Beautiful Jesus, how may I bless Your heart?
Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are.
Knees to the earth
Beautiful Jesus
How may I bless Your heart?
Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are.
Beautiful Jesus
You are my only worth.
So let me embrace You always as I walk this earth.
- Watermark
Homemaking/housekeeping and organization do not come naturally to me. The genes that my mother was blessed with in that area skipped right over me. In an order to make up for some of the short comings in this gifting I have little tricks I have found and adopted to make things a little easier and orderly for myself and those that have to live with me.
That is where this tip that "works for me" comes from:
When I load the dishwasher I have each compartment of the silverware caddy assigned a specific piece of silverware. This layout coincides with how the silverware drawer is divided.
My caddy has 6 compartments. On the left side the 3 compartments are:
Plastics, serving spoons and baby spoons/silverware
Tablespoons and tall teaspoons
Regular spoons
On the right side the 3 compartments are:
Forks
Butter knives
Steak knives
Doing it this way makes it so easy to unload the caddy. Especially for the children. I also remove the caddy from the dishwasher to empty it - I found it much easier and back friendly to set the caddy on the counter top and empty each compartment into the matching drawer divider.
This may not be an original idea - I know it isn't - I read and adopted it from somewhere, but I have used this for years and it is one of my "OCD" (obsessive compulsive) tendencies. Yes, even a pack rat can have OCD tendencies.
So even though the idea isn't originally mine - it "Works for Me" and therefore earns a place in this category :)
For more ideas be sure to see the list of other participants posted on the Rocks in my dryer blog.
Question: Which of the following prompted this musing?
A.) The rolling of the eyes
B.) The complaints mumbled under breath
C.) The bad attitude veiled beneath a face void of any expression when spoken to, or
D.) The tantrum pitched when daddy's dirty shoe was removed from a 'mouth aimed' grasp
Answer: It was all of the above and more. (If you know my children, feel free to match the sin to the appropriate child)
There are some days that seem to go smoothly, where correction is administered and received appropriately, words of wisdom flow easily and surprisingly from my mouth, schedule and order are maintained, dinner is ready by 6:00 pm, and children go to bed on time AND stay in it! These days of peace can often lead to a dangerous path of trusting self to do a great job in parenting these children entrusted to me. Then there are days (like yesterday) where it seems as if my sweet 'innocent' children were abducted by aliens as I slept and replaced with children that look an awful lot like mine, but are blatantly full of sin and are willing to fight my authority at every turn. No - I realize they weren't abducted by aliens and this is not something that happened overnight. They were born that way...and it is God's grace that I have days like yesterday, to remind myself, that in order to parent these little sinners I have a desperate need for their creator and Saviour.
It was so hard to imagine the sin that lay beneath these sweet little faces:
However, it is Howard's message where he referred to "little seedbeds of sin", that frequently comes to mind as I watch my newest little one growing up (way too fast), and as I catch more glimpses into the depth of their sin, my own sin is often revealed. Wait a minute, a sinner raising sinners? Sounds too close to "the blind leading the blind" doesn't it?
It is another Howard message taught last Sunday to the rescue - So yes, I realize I am a sinner (a justified sinner) parenting sinners, and that in itself would seem to be a futile task and often causes me to ask the question "what authority do I have to address their sin when mine is so evidently on display?" - but my authority in this mission is not in context of who I am as a sinner, it was not given to me through the labor and delivery staff that placed my babies in my arms and told me I could take them home, it is not because of my stature (good thing since A is only 1/2 inch shorter than I am), and as I so often remind myself - my authority isn't based on the fact I can raise my voice, lose control, and banish them to their rooms for the day - :)
But as Howard taught Sunday, my authority is in the context of who I am representing (GOD) ....and as effectively quoted:
"Our limitations are not limits to our usefulness" - Ligon Duncan
or as I like to say:
"Thank goodness GOD can still work despite myself" - Yours Truly
ok not quite as poetic, but I've always said that because it has always been proven true. So far today, I have listened to the cries, screams, and bemoanings of 3 children as we have done breakfast, chores, and attempted to finish some schoolwork. You would think I am the worst mother in the world to hear their pleas, and if it weren't for the Mother's Day cards and gifts pinned to the cork board near my desk that announce to all that I am "the world's greatest" - I would be tempted to think that is what they truly believe.
