all our bills here for the 3 months that we will be gone. So we are trying to save every penny. Not easy with vaccines and doctor bills, etc. Pray for us that unexpected expenses can be a minimum these next couple of months. (On that note...I only spent $50 on groceries for the next week...yeah!!!)

A morning word from Brother Lawrence

Gonna share a long quote with you. What a way to start the day.

"I am filled with shame and confusion when I reflect, on the one hand, upon the great favors which God has done, and incessantly continues to do me; and on the other, upon the ill use I have made of them, and my small advancement in the way of perfection.

"Since by His mercy He gives us still a little time, let us begin in earnest, let us repair the lost time, let us return with a full assurance to that Father of mercies, who is always ready to receive us affectionately. Let us renounce, let us generously renounce, for the love of Him, all that is not Himself; He deserves infinitely more. Let us think of Him perpetually. Let us put all our trust in Him; I doubt not but we shall soon find the effects of it, in receiving the abundance of His grace, with which we can do all things, and without which we can do nothing but sin.

"We cannot escape the dangers which abound in life without the actual and continual help of God. Let us then pray to Him for it continually. How can we pray to Him without being with Him? How can we be with Him but in thinking of Him often? And how can we often think of Him but by a holy habit which we should form of it? You will tell me that I am always saying the same thing. It is true, for this is the best and easiest method I know; and as I use no other, I advise all the world to it. We must know before we can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure. This is an argument which well deserves your consideration."

-Brother Lawrence from Practicing the Presence of God

Hope you enjoy that as much as I did. Have a great day!

Livin' on the cheap!

Hey guys! Been too long, so I wanted to post a little about living expenses here in Guatemala.

Ok...first of all, if you want to purchase any item related to technology, it will cost you a lot more here. Cars cost around 4K more here than in the states. Imported products (Wishbone italian dressing, or heinz ketchup, for example) are also a lot more expensive. I mean, it costs like $3 to get a small bottle of real white vinegar. McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's, all cost the same here.

But, we went out to eat after church on Sunday (normally we just do something in the crock pot, but church got out just before 1, and our kiddos normally eat at 12:30, and needless to say, they were both too tired and hungry to drive home, figure out lunch, and then expect them to eat). We went to a local restaurant.

Ok - We started with two enchiladas (chicken salad on tostado shells...it's an appetizer) I got a sandwich with an egg, ham, and cheese omlet, and black beans. Brandon got a bowl of soup, breaded steak, rice, cooked veggies, and 2 tortillas. The kids split a 1/4 lb cheese burger with chips. Plus we got three bottles of water (not free here). All of that, including a 15% tip, cost $10. Oh my gosh! We can afford that! :)

Then, I go to the store and buy groceries for the entire week for our family for around $60. That was $20 under budget! Yeah! Sometimes...well, most of the time...I really love this country.

Baby M and a few cards

Homemade Pop Tarts

Ok - I don't know that I have ever posted a food that I have cooked before. I am not a gourmet chef. I leave that up to my friend Alicia! (her creative blog is great for ideas!)

Anyway, I was craving pop tarts, and since we can't get them here (or I haven't seen them), I decided to make our own. It was SO easy, and oh, my goodness, they are good. They make regular pop tarts taste like...I can't believe I'm going to say it...garbage.

I make my own pie crust b/c we can't get the refrigerator kind, but the easier the better! (I just used the one crust pie recipe to try this out) I rolled it out pretty thin and then (tried to) cut rectangles. On one rectangle, I placed 1 tsp. of strawberry jelly, but any jelly would be good. You could even do a sweet cream cheese, or peanut butter, or nutella, or whatever!


Then, I put another rectangle on top (trimmed to make them the same size), and pinched the edges to seal. If you need to, you could add a little water with your finger in between the layers to create a better seal. A couple of mine leaked a little filling, but not enough to matter. I then crimped the edges with a fork to make it a little prettier.



I baked them at 425 for 10-15 minutes (takes longer here b/c of the altitude, so you want to watch it until it looks done...golden brown), moved them to a wire rack to cool.
I made 6 with the one pie crust.



I made a frosting out of powdered sugar, a little milk (just enough to get it not a powder anymore), and a little red food coloring. You could top with cream cheese icing, or whatever you had on hand!

Oiola! (Is that how you spell that?)



Anyway, this just took maybe 30 minutes to prepare, making my own crust, and it is so much better than a normal pop tart. It would be a great breakfast item for a Saturday morning instead of getting donuts.

Ok...thank goodness, I over reacted! BabyM's diarrhea stopped very quickly, and she was able to get her vaccines! Yeah! She wasn't as excited as I was. She also gained 6 ounces in the last 2 weeks. That is progress...we think. We won't actually know until we visit the nutritionist in 2 weeks. Just keep praying about that, please.

