E and I play the "Who loves E?" game. She has a grand time with it. She answers with Mommy, Daddy, Sissy, Mommom, Poppop, and has included Jesus now.

As a Christian parent, I want my children to become Christians. To hear my child say that Jesus loves her and lives in her heart is a beautiful thing. I know that she doesn't really know what it means to have Jesus live in her heart, but as she grows we will teach her.

Again E told me that Jesus loves her. This week she has also told me that Jesus lives in her heart. I have told her the Easter story and that Jesus wants to live in her heart like he lives in Mommy and Daddy's hearts. I didn't realize she was actually absorbing everything I said. She is always amazing me.

That she would keep this knowledge with her in her heart and hold to it throughout her life.

This morning my daughter was keeping herself occupied. (She does quite well at this.) After a bit, she called to me, "Mommy, look me." Once she had my attention, she said "Jesus loves me," while pointing to herself. I immediately got up and went to where she was. She had found my Bible on the coffee table, opened it, and was "reading" it. I gave her a big hug and confirmed that Jesus did indeed love her.

She is connecting what we have been teaching her about Jesus. She knows that Jesus and God wrote the Bible and that Jesus lives in Mommy's heart and Daddy's heart. I also told her that someday maybe she would let Jesus live in her heart, too.

As an aside, she also found my gel pen and inked her clothing and some pages in my Bible. She received a clean shirt.

We were asked today at MOPS if we have ever felt hopeless. I thought on that for a bit and came to the conclusion that I have never felt truly hopeless. I know that things aren't hopeless. They may be hard, and I might not like the situation I am in, but God is always there to bring me through. He has always been faithful, and I know he always will be. There is no reason for me to be or feel hopeless.

What did give me pause was this passage from Romans 5:3-5: (and try as I might, when looking in the concordance, I will never find Romans in the S's, or patience when I am looking up Romans) "Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

We go through our suffering and come out on the other side with patience or perseverance, character and hope. And the Holy Spirit is right there with us, helping us along. Jesus never promised us we would have it easy. In fact, he promised us we would have it hard. Sin does that. What he did promise was to be there with us.

As we drifted off to sleep, we rested with the knowledge that the dining room light was working using the switch. Yeah for G and my dad!

It was a frustrating road of hit and miss. Using an older home improvement book, G and my dad mapped out the wiring and figured out what was going on with the mess in the wall and ceiling. It really was a mess. The switch, as it turned out, was a three way switch, with one being at the bottom of the stairs and one in the upstairs hallway. When we moved in, we had no idea what the one switch upstairs worked. Nothing happened when we flipped it. We discovered, when talking to our neighbor, that it is suppose to work the dining room light. When we moved in the dining room light was attached to a ceiling fan that you worked by pulling the chain - no switches. In fact the place where the switch was suppose to be, didn't even have a switch, just a hole. The wires are still cloth covered, and it was very hard to tell what was what.

However, after 3 more hours, G and my dad finally got it working. And what's funny is that while the light worked before all the wires were put back into the wall, after G taped them and shoved them back in, when he flipped the circuit breaker and came up to try the light, it didn't work. There were so many wires in that little space that when he was shoving them back in, some came apart. He pulled them out, retaped them, and while gently pushed them back in, different lights (not involved in the project) went out. Frustrated and sick of electricity, he had to figure out which wires were now being affected. He did however discover the error, and ever so gently coaxed the stupid wires back in and flipped the breaker. Ta da! All lights worked, no sparks flying. He was done.

Well, here we are again. Sunday with sick children. Yes, E got my cold. Maybe she got J's cold, not mine.

G stayed home with the kiddos, while I went to church. With the time change and staying up too late (a problem of ours that has yet to be corrected,) we decided not to get up for the first service, and only one of us would go to the second.

In the afternoon, we had a lovely family time celebrating my sister's birthday. My mom did the cooking.

My dad and G worked to get the light working, to no avail, yet. An aside: G starting working on the dining room light project yesterday around 10:30. Hanging the thing was not the issue. Using the light switch to turn it on and off was. Previous to the light was a ceiling fan. Since we had central air installed we decided to do away with a ceiling fan in the dining room. Problem was the light switch didn't work. I'd say G worked on the project over 9 hours on Saturday by himself and maybe 4 hours with my dad today. Still no light at the end of the tunnel. (Ha ha.)

