Random Becky

This is Noah.

In the picture above, he was helping me lay out quilting pieces.

He is always helpful, really.

He loves to help cook, clean and fold laundry.

He always has, and I am so thankful!

For the last couple of days he has been thinking about

Some pretty deep things.

Questions I am answering openly and honestly.

I don’t know why he is thinking about these things,

But I am so glad he is talking to me about them.

Yesterday he asked me a lot of question about the baby I miscarried.

His sibling.

My first child.

He wanted to know, what happened.

He wanted to know how big she was.

He mentioned how long people live and how our baby

Only lived a short while.

He want to know how the doctor “got the baby out of my belly”.

How the baby died.

What the baby looked like when they took her out.

Where the body was.

The questions came as if being projected from a machine gun.

The bullets hit my heart and penetrated.

The sweetness of his honesty softened their blow.

The thoughtfulness and innocence fell like a salve on my wounds.

I was honest, I didn’t belittle the gravity of the situation.

I told him the baby, died and that we didn’t know why.

I told him there was not much of the baby left when they removed her.

I told him I honestly didn’t know what they did with the baby.

While my thinking has changed and I have moved through the grief

And consider it a joy to have felt the signs of life growing inside of me,

This question was hard for me.

I wish that I would have properly buried my baby.

However, I live in the reality that there is nothing I can do about that.

God has showered me with His perfect peace and allowed my healing

So I can openly talk with others about the loss.

Praise God.

In addition to this conversation,

Noah wanted to know:

“Who made God?”

“Do people grow up in Heaven?”

“Do babies go to Heaven?”

I love his sweet heart.

I treasure our conversations, silly or deep in thought.

I am thankful, beyond words, for my sweet boy.

My boys are growing up.

They are getting big.

They play well together.

They are finding their differences impact their relationship.

They are growing closer and also showing a separation.

It sounds so conflicting, but it has been a natural process.

I am amazed every day by their relationship.

I am encouraged and challenged by the way the treat one another.

They truly love one another.

They encourage one another.

They include one another.

They share a special bond,

One that I have nurtured carefully,

But cannot take responsibility for.

It is a gift from God and I pray it continues.

Since the beginning of January, the boys have played basketball.

It so much fun to watch them play with other children.

They are not on the same team.

As their first practices approached, I wondered how it would work.

I knew it would cause some anxiety for Collin especially.

The truth is, he was timid, but he quickly found his place.

He frequently looks at us and waves, but he is doing that less and less each week.

For Noah, my concern was him coming on too strong with the other kids.

That never seemed to be an issue.

He is probably the least experienced on his team.

He is not inclined to sports naturally, but he plays every week.

I love going to their games.

I LOVE it.

Love maybe to small of a word.

It is one part herding cats and 1 part organized chaos.

It works somehow.

As a homeschool mom, I struggle with supporting

The individuality of my boys.

I find it difficult because they are together all the time.

They rarely get the opportunity to venture off without the other one.

There are good and bad sides to this equation.

I think their bond is strengthened and challenged by being so close.

When you live, eat, share a room and play with your classmate,

You learn a very beneficial set of skills.

Top that off with your mother acting as teacher, disciplinarian and cook

You gain another great set of skills.

As a homeschool mom, I can’t leave work at the office because

The office is home.

The truth is, I too am learning an amazing set of skills.

Everyday we spend hours communicating with one another.

Some days I wish someone else was here to help field all of the

Chatter that fills the rooms in our house.

The opposite side of that coin is we have had to figure out how to deal with

Our issues as they come up.

And that, my friends, is one of the gifts of homeschooling my children.

We are learning how to communicate well with one another.

We cannot avoid issues with each other, no matter how trivial.

We cannot escape or ignore each other.

Some days our school room is a flutter with productivity and patience.

Some days we sound like a squeaky wheel.

Some days we are a well oiled machine.

Some days we are a square peg in a round hole and nothing goes as planned.

No matter what shape the day takes,

We are together.

We are learning more about one another.

We are sharing our lives.

For that I am exceedingly grateful and overwhelmingly blessed.

I am sitting in the living room.

Bread is baking in my oven.

The boys have been sent to their room for a little quiet time

Before bed.

