Snippets from my Heart

For the past few months, it has seemed too overwhelming to write a couple of paragraphs on anything.  That is why my posts have been made up of activities and photos.  It may because there are far too many interruptions in the day to be able to formulate a thought long enough to communicate it in a post or that the things I have been pondering are too complicated to put down in one post.  However,  I have been feeling quite shallow in my blog as of late, so am leaving you with 10 things that I have learned and have been praying/thinking about lately.  If there are any topics you would like me to expand on in future posts, please let me know.

1. I will find true joy when I fix my eyes on things above and not on the things of the world.
That is, instead of stressing over my kids behaviour, how my living room would look if it was decked out in all Ikea or how much happier I would be if I could own a pair of tall boots "like everyone else", I will give praise for the abundant grace of God in my life, each day as I make mistakes and am forgiven,  praying for friends and family who don't yet know the great love and relationship that is available with God through Jesus and how I can exercise more fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace patience, kindness….

2. I am responsible for my own feelings.  
People "can't make me" feel anything. I choose to feel and respond to people's actions in the way that I do.  I can choose to respond graciously and with forgiveness in all circumstances.

3. This is the stage of my life where there is more death.  
Aunts, uncles, grandparents and even friends are more prone to sickness and long-term illness.  I need to get my will done.

4. Why am I surprised that my kids want to be on our i-technology all the time….we are.  
How do I find the balance in my face time and FaceTime?

5. Consistency in discipline is key.  
It is so hard to do with a cute 15 month old but if I am not consistent now, I will have a monster of a 3 year old.

6. Marriages are falling apart all around me.  
It doesn't just sadden me, it literally breaks my heart to pieces.  Many men are not rising up to role they have been given and many women are giving up on those men.

7. I must constantly surrender my family to the Lord. 
 I could do all the "right" things as a parent and they could still make poor choices and even though I have made many mistakes my kids could still turn out "normal". ha ha

8.  Nobodys family is perfect, even if it looks like that from the outside.  NOBODYS.

9. Generally, most Christians do not live in the victory and freedom that is offered to them through Jesus Christ.  
They do not walk in their new identity but are still living in the lies of their past and their circumstances.  What does it take to get us into that freedom? 

10. I am so grateful for the abundance in my life.  
I have food to choose from, I have a safe home and I have friends and family to call on when in trouble.  I am rich.  There are many people that I can share this abundance with, I just needed to look.  

Enjoy the next few days before Christmas.  Thanks for stopping in! -Angela 

Freezin' Fun

Man, it's cold outside.  It is not even officially Winter yet and I am freezin my buns off.  If you are from Canada or even part of the States, you know what I am talking about.  It is just too early for this type of cold. 

The other day, the boys and I decided to make the most of it and had some fun.  

Freezin' Bubbles 

I braved the -40 while the boys stayed in side (with jackets and boots on) to blow bubbles and watch them freeze.  Munch suggested we don't do that one again because "It was way toooo cold!" 

Freezin' Inside 

 I buried some marbles in bowls of snow and had the boys use spoons and warm water to search for their "treasure".  It went over even better than I thought it would. 

Even Baby Goose had a good time.  Easy clean up too! 

Freezin' Beauty 

We made a sun catcher out of ice, marbles and food colouring.  I am all about being real here, so I have to say it was a real headache as it kept cracking on me.  Thankfully, in this weather, all I had to do was add a bit of water to the crack and wait another hour.  Totally worth it!  (The marbles will be fun to discover on a chinook day.)  

Freezin' Balloons 

I cannot take credit for this photo as our attempt did not work.  Take your leftover water balloons from the summer and fill them with water and food colouring (and then tell me how to do it without spraying water all over the place!), leave outside or in the freezer until completely frozen and peel off the balloon. Mr. Bubblegum, in complete three year old style, found ours before they were totally frozen and smashed them to smithereens. 