G is quite frustrated but not ready to give up. My dad is coming over tomorrow night to work on it again.

I think I am on the mend, but I still am blowing my nose more frequently than I'd like. J is still snuffly, E has now caught the cold, but G is putting up a good fight. Today, I went to our early service, and G went to the later one, while the kiddos stayed home. E was a bit upset about that. She wanted to go to church. Instead, she had a big tantrum.

G has a big project due at work and has been working long hours, so he really cares not to get sick just now. Though with his lack of sleep, he is more prone. The project's due on Tuesday, so you know he'll wake up Wednesday unable to breath, with a sore throat. He's at work now, and I should be in bed. But I have the chance to write, so I am.

I forgot to mention that last night G and I had a chance to actually sit, play a game, and have a meaningful conversation. It was really nice. It has not happened in a while, and I assuredly miss it. Sometimes I feel unconnected with him, like we co-habitat, but our relationship is hiding from us. Caring for kids drains energy and time. Our marriage and our parenting needs to be in balance.

Today was a yummy day. The K Family decided to join the B parents for a pancake breakfast at John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. Little did we know that we would be tasters of pure maple syrup on our pancakes and privy to three ways of gathering maple sap - Native American, Colonial, and modern. I vote for modern.

In fact, we have a maple tree, and we bought a tap. This is the maple sap season, so we are going to give it a whirl. I believe to get 1 litre of syrup, one needs to gather around 40 litres of sap (sorry the site I looked at is in metric.) And a mature maple tree produces about 40 litres of sap in a season. It will definitely only be a hobby, probably a short one.

Our tongues did smile this day. E got to run around and release some pent up energy. She had a grand time. It was a beautiful day for an outing, even an impromptu one. And we thought all we were doing was getting pancakes.

We also took a 2 and a 1/2 year old's attention span tour of the Audubon house. I perused the museum shop, purchasing three booklets - Bird Finder, Flower Finder, and Berry Finder to help me keep up on my environmental prowess. I am set for my outdoor expedition. Really, what I want to do is teach my young one about God's awesome creation. I already have some other "Finder" booklets. Happy identifying.

My cold has not relented. I have passed it on to my son. My husband and daughter have not, as of yet, taken ill.

No new upsets from the cat, though I fear for the plant my friend P gave to me. I do like seeing its green fullness gracing the floor of our dining room. But my cat has practically no wits about her. I had it up on the radiator to keep it safer, but really with Patches there is no safe spot. She likes to sit on the radiator to view the outside world through the window. So, I figured the plant would look better on the floor, and I put it there.

I am still sick, by the way and have managed to pass on my germs to my son. E and G have yet to show signs. Tylenol Cold works great at night for a good night sleep, but their daytime version was not worth the many pennies spent. My nose is quite sore, and I would have done better to buy Puffs Plus with Aloe instead of that daytime elixir.

Does anyone want a cat? We have one that I would pay someone to take. I am quite tired of her going to the bathroom else wheres than in her litter box. And while I was gone, she took to throwing up. Six times on our bed, twice in the living room, and twice in the upstairs hallway. Both cats are banned from bedrooms for a while.

I am afraid to say it, but I wonder if she might benefit from some of the techniques used on children. I don't really feel like giving her the time of day, but I don't really want to be cleaning up any more messes.

What does she need that we aren't giving her? I don't really want to find out. I'd rather get a dog.

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Today at MOPS a man spoke about anger, and he opened my eyes to my anger issues.

Why am I so angry at my daughter sometimes? And why does it seem to burst out of me? He said that some people have simmering anger. I don't want to admit it, but I think that's me. He also posed this question - What might be the issues that lead you to have simmering anger as a default setting? I still can't answer it. But I need to.

Another question to think about - Do I have a good reason to be angry? During his talk he spoke about Jonah. Jonah was angry with God and never really settled that. He didn't want God to forgive the people of Nineveh, and so he ran away. And after being spat upon the sand, he drug his feet all the way to Nineveh to tell them about God's impending wrath if there was no repentance, and Jonah continued to be angry when God forgave them. Jonah did not have a good reason to be angry.

