A Quick Update on Cassius

If you've been around for a while, you may recall that this little guy had a rough start.  We learned when he was newborn that he'd had a stroke before he arrived and that he had some significant brain damage.  The doctors indicated that movements requiring balance (sitting, crawling, walking...) would be extremely difficult for him, if he could figure them out at all.  At 11 days old he was referred to First Steps for therapy - he was delayed in some of his early skills, now at 2.5 years (and 4 days) old, he has defied every prediction they made for him.  God is good.

About a month ago I recognized some behaviors that looked like they might indicate he is having seizures - not obvious things like he's laying on the floor with convulsions - blank stares for long periods.  These have been increasing and with my very active little boy, I take notice of those episodes.  


We were able to get an appointment with his neurologist very (VERY) quickly.  I was amazed at how well they got us in.  Yesterday morning we talked with her for a while.  She agrees he is certainly at risk for seizures, but she can't be sure if that's what they are, without having one recorded on an EEG.  


In the near future we'll be taking this guy in for another EEG to get a "baseline" - for now she wants us just to monitor him.  If it becomes more frequent she'll order a longer test that will make it clear whether these episodes are seizures.


For now, friends, please say some prayers for this mama and her sweet boy.

Invasion of the Strangers

As I sit on my couch with my feet propped neatly on my coffee table and a bowl of nachoes to my side.  I smell kerosene.  Yep, like the stuff you burn in an oil lamp.  Why?  "Maybe it was a stranger".  (Or maybe it was a curious 4 year old).

Yes, friends, strangers seem to have invaded our household.  They cause all sorts of mischief and try to make it look like my sweet, innocent boys are at fault.  Oh, the baby is part of the scheming too.
"Why is there baby food on your bed?"
"Um, Maybe it was Azariah".
"I don't think that's how it got there."
"Um, maybe you were feeding him on my bed."
(I promise, I have fed him on the bed - but only "mama milk", never baby food).
"I don't feed him upstairs."
"Or, maybe it was Cassius".

He probably IS plotting against his brothers.

Have I mentioned that my sweet Manasseh turned 4 yesterday?  Some time recently, in the process of getting ready to be 4, he figured out that he does not like to get in trouble.  He also figured out that if he blames someone else, maybe he won't get in trouble.

We value truth.  We are careful to practice teaching our children the truth.  Maybe I'm a little overboard sometimes- they know that Santa isn't a jolly fat man bringing them presents, we are very careful about teasing them with false information (you know, things that parents tell their kids - if you don't eat your spinach you'll never get taller... silly things we use to encourage our children to behave the way we want them to... that aren't really fully truth).  I want my boys to be full grounded in truth as they grow.  We don't shun imagination, in fact - we encourage it.  A box can be a pirate ship (yes, pirates are real and they really steal things and God doesn't like stealing).  We love to pretend to be different things, but I want to make sure my kids know what is real and what is not.  We want to be sure that they recognize there IS a difference between truth and untruth, and that there IS absolute truth.

So, how do we deal with the strangers that keep breaking into our home to make my honest little boys look like criminals?

Calmly.  With expectations up front.  Promise of a better consequence for telling the truth.  Explanation about "why".  (Why we tell the truth, why the problem IS a problem, etc).

So tonight's conversation about the kerosene lamp.  (By the way I realize that I am at fault for leaving the lamp on the end table with full knowledge that my boys have a hard time staying off the arms of the couch once in a while).
Me: Manasseh, what happened to the lamp?

Nas: Um, Maybe it was strangers that did knock it over.

Me: Manasseh, what happened to the lamp?

Nas: Um, Maybe it was Cassius.

Me: Manasseh, what happened to the lamp? (See, I knew he knew what happened, whether it had been him or not he could tell me the truth about what happened).

Nas: I don't know.

Me: Manasseh, I expect you to tell me the truth.  When you tell the truth you don't get in as much trouble and you feel better after you tell the truth.

Nas: It was me that did knock it over.

Me:  Thank you.  I proceeded to clean up the spilled oil and moved the lamp to a safer place while explaining that it is not safe to play with the oil lamp.

Nas: Why it not safe?

He stood in front of me and looked me in the eyes to talk about oil lamp safety.  I could have been angry, but honestly a good part of the problem was the fact that I left the lamp where the kids could knock it over.  I could have been upset about the lie (we're dealing with them somewhat regularly right now and have been talking about why God likes truth).  I don't want him to fear me, but learn to come to me with his needs and problems.

As I think about the strangers invading my house, I am reminded of my own relationship with God.  Sometimes I want to hide things.  I know, it's sillier than my son hiding the fact that he knocked over the lamp.  Still, I shove things deep inside and ignore them until the smell gets so big that EVERYONE notices.  Much like the smell of the kerosene told me there was a problem.

I don't want that.

God, help me be clean and holy.  Bring truth to my lips.  Help me share your truth with those around me.

For the lover of Blue Glass

My mother loves cobalt blue glass everything.  She's got a beautiful collection of blue glass pieces in her home that are always a treat to look at.  It's amazing the things one can find made from blue glass!  (imagine a picture of her kitchen here.... if only I had a recent one!)

My parents also enjoy watching birds.  In fact, for a while they had a webcam set up to observe a next of robins on their front porch.  It was fascinating.

Last month we had the opportunity to try out a Perky Pets Hummingbird Feeder.  I've said before that Perky Pet feeders are absolutely my favorite.  They are excellent quality that will last for a lifetime.  I love sharing them with friends and family.  We even chose to bring one of our feeders to camp this summer.