Freezin' Education 

After the crazy snow storm of 2013, my friend Jenn took an "educational moment" to show the kids how much it had snowed in that one day according to the pattern on her newly snow-plowed driveway.  I like my science-ey friends!  

All in all, this cold weather has been pretty fun.  However, I don't know how much longer I can stay cooped up in the house.  Here's hoping that sledding weather for littles is on it's way! 

Here's the thing. We live in this crazy arctic climate and Winter is not going away anytime soon, so might as well make the most it. 

Send me some of your ideas for fun in the Winter and I will pick my faves to highlight in an upcoming post.  Send them to angelastockert@gmail.com.  

Stay warm!  

Angela 

Getting in the Christmas Mood

Here I am, sitting with a Chai Latte and enjoying the hilarious advice of Dr. Kevin Leman on my Focus on the Family app.  If you have not added this app to your mobile device, you must!  They have wonderful podcasts on parenting, marriage, social issues and spiritual issues.  The one I am listening to right now is Practical Advice for Parenting Powerful Kids.  Dr. Kevin Leman is the author of How to Have a New Kid by Friday and The Birth Order Book.  He is so funny but also very practical and challenging.  

I digress... this is a post to help me get in the Christmas holiday mood.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas!  I love celebrating the birth of The One who saved me and changed my heart and gave me hope after this earthly life.  Love it!  However, the thought of trying to decorate and bake with three active boys…who want to be involved in EVERYTHING…is enough to make me hide under the covers until boxing day.  

I am hoping that looking at the cute little chocolate snowmen and christmas balls with kids' handprints on them will swoon me into the festive spirit.  Here are some great things that I have found.  Feel free to share your fun ideas for kids' crafts, decorating and yummies.  I feel kind of lonely here when no one responds (yes, I am trying to use guilt to make your comment).  

Enjoy! Fa la la la la…

Aren't these beautiful? This is something I will do myself as it may be a little complicated for the littles…but I would love to see them around the house.  Thank you to Handimania for this great tutorial. 

My boys love gum. I mean LUUUV gum.  This is the greatest advent calendar ever!  No fanciness or chocolate required. Love it! This great idea came from My Little Mochi.

I saw this on a friend's Facebook page and the snowman grabbed my attention. Too cute.  There are many more fun recipes ideas on this food segment of  Buzz Feed.

Once again, feel free to share your ideas.  Have a great week!  

Photo Sneak-a-Peek into our Day

 One morning in our household. These photos were taken before 9 am.  Enjoy! 

(I took these with my horrible cell phone which is soon to be replaced by my first iPhone. Yay!) 

Bubblegum drums several times a day on those silly broken drum pads.  His latest tune is Come Thou Fount. 

Goo is obsessed with brushing his teeth. I guess that's a good thing. 

One of the kids pooped in the tub last night. I was greatful for my disinfectant from Melaleuca. 

We do it ol' school in our home. Since the three year old is screen free, we have invested in the old style Leap Pads; the boys love learning with them. 

I finally gave in to Lego. What a wonderfully timeless toy. The boys mix it up between their new Lego and their daddy's old Lego. 

A crayon bomb was detonated in the living room this morning. It kind of looks like a heart. Awww. 

This is what you get when you tell the kids they can dress themselves. 

Have a great weekend.

-Ange 

Homeschooling-active ways to learn letters and their sounds

I haven't posted much about our first year of homeschooling. To be perfectly honest, I have felt very insecure in this adventure.  When people asked how it was going I would start this rambling rant about how we are taking it slow because after all it is just kindergarten and Munch is a natural learner so I am just making sure I am more intentional, blah, blah, blah... Now, I just say, "It's going well, thank-you." 

I have discovered that Munch loves math, science and art but is not too keen on language arts.  He becomes this ditzy, squirmy, hard to focus boy and I have to be on it to keep him on task (that was me with Math).  With that in mind, I came up with "off your butt" ways to learn letters and their sounds.  When it is an active game it doesn't feel like learning.  Grandma bought him some alphabet flash cards and we have been using those every day (thanks, Grandma S.)