I need to understand my anger to rid myself of it.

In my visit with my friend P, she has helped me see how I can better handle my daughter's fits and tantrums. Realizing what her personality is and working with it, instead of forcing my will on her will go a long way. E wants a measure of control, which I can give her. Of course she can not be in total control, because that would just make for an unsafe and destructive environment.

An example, is binkies at nap and bed time. I'd like her to only have one, but does the world come crashing down if she has two? [P started that, by the way. She was fine with one before our visit. But what are aunts for, but spoiling and such?] And I will definitely take my cue from P about eating. E has lately gone hungry at many meals, because she simply won't eat or would sit there all night before she finished. Try one bite, P says. Than, try another bite. And bite by bite her meal is gone or close to it. I have recently also implemented another method where you tell your child to eat a certain number of bites, like you need to eat three more bites of green beans and two more bites of ham. This number method works much better than just saying you need to eat more green beans and ham. They want concrete not arbitrary. I need to remember this in other areas.

I have said how E is a little helper. An example of this is how she felt that J needed his diaper changed. She dragged him over to where she had set up the changing pad. She took his pants and socks off, unsnapped his onesie, and took off his diaper. She got out the wipes and a clean diaper. She wiped off his little parts, than lovingly used that same wipe to dry his tears (much to my dismay, but I let her go, thinking it wouldn't really hurt him.) I did tell her that she shouldn't use a wipe on his eyes, because it might hurt them. Well, little brain that she is, tested the wipe on her own eyes and feeling no pain continued to wipe J's eyes. Again I told her, and again she tested. I had to take the wipe from her. Then she put on a clean diaper and snapped his onesie. In the process of snapping, she felt he had a poopy, so she undid the snaps and wanted to change his diaper again. I told her he was still clean, and we got him back together again. All the while, P is video taping.

I am so thankful for P's insight into the whys of my daughter. Now, if she could only help me with the issues of our cat.

I do so enjoy spending time with my best friend P. She is always open for a visit. We talk and share, watch movies, play games (we are lax in this area right now,) and take care of my kids. We used to do a whole lot of each of the former three things on this list, but with the addition of my kids to the list, the former things have all been cut back. Taking care of kids is a time warp activity.

Even going out has been a task in itself. We had a grand list to tackle on Thursday. But going out twice, the list is still not finished. Really, the best time to go out is in the morning, because afternoon is nap time. But getting ready to leave with plenty of time to complete anything by lunch is near impossible, as P and I well know, since we still have a few stores to get to.

Getting to these stores is important. My husband and I are helping P out with purchasing her everyday needs, since her unemployment has been looming and weighing heavy on her heart. We have been blessed, so we want to pass it on to our friend. After all she has always been generous to us. Whenever we would visit, P would generously share with us. Now we can be generous back.

She continues to be generous to me, even if it isn't monetary. She thought of me and my children in her preparations for our coming - what we might like to eat and do, which games we might play. She thoroughly cleaned her house for our impending visit, staying up way to late to do it. She washed all linens that might touch our fair skin, she vacuumed and mopped her floors to their cleanest shine, she scrubbed the bathrooms free of all insects, dust and grime. Her floors are as clean as it's ever been. It's her way of saying "I love you."

One of her biggest "I love yous" is her willingness to change a long string of wet and dirty diapers. I have no problem letting her change any diaper that needs changing. I find that task to be a stinky one that I just as soon pass off to another. Her latest "I love you" is giving me a chance to take a nap this morning. When I came up from our basement home away from home, there was a note in her beautiful script telling me to wake her after I finished nursing my son. She would watch the bobbins so I could go back to sleep. And really, what more could a sick mother of two small children, who's been sleep deprived, want? Besides a back rub. But hey, she's done that too!

This morning was better. Getting E to bed at a decent time and spending quality time doing so, I think, were key. When I laid her down to sleep, she hardly fussed or cried. I also think she didn't take long to fall asleep, which is also key.