Monkey picked out the Antique Cobalt Bottle Blue Hummingbird Feeder.  It is beautiful.  It made his Nana happy when she received it as a late mother's day gift!

Well done, Perky Pets!

My spoiled boys

It's almost become "normal" for my boys to get a popsicle every night while we're living at camp.  I think as an outsider, I would be sure someone didn't know how to feed their kids well.  The truth though?  The top half of these popsicles is made of banana blueberry plum baby food.  Followed by a couple of banana pieces and the frozen treat is finished with a mango smoothie that my boys are sure is amazing.

My weird Mango Smoothie Recipe:

A bit of mango

A whole orange (peel and all)

A small sweet red pepper

and

A splash of coconut milk

Sound gross?  I think so.  The boys love this strange treat.

What's in the Bible: Review & Giveaway [3 Winners]

A Fun Series for the WHOLE family!

What's in the Bible is a fantastic video series that our whole family enjoys.  Truthfully, the first time we watched them, the boys were not extremely interested.  BUT - the more we watch, the more they seem to really love them.

What's in the Bible is taking our family through the Bible, starting at the beginning (where else would you start?)  The characters teach about the Bible story as well as the history of the Bible and even helps children (and adults) get a good handle on big theological concepts - like Salvation.  

       

We love the catchy songs and creative ways that the Bible story is told with this series.  I love the way my boys are learning Bible facts without any effort.  They don't know they are learning, they just like watching the videos, singing the songs, and hearing the stories.

We turned What's in the Bible into a special night - Popcorn and Movies with the boys.  They snuggled up on their little futons and watched intensely!  When it was over, they wanted to watch it again!

As a parent who is very particular about what her children watch, I highly recommend the What's in the Bible video series for any family - with kids of ANY age.

As a children's minister who cares deeply that children learn God's word, I highly recommend this series for all families that want their children to have a good, firm grasp on what the Bible is about.

As a Bible student, I wish I had seen this years ago to help me have a better idea about what I was trying to learn.

The videos are inexpensive, $15 each and there is frequently an online promotion available.  You can buy them online, or pick them up in your local Family Christian Bookstore!  Want to try it out?  3 of my readers will be lucky enough to win a copy of "In the Beginning".  This is the first of 7 (so far).  Enter using the Rafflecopter Form below.

RIGHT NOW: $10 per video for Memorial Day Weekend!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I have received a product free for the purpose of this review.

3 Year old: On Healing

Yep, he's the one - the thinker, contemplative, super hero in his pass time.  This little boy melts my heart EVERY DAY.  He makes this mama turn to a pile of mushy goo.  What a sweet, lovey, smart little guy.  This one is always asking questions and absorbing everything - EVERYTHING he hears and sees.

We've been praying for a while for Grandpa Crum.  He has had health problems and is recovering amazingly.  We also recently started praying for Poppy Billey, he has a broken foot.  We pray for other things together too - our house in Goshen to sell, finances to make some major repairs on our house (so far we've been able to fix the chimney and the entry way this year - we really need to fix the garage), new cars, changes in jobs, all sorts of things.

My Monkey loves to say the prayer at meals as often as he can.  In fact, frequently both of our "big" boys will pray - at the same time.  It's a noisy ruckus and I think God loves it.  

So what's this about healing?  Monkey knows all about it.  He knows that God wants us to be well and that when we pray to him he will help us to be well.  He also knows that sometimes we have to keep praying (as in the case with his grandfathers).  

Here's the thing that just makes me melt about his prayers for healing.  He doesn't ask God to "please heal ___, if it's your will..."  Nope.  He's bold.  He knows that God WANTS healing for all of us.  He just goes right ahead and thanks God for healing people.  "Thank you for making ___ better".  And he does this again and again - every meal he prays thank you's to God for the healing work that he is going to do in our family and with our friends.  

This little boy goes to God EXPECTING for God to do his healing work.  He knows God is at work.

Why does it melt me?  Why do I share?  Because it's hard for me to remember.  I'm puny.  I try the begging tactic a lot.  Monkey just goes, knowing that God loves us and wants good for us.

Wow.

Thank you God for little boys that remind me about how you see us.  Thank you God that you are working your divine healing in our lives.

Where have I been?!

Yikes.  It's been almost a month since I last posted, and honestly I have several things to share about.  Some personal, some promotional.  I've got to kick my backside into gear.

It's almost 6am and I'll need to be heading out of town in a few minutes, so just a quick word about where I've been while I feed the baby.

This month has been a whirlwind.  About 3 months ago I started sending some messages to the camp I attended as a kid.  I was looking to volunteer for the summer.  A little over a month ago, I got a call asking me to interview with them for a job.  Guess what - I got it.  For the last 3 weeks I have been back and forth between home and camp as I work to prepare the grounds for summer camps.

It's an hour drive between home and camp, so we have done a lot of driving.  We bought a new to us car last week so Mr. Crum can more easily be at home while we're at camp - no fears about if there is an emergency.  I'm working continuously to make sure we have a summer staff (I still need a life guard) and that the volunteers are lined up to help us keep things running smoothly.  It has been a fast, hard transition for everyone.  Guess what - for the most part, we're loving it.

That said, I will be slowing down on posts for the summer.  I hope to get several things written over the next week to catch up on some promotions I had planned, then for the most part, I will be silent for the summer.  I may post on occasion to share about what is going on around here, but full time camp work and full time mommying means that at the end of the day, I am done.