We (the whole fam) drove to a town called Chichicastenango yesterday to meet up with Dee Farney, who was here on a mission trip to work in these medical clinics in the Chichi area. It was such a joy to get to see her and have her here in our country. We stayed at a really pretty hotel and shared a balcony with Dee. We put the kiddos down and had almost 3 hours to sit and chat with her. It was such a blessing.

We did lose her for a little bit this morning that made me pray like I haven't prayed in a long time, but it all worked out. That is a story for another time.

Ok...I may get a bit preachy b/c there has been something on my mind. It is faith and works.

Just to begin: I believe that we are saved by grace through faith. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I do want to talk about works a bit. I believe (and this is just my opinion based on observation and experience) that the evangelical church (in America and here in Guatemala) has taught faith alone. I don't think that you can over preach saved by grace through faith, but there is a GIANT aspect missing when we don't teach works. I mean...we are told in scripture that works are the evidence of faith.

So much stress is put on the maturity of the believer. On being a good Bible student, on growing in faith. But what is growth in a life of a believer if there are no works? I mean...what is the point in faith if it is dead?

The end result of our salvation (the progressive aspect of it) isn't a more holy, less sinful, more studious, person. It is a life of good works.

Eph2:8-10 "⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

What are the things that we think of when we look for markers in the life of what we consider a mature believer? They pray a lot, they show the fruit of the Spirit, they study their Bible and have a good understanding of the Scripture?

Why do we study the Bible? Is it simply to know God better. That is very noble, and the Bible is the best way to know God better, but is that the end result? I mean, ask yourself that questions! Why do you study the Bible? Is it to become more holy? A better person? Because it feels good? To get answers to questions in your life? To find support for your beliefs, to find hope, inspiration, encouragement? Read the following with me carefully:

2 Tim 3:16-17: "¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

We see there all of the things that reading the Bible is good for. It is a wonderful list! But what is the end result of all of those things? Is it so that the man(person) of God may only be equipped? NO! It is equipped for works! We read the scriptures and we are transformed to do GOOD WORKS!

Are you doing good works? Are you feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty? Visiting those in prison, praying with/for the sick, caring for orphans and widows? (This list is NOT exhaustive)

Imagine the life of the man who gets up in the morning, goes to work, works hard, comes home, eats dinner w/ his family, enjoys his wife and kids, watches a little TV, goes to bed, gets up early, reads the Bible and prays for a little bit, and starts all over again.

Or the life of a woman who wakes, gets her children fed, dressed, takes care of the house, cleans, does laundry, cooks, takes the kids to the park, maybe to playgroup, runs some errands and buys some groceries, feeds the family, puts the kids to bed, gets a little devotional time, goes to bed, wakes in the morning and does it all over again.

These are most noble things. These are the things of life that are necessary and good. These are things that fill our time, our minds, our calendars. It is in doing these things with holiness that teaches our children about a life with God. But is that all? I mean...where are the works?

Let me interject here that I am not God, do not want to be, and therefore have no desire to sit in judgment on anyone. I am not looking at suburban men and women and criticizing them in my heart. This is a rant not directed at anyone. These are just my thoughts on the subject.

Anyway...my challenge is this. What works are you doing? What opportunities do you have for doing good works? Is your faith limited to the walls of your home? Or maybe your church sanctuary and Sunday school class? Maybe just to your wallet? (keep the wallets open, folks! He-he!) How could you do more? Not to be saved! Not to get into heaven! But to give evidence. To put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. That is what James means when he says we are justified, not just by faith, but by works!

James 2:14-24

"¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. "

Lets all go do something.

The Big D all over again.

Ok...BabyM has diarrhea again. What this means for us:

1. Extremely bad diaper rash.
2. Using disposable diapers (I love putting soft cloth on my baby's tiny tushie! I just don't have the energy to wash out 5-10 diarrhea diapers a day in the pila)
3. No appetite for our little one who needs to eat so desperately.
4. A loss of ounces, yet again.
5. Can't have her vaccinations that she is scheduled to get tomorrow. They are already late b/c every time she is due vaccinations, she gets sick and we have to put it off.
6. Not being able to tell if she is making any progress on her weight gain, and having to wait another 2wks to a month just to know if she is stable, worsening, or getting better.

It is really hard not to get discouraged.
Please just pray for her.

On a lighter note: BoyD and I were playing robots yesterday. I was Eve and he was who knows what, and a piece of paper in his hand was Walle. (All from the movie W.A.L.L.E.)
Anyway, he landed his rocket on the couch and told me that the rocket had an e-mail.

He's three and is pretending that his rocket received an e-mail. It was really funny. He even told me not to laugh, that it was very serious. :)

Thanks for your prayers.

Guatemalan sling

You guys know those very expensive baby carriers and slings that you can get in the states? Well, here is the Guatemalan version. They are made from a really thick fabric and are very sturdy! I love using ours! We always get funny looks from the Guatemalans though, because they almost always carry their babies on their backs! I just don't have the skills for that. :)

Enjoy the little video.