And guess what! She didn't wake up until 7:45. I got to sleep in, sort of. For some reason, J still decided to awake early. He thought he would have a snack at 4:30, than breakfast at 7:30. I even tried taking him upstairs for breakfast, but E still woke up. So I got a little more sleep, but it would also behoove me to get to bed earlier. Though it is hard when the time P and I have while children are sleeping is precious little. We end up staying up way too late for having to get a 2 and a half year old and a 3 month old ready in the morning.

P introduced me to a new game late last night - Up For Grabs. I think she planned it so I would be too tired to play, because I didn't do too well, which didn't sit very well with me. I definitely do NOT like losing.

I am not getting as much sleep as I had hoped to on this vacation trip to my friend's. Apparently my daughter does not sleep well in her basement guest room. It is taking her way too long to fall asleep, and she is not sleeping as long in the morning. So, we are not getting the sleep we need, causing us both to be a bit irritable.

I was especially irritable this morning, when again both children woke at 6:15. After feeding my son, my daughter wanted to be in the pack-n-play. I reminded her that she wasn't getting out for while. She wanted to stay put. So, for an hour I tried to sleep, while hearing my daughter fussing and crying.

I had quite enough of it and spoke out of frustration when she wanted to get down off the bed. I told her I didn't care what she did, she could go play with knives. She responded very seriously, "They are dangerous. No play." I know, I know. Those words should never have been thought, let alone left my lips. My daughter's words diffused my ire. I took her in my arms, apologized, told her she was right and that I didn't mean what I said. I got up, and we came upstairs.

Last night P had some good words of wisdom about dealing with E's strong will. And not seven hours later, her words are lost and my frustration takes hold. I continually fail at keeping my frustration from getting in the way of disciplining my daughter.

I spent Wednesday on the move. I originally planned to leave for my best friend P's house soon after breakfast. That changed to right after lunch when I remembered that on the third Wednesdays of every month is MOTS, and I am working in childcare. I took off three months due to the birth of my son, and now it's time to start up again.

I also realized that my tooth which had a crown put on a few weeks ago just wasn't feeling any better, so I called the dentist. With the morning already full, my only option was the afternoon. They had a 1:00 appointment. My husband was coming home to eat lunch with us before we left, but he ended up watching the kids for me while I visited the dentist instead.

And to top it all off, I really wasn't packed. I had wanted to pack early, but that didn't happen. I kid myself all the time when it comes to time factors. While packing the car, it was made more real to me that a Honda Civic is really not the car for a family of four. (I had that car packed to the top, and my husband wasn't even coming.)

I didn't actually leave until 4:00. I had to stop twice - a crying episode through Wawa with my daughter, and a feeding session with my son. We finally arrived a little after 8:00. Traffic matters didn't help much either.

But we are finally safe and sound in her comfortable cozy home.

This morning I made for the second time Malt-O-Meal hot wheat cereal for breakfast. But unlike previously, I only made one serving. Tried as I might, I could not consume my bowl full. Even while cooking it, I thought the smell of it was a bit too much for me. My daughter, however ate her bowl clean. This morning she pulled the box out of the cabinet and requested it for breakfast. I was happy to oblige her and made her a bowl. She is currently eating it. I am having Corn Chex.

My friend P loves the stuff. I thought about mailing her the box, because she has been unable to find it in stores near her. It was because of her I put the box in my cart, when I came across it at the grocery store. I thought I'd try it. But because my daughter likes it ans even requests it, I will keep the opened box and buy a new one for my friend for next time I see her. I'll stick with Cream of Wheat. (Yes, there is a difference.)

My husband and I didn't really do much for Valentine's Day. We wished each other "Happy Valentine's Day!" but there were no exchange of gifts or cards. We did however get a night out the Saturday before 2-14-07 instead.

Our church sponsored a MOPS and Pops night out. It was for our MOPS moms and their spouses and other members of church who wanted to participate. We signed right up. My mom signed up to babysit. The evening babysitting was from 6-9:30. My mom came over early, so we could have more time together. Then she took the kids to church for us.