*They got nerf guns for Christmas and they require a cool down period if

Played with in the evening. This goes for grown-ups too!*

I am reflecting on the last year and sipping hot tea.

A year ago today, I received a call, early in the morning.

A call that no one wants to get.

My mother in law had died in her sleep.

It was completely unexpected and we were all devastated.

There is comfort in knowing she is no longer plagued by the illnesses that

Held tight to her for so many years.

For the last year, my father in law has had weekly meals with us.

Almost every week.

It is time I treasure and look forward to every week.

Today brings to an end the anticipation of firsts.

First Christmas,

First Thanksgiving,

First Birthday without the birthday girl.

These are the big days, the landmark moments shared with family.

I am happy to have made it through these days.

Things were different.

Things will never be like they were

And we seem to have found a way to make it through the hardest times together.

For our family, relying on one another is not enough.

We rest firmly on the Lord.

I am thankful we don’t have to figure it all out on our own.

The vulnerability of processing her death led to unexpected

Healing in other areas of my life.

So tonight, I sit and think about her life.

I miss her hugs.

I miss her.

A lot.

Dear Noah and Collin,

Thank you!

Thank you for the many gifts I have received,

Simply for being your mommy.

Thank you for your silliness.

Thank you for your humor.

Thank you for your encouragement.

Than you for your charm.

Thank you for pushing me to be selfless.

I love you.

I love being your mommy.

I love being your teacher.

I feel so thankful tonight.

I love you so much.

~Mommy

A couple months ago,

Aaron and I had the enjoyed a special night out.

We left the kids with my parents, got all dolled up and spent the evening at the

Dayton Art Museum.

There is something romantic about walking through a museum at night.

I am not sure what makes it romantic, but for me it was.

We were there as invited guests of the musuem, as part of a social media promotion.

The DAI had simply asked several local bloggers to help get the word out.

When I received the invite, I jumped at the chance!

There have been opportunities like this in the past, but this is the first one of it’s kind

That really appealed to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the DAI.

It is beautiful.

Historic.

Huge.

Yet somehow intimate.

There are many beautiful, classic pieces of art on display, but I lack time to

Take advantage of the pleasure of spending time enjoying the museum.

So, back to the reason I accepted the invite and spent an evening there…

The exhibit was showcasing Norman Rockwell.

It is officially entitled,

“American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell”,

Presented by PNC.

Norman Rockwell is an iconic artist and I remember seeing images he created while growing up.

My grandmother had a puzzle showcasing one of his works, and I remember staring at it for hours.

This particular piece made me giggle and wonder.

There was a little boys, about 10 years old, at the doctors office.

I remember staring at the background of the puzzle more than the image of

The doctor or the boy.

It was fun to see what hidden things were placed around the office.

When we were at the museum, we learned this was the way all of Mr. Rockwell’s

Pieces were designed.

His work is steeped in history as well as full of imagination.

His images ring true to much of the history that is being written by our day to day lives,

That is what struck me most about touring the exhibit.

While there, we started by enjoying many of the covers of The Saturday Evening Post.

It was fantastic.

The beginning of the experience leaves you in awe as you can study

The images up close and personal.

They are large paintings, so you really get a good look.

As you move on, you progress into a more political collection.

There is also a video you can sit down and watch.

Finally you make your way into a fun addition to the exhibit.

You can use props and pose as you wish, to make your own

Saturday Evening Post cover!

It is so much fun!!

Aaron was a good sport!

I am so glad I wore this dress.

So, make sure you bring a camera for this part.

After you get your covergirl/boy on,

You are treated to a huge display of cover-sized frames full of his work.

This part could suck you in for a day.

I was moved by the enormity of the room and how many covers Mr. Rockwell had created.

Considering how much time and attention to detail he included,

It is truly an amazing site to behold.

Take your time in this room.

Soak it all in.

Overall, the display is a site to behold and a treasured evening to be shared with

Someone you love.

Aaron and I equally enjoyed the experience and have decided to go to more events like this in

The future.

It is a great way to get out of the same-date-every-time-we-go-out rut.

I hope you make time to go to the DAI to enjoy this exhibit.

You will not be disappointed.

It was everything I hoped it would be and more!

You can find all the info you need over at

daytonartinstitute.org

Hurry though, the Norman Rockwell exhibit concludes Feb 5th.