Some Kid issues and More Diaper Giveaways

BoyD had a little problem yesterday. (It is a little better today) His right ear is HUGE! It seems as though a little creature bit my child on his ear. We don't know if it was a spider, a mosquito, or what, but he ear doesn't like it.


We have given him Claritin and rubbed hydrocortizone cream on it multiple times, but it isn't really helping yet. Boy, this kid can react. But isn't he so handsome??? I mean, geez! He's a looker! :)


Well, not photos of this one, but BabyM is trying to poop on the potty. She sits down (she is so little she can even fall in the kid potty) and pushes out toots. She is so proud of herself! I think that if we could time it right, we could get her to poop in there. I mean, she's not ready to potty train totally b/c she doesn't shoe many of the other readyness signs, but boy she has desire! It is the cutest thing, b/c she will toot, look up and you and laugh! She wants to be just like BoyD.

We need to buy her a better potty chair. The one we have will tip over b/c she isn't big enough to stablize it.


More diaper contests! If I blog about these contests, I get entered to win, so if you do cloth (or want to try) then check these out!

There is a diaper called grobaby that is so cool! I don't know if you can read all the fine print, but you have these inner layers that you can switch out when the baby's wet, and just keep using the outer layer. When it's all snapped together, it goes on just like a disposable.

My favorite part? It is one size from newborn to toddler! It adjusts. That means that if I had this diaper (and I don't yet, but I'm trying to witn it) then I could use it on the new baby coming in Jan, and on BabyM! Talk about saving money on diapers, let alone saving the countryside here from poopy diapers.

Here is the Link to the website.

There is another very cool website where this mom reviews different products. One of the products that she reviewed is a Bambino Mio cloth diaper. If you want to read about a cloth diaper experience from the perspective of a disposable user, check out this site.

She is giving away two of those diaper sets, and oh, do I want one of those! They work like a disposable when you put them on, (no pinning), but you can reuse the cover over and over. They even sell these flushable liners that you can dump in the potty if baby poops! So cool.

Here is the link for the contest.

There is another really cool giveaway for a Gad cloth diaper. It is super cute and looks so soft! I want one of these also. I am trying to increase my stash for the new baby coming! :)

Now, this is the monster of cloth diaper giveaways from a blog Rocker Bye Baby! I mean, this stuff is for super cool moms with stylin kiddos! :) Even if you aren't interested in this stuff, you should check out how fun these diapers are. The coolest part, these are WAHM diapers, meaning that they were made by Work At Home Moms, so buying these dipes helps other mom's stay at home!

Go Here to see this stuff in detail (or to enter to win)

Looks like a fun store with contests!

Boy, I love free stuff! And I love baby stuff. There is a new website that is launching called BabyHalfOff.com and they are having contests!

On this blog, you can access a contest for a gift certificate. Cool, huh?

Let me know if you visit them.

By the way, thanks for all of the prayers regarding BabyM. We are certainly adding calories to everything, so we will see in a couple of weeks if we are making headway. I am definitely less stresses, b/c as Robin pointed out, I am doing all I can, and the Lord is responsible for the rest.

You guys are all so great!

Just a little frustrated.

Ok...time for another update/rant regarding BabyM.

First of all, BoyD was so cute in his little play. All the other kids had full fledged costumes, yet poor BoyD just had a dinky mask, but he didn't care in the slightest. He looked so cute. Sorry, grandmas, Brandon took the camera with him out of town for the day, so all the photos are stored in my memory and we don't yet have the technology to download those! Anyway, he didn't know the motions so he just copied what the other kids did a few seconds behind. It was hilarious, and he was so proud of himself. I, too, was proud.

On t0 BabyM. She is 19 months old and weighs 17lbs 12oz. She is growing at a slower and slower rate. Basically, she has been well since March, but hasn't gained an appropriate amount of weight. She isn't climbing the charts, or even levelling off. Her height and head circumfrence are doing fine, although she is still little.

Trying to get that kid to eat is so frustrating. I can't begin to decribe the stress I am under. It just makes me leave the table in tears. She is on a new vitamin that is supposed to increase her appetite, and is has some. She refuses anything that has any real nutritional value (except for avacados) She will eat bread, pasta, chips, crackers, cookies, all day long.

I saw a recipe some where for a breakfast cookie. I may try to make some of those. We visited a nutritionist, and she told us some things that just don't seem good. The problem is that I am arrogant and prideful, and think that I know what is best, when I probably don't.

For example...we're supposed to stick to white bread. It fills her up less as it has less flour. That makes sense, I guess, but knowing how bad white flour is for you, makes me cringe. She said to puree food for her to eat. I guess that is worth a try (anything is) but I already know that she is a texture kid, and I don't envision her liking pureed meat with veggies mixed in. But, like I said, whom am I? I mean...I am at the point of really trying anything. I thought that she had been doing ok since she had been well, for the most part. She is eating well today, though. Maybe we have turned a corner.

Just please keep praying for her.