A poor reflection of myself

One of my conversations with Ezra today included him saying that he doesn't care if someone gets hurt. He said he doesn't feel sad for them. Concerned, I questioned him further about this, worrying that my son will be a sociopath. He said, "I can't help it, it's how God made me!"

We spoke about compassion and what that meant and how God tells us to have compassion for others. When others are sad, we are to be sad for them, and if others are hurt or sick, we are to be kind to them. I told him that God told us in the Bible to love others, even those who are not our friends or family. For a reality check, go and read Luke 14:12-14.

Then we got to talking about strangers; nice ones and mean ones. He claimed that a mean stranger was one who had "yucky things" and a nice stranger was one who had "cool things". Another can of worms! Without trying to mess up the whole don't-talk-to-strangers mantra, I tried to explain to him that it does not matter what a person may have or wear...that doesn't make him a good or bad person. It's how they treat others and what's in their heart that matters. How do you teach a four-year-old this kind of stuff and hope that he truly gets it?

I thought I was so good at teaching through example. I am so careful not to comment on what a person is wearing, their social status, or on their physical appearance. But my son is still influenced by the tons of information coming his way. Somehow he likes Hannah Montana and Zack and Cody (television shows geared toward preteens). How? Do I let him watch this stuff? And how is he so concerned about what "looks cool"? He told me he liked me because I have a pretty face (thanks for the compliment, but the implications are not lost on me). It's a fact of life that my son is not only influenced by me and my husband, but by the great big world around him. And that influence that we, as parents, have on him is going to be strong and weak at times. It also makes me regret that we had never let him get involved with some of the shows and toys and attitude about collecting things that are already ingrained in his little mind.

How often do you, as a parent, sit down and think of consciously telling your small child basic concepts such as sin, compassion and the fact that God shows no partiality based on money, power or influence?

Yet, the Bible tells us to do so, in Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

So, my example alone is not all that I should do. Although I'll admit that my example needs to be more deliberate. But to constantly speak to him about the truths in the Bible that God wants us to pass on. The good news of the Bible is imperative, but our children need to know why there is the gospel to begin with.

Thankfully, God will always give us wonderful teaching moments that, if we are paying attention, we can use to teach our children about what God has to say on the issue. And many times, those teaching moments will come up by the questions our young ones have that force us to sit and think about the simplest and most often elegant answers.

Better bag alternatives

After doing a little research on grocery bags and looking for alternatives, the cost, etc. I found this site: http://www.reusablebags.com/ They have a ton of bags you can buy to use for shopping as well as lunch boxes/bags.

I have been wanting to find Ezra a new lunchbox before he starts kindergarten and have found Bento boxes to be a wonderful idea. I am constantly buying zip-loc bags because I can't find plastic containers small enough to fit neatly into his rigid plastic lunchbox (currently he has a Yoda one purchased at Big Lots). I also want to find a small thermos. Since he loves soup and chili, I'd like to send him to school with some during the cold weather, but not have to microwave it. So, I am still on the lookout for the perfect squatty yet petite thermos.

Anyway, I just got to reading about the bag/plastic issue and came upon this news article about soft vinyl lunchboxes. One out of five tested had large amounts of lead! Read the article: http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=1318

So, I am working on making some more grocery bags (see below) and hopefully have enough to sell at Charlotte Farmer's Market. Wouldn't that be fun?! I could try selling on Etsy, but it is so saturated right now, and I really have found that when I post things on Etsy to sell, I find myself checking my email and how many hearts I have waaaay too much to be productive.

Shopping bag

I am so excited and encouraged about this. Tonight my mom and dad have Ezra spending the night and so, I felt the urge to sew. It's not related or anything, but it does definitely give me some extra time and energy. I have been wanting to get some cloth shopping bags for a while, but can't bring myself to spend money on them.

So, I went online and found this pattern to use (free! - http://www.thecreativethimble.com). I have some fabric from my mom's business and wanted to use it some way neat and useful. So, here's my shopping bag! I am so ready to make more. It was fun and my sewing skills don't stink! It's been a long time since I've sewn anything so complex.

The bag inside out. I lined it with muslin and glued the sewn triangles to the bottom to make the bag more sturdy.

Many hours later, the bread was done

Finally at 9 PM, we were able to enjoy some bread that Ezra made. It was taking a while to rise because it wasn't warm enough in our house. So, I finally turned our plate warmer on the stovetop on and put the dough on top of it.

The bread was very good, a little bit salty (I think he added more when I wasn't looking!), but homemade bread cannot be beat!

Baking bread

This afternoon after a quick trip to the grocery store, Ezra and I decided that today is a good day to make some bread. While he has watched and helped me in the past making cookies or banana bread, I thought that it was way overdue that he make yeast bread.

No pictures to post, just the vision in my head of him carefully measuring the flour, scraping the measuring cup with the back of a knife to level the flour, then watching him stir and knead and really get into it. We're waiting for its first rise now. Not sure if he kneaded it enough. I tried to butt in a few times to give the dough a few good nudges, but was quickly reminded by my son that it was his turn!

He said, "This is fun for children to do with their mommies..." how sweet. And I really enjoyed it too. Children can do a lot more than we give them credit for. That being said, I was reading about the cotton mills here in Newton back in the early 1900s. The child labor being used was rampant here and most other mills in the South. I looked at some photos of these young children and it made me sad.

I digress... :)

There's a few books by Mollie Katzen of the Moosewood Cookbook fame specifically geared toward children (preschool through eight and up). I am waiting for them to be returned to the library.
Pretend Soup
Honest Pretzels
Salad People

Maybe the next time we cook or bake together, we can get a few photos.

A Snowy Day

We did get about 3ish inches last night. And though it was raining this morning, all three of us got a chance to go outside and play. We made a snowman with a carrot nose and peanut eyes (the raisin mouth wouldn't stick). We had a snowball fight or two. And since the snow was wet, by the time my husband packed a snowball, it really had some fire in it! Ouch! Then we attempted to sled down our hill--on the lid of Ezra's sandbox! Didn't work, so since then we tried using the lid to a storage container (nope) and a plastic platter from Chick-Fil-A catering (nada).

That's okay. Because later (after building a fort inside thanks to my sister), we went out again. This time it was just Ezra and me since Jason went into work. More snowball fights and we made a snowdog for our little snowman. Then we took a walk and Ez splashed in the melting snow that raced down the gutter. He was laughing so much and I hated to pull him away from it all. It was great to just be there with him as he jumped up and down, contorting his body this way and that way to make the greatest impact on the slush.

Here he is giving our snowman a kiss on the head after making the snowdog.


Ezra as the boy in the Water Horse (it was his idea as we rolled a snowball).

Am I lazy or what?

So I figured out that I haven't written anything on here for a while and had to think of why.

1. Christmas rush - could be that. The day after Christmas we had my in-laws come in from Mississippi and stay with us. We traveled that week here and there and then they were gone and I got to sleep in my own bed. Then New Years and a karaoke get together. And now it's the middle of January!

2. Indecision - what do I write about? I really have to start thinking of this as a journal, since really only one person besides myself may read this. I want to have deep thoughts about life, but I am too busy trying to avoid thinking and processing everything about my life. Sometimes I think I am waiting for the next big something in my life to happen. And I miss out on all the times in between that have deep meaning.

3. This is it--Laziness-- I have to remember another username and password?! That is my life, usernames and passwords...others, my own...to check on the progress of my work or on my bank account. To make sure I am keeping things organized and afloat until I can come up for a big breath of air. So...I am sure it is the laziness of remembering another set of login info. Although, this time, I didn't even need my password sent to me. There's hope yet!