Be sure to let me know if you go!

On his way to bed tonight,

My husband picked up or fat, old puggie and said,

“Good night Owl”.

Weird, right?

He was teasing me about the fact that I am now a night owl.

It is true.

Somewhere, somehow things have shifted and I am now awake until

The weeeeeee hours of the night, most nights.

Tonight I am nursing a cold with cough syrup

Laced with codine so hopefully I will get to bed before too long.

We shall see.

I am going through a long diagnosis procedure

On a medical issue(s) I am having, so I suspect that may be the cause

Of my odd sleeping schedule,

But while I am up I have plenty of time to think.

Sometimes I am alert enough to read and remember what I have read.

Other nights, I hang out with the late night tv guys.

I wonder why there are only late night tv guys?

I digress…

Most of the time my mind wonders from thing to thing.

Sometimes I sew.

Sometimes I clean.

Sometimes I stare blankly at the tv.

It depends on the night.

Lately, my thoughts have been swallowed up by decisions I need to make about school next year.

We are leaving K12, for a variety of reasons.

The biggest reason is we want to start using a Christian curriculum.

So I have been floundering in an ocean filled with options,

But no current.

I seem to float around aimlessly with no shore in sight.

Until today!

A couple weeks ago my friend, Christan,

http://doithalfway.wordpress.com/

Gave me a book she had used.

I just started reading it tonight and I have found it to be such a great resource,

I wanted to share it with you all!

It is called “Homeschooling Methods”

By Paul and Gena Suarez.

For me, it explains all of the lingo from the homeschool community.

If you are considering homeschooling your kid(s), this may help.

I just thought I’d share.

Nighty night!

http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Methods-Seasoned-Advice-Learning/dp/0805440178/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325821352&sr=1-1

Hello and welcome to 2012!!

I cannot tell you how excited I am for a new year and new start.

I don’t have much to say, but I wanted to share some of my favorite pics from

Christmas with you!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Yummmmmm, right!

Here’s the story.

I wanted to make my pumpkin pie trifle for our family Christmas party tonight.

I whipped up 3 homemade pumpkin pies, without the crust.

Then I planned to layer the pies with coolwhip.

I have done this before and it is yummy.

Well, I pulled the pies out of the oven and noticed they didn’t look right.

I tasted one.

YUCK!

I forgot the sugar!!

So, I did what any good cook does, sat down and cried.

My husband was out w/ a friend for breakfast and I knew he would

Need to “taste” to believe how bad the pies were.

He called me on his way home and I told him what happened.

Aaron: “Can you add sugar?”

Me: “No, they are already baked.”

A:” They are going to be layered right?”

M: “Yes.’

A: “Throw them in the blender w/ sugar.”

M:” You are brilliant! Gotta go.”

So I scooped out the filling from the pie plate,

Threw it in my Kitchen Aid.

Added about 12 TBS brown sugar and about 1/2 cup coolwhip.

It created a sweet, delicious, pumpkin mousse!!!

Then I layered it, as planned w/ my coolwhip.

I always top it with cinnamon sugar pie crust balls.

*To make pie crust balls:

Make pie crust

Add cinnamon sugar

Roll into little balls

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet

425′ – 5 mins

375′ – 10 mins or until brown.

Then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.

NomNomNom!

I am so excited to share this post with you!

One of the best parts of being a mommy, for me anyway,

Is creating and maintaining traditions with my children.

Every year the boys and I make Christmas ornaments.

This tradition started a few years ago when we made felt ornaments.

Last year we made these beauties,

This year, while I was looking for idea’s I kept coming across

Saltdough Ornaments.

The looked easy enough and like they would be A LOT of fun.

Guess what, they were!

A friend of mine, posted a note on facebook sharing the recipe she used

And pics of her finished product.

Here is the recipe:

What you need:

• 4 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Salt
• 1 1/2 Cups of water
• Rolling Pin
• Parchement Paper (you can use PAM if you don’t have this, but Parchment Paper works best)
• Cookie Cutters
• Toothpick(s)
• Ornament hangers or sting or dental floss
• Acrylic paints (tend to work best)
• Puffer Paints (if you wany)

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

 2) Prepare your cookie sheets. Line with Parchment Paper or LIGHTLY spray with PAM cooking spray.