Some fun ways to use Alphabet flash cards:

We scrambled the letters all over the floor and Munch would have to find the letters in order and make a train across the floor. Bubblegum loved the singing the ABCs song over and over. Interestingly enough, the last picture in the cards is zamboni, which was used to clean up the train when we were done.    

We found items around our house that started with each letter and taped them or clothes-pinned them to the item (speaking of that, I think he still has the U for "us"on his shirt in the laundry hamper).  

We also had a scavenger hunt for each card and then had to put each letter in order. Bubblegum was happy to participate in this activity and surprised me with the letters he recognized.  

I guess I can do this homeschool thing after all....

Winter Fun-crafts and soup time!

I have to admit, after my boys sat and marvelled at the snow for a few minutes, I closed the blinds and turned on some good halogen lights and pretended it was Summer again.  I know, I know, I could hardly wait for Winter a month ago.  The grass is always greener...literally!  
In spite of my "bah snow' moment, I brought out the paper and scissors and as we talked about the beauty and wonder of snowflakes, we each made our own individual paper snowflake. Moms, do not underestimate the joy of making a paper snowflake...,duh! they get to wield scissors (what kid doesn't like using scissors?!)  
I learned a little something in this exercise too...my husband can make a prettier snowflake than me. I actually found myself studying his and trying to find ways to make mine better but I...just...couldn't.  He is so wonderfully creative!  It was a great way to celebrate the coming snow. 
In keeping with the celebration with snow, here is a great website that has wonderful winter themed ideas.  I especially LOVE the ice ornaments. However, with Calgary's fluctuating temperatures, I wonder how long they would last.  

Courtesy of: Hands on as we Grow

I am not much for soup in the warmer seasons but once it gets chilly out, I am all over it!  Here are some of my great finds on Pinterest. 

This is a picture of a yummy Tomato and basil soup that I found.  However, when I went on the website to get the recipe I realized that it was in a language I do not know.  So, I found another recipe from erecipe.com with a less tantalizing photo but I am sure is just as yummy.

If you have not yet discovered allrecipes.com yet, you must today.  I first found them when my friend Karla sent me the easiest and most amazing cinnamon bun recipe (I share the recipe in my post On the Lighter Side ). This Cheeseburger soup is something I think the kids might even enjoy. 

Keep warm and stay safe on the roads!  

-Angela   

My Sad Heart

It has a been a tough day. After watching our 12 year old dog Stewart struggle for days with congestive heart failure, we made the decision to put him down.  I really didn't image taking it this hard.  As you may have learned from my previous post Food, fun and Stewart, it was bitter sweet having a pet.  However, as I reflect upon my relationship with "Stewey", I can say he was the most faithful and loving dog I have ever had.  As my husband so wonderfully put to the vet,

"When you have a dog and no kids that dog is your kid; they get all the attention and love you have.  When the first child comes, the dog moves down the totem pole a bit and then when the next child comes a little lower and then when the third comes, the dog becomes the annoyance and frustrating task to deal with. Stewart took that role humbly and he did his best with it.  He loved those kids even when they were the ones who took his place."

He was a great dog, full of humility and courage.

The question has been, "will you get another dog?" Maybe one day.  Right now we have these boys to raise.  We wish that we would have had more time and love to give Stewart in our busyness and so I think we will take that as our lesson. 

We had prepared the boys for Stewart's death and so one night while Munch and I were raking leaves he says, "I really love Stewey, Mommy."  I reply, "I know honey, you are so good to him. When he's gone, why don't you take that love you have for Stewey and use it to care for the other dogs in our neighbourhood? You could play with Sarabi next door or maybe take Cola for a walk."  He thought that was a great idea and began suggesting ways he could help our neighbours with their dogs.  So, that's how we will fill our Stewart shaped hole in our hearts for now.  And perhaps, we will get a gold fish...people don't generally cry over dead goldfish, right?

Until next time,

Angela