2010-02-10
Playing with Daddy
Here's a cute moment that's rather typical at our house when Lucas gets home from work:
2010-02-08
The Many Benefits of Delaying Gratification
Do you remember looking in the toy store window as a kid and drooling over some toy? I do. For me, it was American Girls' Felicity doll. I still remember how much she cost: $84.00. That was a massive sum for a 9-year-old girl. I got about $2 a week in allowance and, after tithing, I saved it all for that doll. By the time I had saved up all that money, I had something even more valuable than a very exciting package coming to me in the mail. I had learned financial self control.
Sadly, that value has been lacking in our society as a whole for a while. The popularity of Keynesian economic policy ("spending our way" out of economic crisis) has given license to our greedy sinful natures. The entitlement mentality, growing credit card debt, the housing bubble, and even
the obesity epidemic all reveal a woeful lack of delayed gratification in our society.
How would the world be different if we relearned to work hard and wait for the good things in life? Maybe we could find complete satisfaction in what we've earned. Buying a new car with cash that we've saved; paying off the mortgage on a house that teaches kids to share a room; seeing genuine gratitude on their faces at Christmas... Perhaps the current economic slump will help us find these simple pleasures again.
RESOURCES
Living With Less So Your Family Has More
Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts
Sadly, that value has been lacking in our society as a whole for a while. The popularity of Keynesian economic policy ("spending our way" out of economic crisis) has given license to our greedy sinful natures. The entitlement mentality, growing credit card debt, the housing bubble, and even
the obesity epidemic all reveal a woeful lack of delayed gratification in our society.
How would the world be different if we relearned to work hard and wait for the good things in life? Maybe we could find complete satisfaction in what we've earned. Buying a new car with cash that we've saved; paying off the mortgage on a house that teaches kids to share a room; seeing genuine gratitude on their faces at Christmas... Perhaps the current economic slump will help us find these simple pleasures again.
RESOURCES
Living With Less So Your Family Has More
Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts
2010-02-03
Garden of Eden
Remember when God created man in his image? Well, do you remember hearing about that anyway? I really like Debi Pearl's three ways that men tend to reflect God's image. Maybe you'll recognize your husband among them:
1. Mr. Command Man: These born leaders reflect God's strength. They see the big picture and enjoy being in charge. Respect is very important for these men. Their wives will find themselves adored Queens when they allow their "Command Man" husbands to be the Kings.
2. Mr. Visionary: This man reflects the Holy Spirit's prophetic nature. He sees the details of life and is a shaker, changer, and dreamer. Visionary men are usually either rich or poor, depending on how their often-risky schemes go. They need wives who can enjoy being along for the adventurous ride, but can think objectively and keep their feet from flying too far off solid ground.
3. Mr. Steady: This "rock" of a man reflects Christ's caring, providing, and faithful nature. He diligently does his work and raises his family without a lot of fanfare. His home will be blessed with peace and security. He will appreciate a wife who adds her own accomplishments to his. His wife can also have the privilege of singing his praises since he won't jump up to do that himself.
Though few men are entirely of a single type, I recognized many of the men I know among her descriptions. Since my husband is different from my father, I can't rely on my past experiences to understand him. It helped me to read through her advice on how to best serve and understand my husband.
RESOURCES
Created to Be His Help Meet
1. Mr. Command Man: These born leaders reflect God's strength. They see the big picture and enjoy being in charge. Respect is very important for these men. Their wives will find themselves adored Queens when they allow their "Command Man" husbands to be the Kings.
2. Mr. Visionary: This man reflects the Holy Spirit's prophetic nature. He sees the details of life and is a shaker, changer, and dreamer. Visionary men are usually either rich or poor, depending on how their often-risky schemes go. They need wives who can enjoy being along for the adventurous ride, but can think objectively and keep their feet from flying too far off solid ground.
3. Mr. Steady: This "rock" of a man reflects Christ's caring, providing, and faithful nature. He diligently does his work and raises his family without a lot of fanfare. His home will be blessed with peace and security. He will appreciate a wife who adds her own accomplishments to his. His wife can also have the privilege of singing his praises since he won't jump up to do that himself.
Though few men are entirely of a single type, I recognized many of the men I know among her descriptions. Since my husband is different from my father, I can't rely on my past experiences to understand him. It helped me to read through her advice on how to best serve and understand my husband.
RESOURCES
Created to Be His Help Meet
2010-02-02
Introducing an Older Baby to the Bottle
If you've ever tried to give a breastfed baby over a certain age a bottle, you'll believe me when I say that our son wasn't interested in that cold plastic thing with formula in it. We tried for several weeks but he would have none of it. Why did we keep failing? Well according to the "Baby Whisperer," Tracy Hogg, we weren't really giving it all we had.
Here's her plan, which worked really well for us:
1. Prepare yourself emotionally for a hunger strike. If your baby has had 4 or more months to enjoy and acclimate to nursing, bottles of formula probably won't be very appealing to him.
2. Offer the first bottle at the beginning of the day after Baby's had a long break from food and will be hungry yet well rested.
3. Don't force it. You don't want to create a negative association. If Baby doesn't want the bottle after about 5 minutes, just say "I guess you're not hungry" and put it away. Hunger is a powerful motivator. It's the only motivator he'll need.
4. Keep trying every hour or so until Baby takes the bottle. Our son never held out longer than two hours. They were two rather fussy hours, but over quickly compared to weeks of 'trying.'
5. It can be helpful to have someone other than Mom feed the first few bottles, but don't wait too long to join in. I found that my son would often reject them from me, but if we did something else and tried again 5 minutes later, he would take it from me too. After a day of that, he knew I was serious.
6. Commit to 2 days of only bottles after Baby accepts the first one. This was not my favorite part, but it did help our son get used to the new food.
7. After the 2 days, you can nurse again, but continue to offer a bottle at least once a day.
Our 11 month old son has been doing well with his bottles now for a week or so. I am sad to see the nursing go, but I'm glad we won't have any trauma when we leave him with Grandma for our week long mission trip that's coming up.
RESOURCES
The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems
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