 3) Mix all Flour, Salt and Water together to make a dough. It will be sticky at first, if it’s a little crumbly, just add a little bit more water. Don’t over do the water though because it will make it too sticky and you wont be able to work with it.

 4) Once it’s all mixed together, you will need to knead the dough for 25 minutes. This will help eliminate “most” of the air bubbles.

 5) Now that your wrist’s are good and tired. Roll the the dough out to about 1/4 of an inch thick (give or take).

 6) Use cookie cutters to make desired shape, place cut-outs on a cookie sheet. Be sure to use a toothpick to place holes at the top of the ornaments for hangers or string.

 7) THIS NEXT STEP IS IMPORTANT: Salt-dough has a tendency to “bubble”, this can cause the ornament to crack. To help prevent bubbling, take a toothpick and lightly poke tiny random holes all over the ornament. This will help release the air and kinda keep them flat. The holes are that noticeable if you plan to paint them. Also, once they come out of the oven you can try to poke hole on the bottom to release some of the trapped air as well. This will help prevent them from cracking in the future

 8) Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until they are a very light golden brown on the bottom. Watch them, because they can burn quickly!

 9) Take them out from the oven and let them cool. (I know it’s hard to keep the little ones from getting antsy, but if you can let them cool for at least an hour, the better.)

10) Once cooled, you can paint them.

 11) HAVE FUN!

 They were so much fun to make.

Take a look…

Flour, salt and water, couldn’t be easier!

It looks good enough to eat. Noah didn’t believe me when I said it wouldn’t taste

Like cookie dough. He insisted, so I let him taste it.

GROSS!

This is how I did the required kneading.

10 mins in the Kitchen Aid, 10 mins by cute, little hands!

It feels like playdough and doesn’t stick to countertops.

They loved it!

Rollin with my homies! *Name that movie*

Cookie cutter time.

Good times!

They came out perfectly!

Now for the creative part.

Noah is my realistic artist.

Collin is my creative thinker.

Here they are!! Almost 40.

Noah made this cute doggie in a sweater.

Collin went all out on this little pup and tree.

Noah wanted to make one like the Gingerbread Man I painted.

He did a great job, don’t ya think?

There you have it!

Let me know if you try it.

 Merry Christmas!

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED. CONGRATS TO #19 BECKY AND #32 KAREN.

LOOK FOR AN E-MAIL FROM ME!

OHHHHHH

MMMMAAAAAAHHHHHHH

GGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAVVVVVVVYYYYYY

How in the world is it already December 13, 2011??

I honestly cannot believe there are only 12 days until Christmas.

Can you?

Really??

Did you notice my fancy Christmas tree created by words.

Yes, I am that ready for Christmas.

I thought about writing the entire post this way,

But it takes way to much brain power!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is spending time with my family.

I like to do special things with the kids during our break from school.

Whether you homeschool or entrust their education to wonderful teachers,

I am sure you are looking for special things to do with the family

During Christmas break.

Well, I have just the thing for you!!

A CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!!!!

If you have followed this blog for a while…

First, I want to thank you for reading the craziness that is me.

Secondly, you know how much I love COSI!!

When you couple family fun with education, you can’t lose.

That is why the generous folks at COSI have given me

NOT 1,

BUT 2,

Family four packs of tickets PLUS 4 movie passes for their IMAX theatre.

WAHOOOO!

You can head over to COSI.com to find all of the wonderful things going on at

The museum right now if you’d like.

They have some amazing things going on right now, so check out their website and plan a

Visit even if you don’t win the tickets.

Time to get down to business…..

*This will be a quick giveaway, so I can be sure you get your tickets in time for Christmas break!*

To ENTER:

1. Leave a comment telling me if you have been to Cosi before or not.

2. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing to do/see is if you have been, or go to their website, come back and tell me what you would like to do if you win the tickets.

3. Share a this giveaway on facebook and  leave a comment telling me you did so.

4. Leave a comment telling me what you are most looking forward to this Christmas season!

THERE YOU HAVE IT! Four ways to enter!

The drawing will be held Thursday, December 15, at 8 p.m.

*Winners will be notified via e-mail and on this post.

*There will be 2 winners, each will receive 4 admission passes + 4 movie passes to enjoy while at COSI.

Merry Christmas!