I can not be their Saviour (Thanks J. Hodgson for reminding me at care group Friday), but I can point them to their Saviour. That realization, as hard as it is to remember, is reason for us all to breathe a sigh of relief.
It is a joy to be the parent of these 3 wonderful children. (Being their mother gives me license to use the term "wonderful" liberally does it not? :)) I can definitely see evidence of God's grace in each one of them and I know all hope is not lost.
Now I must end my ramblings for there is another argument brewing in the room adjacent to me, and selfishness is rearing it's head. Unkind words are being spoken and hearts are being tested. (Whew - isn't there a parenting class at the church tonight??)
K's elimination diet has been somewhat difficult to maintain. She doesn't want anything to do with baby food, and the "grown up" food she was eating is currently on the elimination list. To make up for these missed meals - she has added an extra 4 nursing sessions!!! I feel as if I have grown a new 22 pound permanent appendage.
One "grown up" food she has liked for months are her green beans. I didn't mark them for elimination...and if it weren't for green beans she wouldn't have much variety from the 'rice and apples/bananas' diet, and I wouldn't get much of a break between feedings.
Tonight she has eaten more than 1/2 a can of green beans and would eat more if the rest of us weren't eating them.
Friday is our next dr. visit - I plan to ask for a referral to an allergist. I would like to try and positively identify the offending food or substance without further trial and error.
Until then - it's a "green light" for green beans!.....that is unless there is a green bean allergy out there somewhere. I haven't heard of one so I think we are safe.
Remember the picture post I posted a few weeks back where 'K' ate/wore her spaghetti - well this is what happened last night after having a few penne noodles with just a little sauce - (These are from this morning. For some reason she looked worse this morning than she did yesterday.)
So no more spaghetti for a while. Until we eliminate that as the cause for the hives. Dr. says it could be pasta/grains or tomato products. We're now doing an elimination diet - which is kinda hard since she doesn't have that big of a diet. I also have to eliminate tomato products from my diet as long as she's still nursing.
I don't have any experience with food allergies - but if I can't come to the bottom of what the allergy is in the next 2 weeks - we will have to be referred to an allergist.
By presenting a valid KnoxCounty driver’s license at any of the participating attractions during special admission hours on “Discover Your Knoxville” day, residents may enter free of charge.
On board for “Discover Your Knoxville” are the following Knox County attractions: Arts & Cultural Alliance, Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Bleak House/Confederate Memorial Hall, Blount Mansion, Crescent Bend, Daisy Place Girl Scout Museum, UT Downtown Gallery, East Tennessee Discovery Center, East Tennessee History Center, Farragut Folklife Museum, McClung Museum, Icearium, Ijams Nature Center, James White’s Fort, One Vision Plaza/Knoxville Visitor Center, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Zoo, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs, Three Rivers Rambler, Star of Knoxville Riverboat, Tennessee Theatre, Woman’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Zuma Fun Center.
For more information on “Discover Your Knoxville” day, including each attraction’s special free admission hours, call the KnoxvilleVisitorCenter or click here
I did get a little behind in posting - but here are the pictures from my sister Candi's visit. She lives in Florida with her husband and 4 kids. They were here for a few days in March. - I was able to see my nephew for the first time and she was able to see K for the first time as well.
(We had a great time visiting - Thanks for asking Desiree)
Warning: Picture heavy post! :)
Candi at our home for J's birthday party
So happy to see her - I just love my baby sister!
My "new to me" nephew with his mommy
Candi and her husband Tony
My niece and nephew "snuggle bunny" and "man man"
Snuggle, Man man, and Tater tot (L to R)
Dad came for a visit, too
The birthday boy
The next day we headed out to Grandma L's house. Doesn't she look good for a 93 year young woman??
J with his Great Grandma
All the girls on Great Grandma's "big bed"
The next day we had desserts at my Aunt Joy's house
Me holding K - My Aunt Joy holding my nephew Daniel
Candi with my other sister Natalie
My sister Melanie, Candi, ME, and our cousin Mikka
Dad, Candi, Mom
All the grandkids (+ cousin Aaron next to J in the back row) Wow 10 of them between us girls.