I had mentioned to G that I didn't expect him to come up with romantic outings on his own, but he could go on line to get some instead. Apparently he did. He planned our evening as a surprise for me. I love surprises. I was to pick a number, and he would start driving. As we drove we counted restaurants. We would stop and eat at the restaurant corresponding to the number I picked. Since we had some standards, I did change my number to a higher one once. Another idea he found was to find an historic area tour for a date. For some this may be boring, but not for us. My husband found Graeme Park, home of the only colonial home of a Governor still standing. They were holding Valentine's Day tours on Saturday night. My husband reserved us two spots.

It was a nice tour. The house was quite lovely and we saw it by candle and flash light, and in the words of our tour guide, "Much the way it would have been in the 1700s." (You know, with no electricity - except for the very bright spot light illuminating the entire side of the house.) Interestingly, even though the house is hailed as "the only surviving residence of a Colonial Pennsylvania Governor," our tour informed us not about the governor, but about Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, whose father acquired the house sometime after the Governor Keith lived there.

The tour was a play of sorts. We were invited into glimpses of Elizabeth's life from a young girl through to her later adult life. We saw her as a young girl in love with William Franklin, Ben Franklin's son. This match was looked down upon by her father and other folks close to her family. We saw her accept a marriage proposal by William anyway. But with him going away to school, they would wait to wed until his return. Their marriage never came to be, for when William did return to the states he came with a bride. She wed Henry Hugh Fergusson much later in life. That turned out to be a sorry match, for he was a Tory and had an illegitimate child while married to Elizabeth. With her husband's traitorous ways, Elizabeth lost her house, but was allowed to live there provided she pay rent. I think she reclaimed ownership several years later, but I'm not sure.

The actors did rather well, especially the teens. In fact they did better than some of the adults. There was a scene where two men portrayed an officer in the army and a family friend. They used common language from the present, words and phrases that I am quite sure were not used in the 1700s. I didn't like that. If they are portraying the 1700s, than speak like they did, not they way do now.

When we got back to the visitor's center, there were snackies and some hot chocolate. We both took advantage of the food and warm drink to help warm our cold bodies (the house wasn't really heated, and it was a cold evening.)

Our tour was over and we still had time before we had to pick up the kids. So, we headed over to Borders. We wandered through the store, perusing books and stopped off at the cafe for some coffee (G) and iced tea (me).

We had a very nice date night together.

At least three weeks ago, I managed to gather, sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away laundry in one day. It doesn’t happen often, believe me, so it’s worth mentioning. Last week I had to take down laundry from the week before so I could hang the newly washed clothes.

Let’s see . . . what else. Usually what prompts me to clean the tub is not wanting my children to bathe in crud. (My husband and I don’t count, because we just stand in the tub. Actually, my daughter usually stands throughout her time in the tub, but that’s a different story.) And I don’t even want to think about how I am going to keep the toilets clean enough to let my daughter near them for potty training. She doesn’t seem to realize the importance of NOT touching a toilet anywhere but the lid and the flusher.

My girl is very helpful around the house. E likes to help me vacuum. We have a canister vacuum, and she likes to sit on it like it’s a horse. She also helps by pushing the button to retract the cord. She thinks it’s great fun.

She likes to dust with me. She pushes the “on” button for the dryer, turns on the water when I am ready to use the sink. E will help set the table and then help clean it off. She hangs up her coat and puts away her hat, scarf, and mittens.

She also helps with her brother. She picks out his clothes, helps hook him into his car seat and helps unhook him. She is his binkie bearer, fetching it form him and making sure it is safe to suck, by sucking it first. (She is even thoughtful enough to suck it in secret so his doesn’t get jealous.)

My girl is a great help for me, and I enjoy teaching her. It teaches me patients.

I believe that God has called us to be good stewards of our Earth. I also believe that most people fall seriously short of fulfilling this command, including Christians. There are so many things one can do to help our environment.

Recycle, reuse, and cut back.
Put trash in one container, paper in one container and plastic, glass, and steel into another container. Compost food and yard waste.

Use cloth bags at the store or reuse old plastic bags. Don’t throw out “disposable” containers, wash them. Use washcloths or towels instead of paper towels.

Turn off lights not used. Use energy saving appliances and light bulbs. Hang clothes instead of using a dryer. Keep the thermostat at a lower temperature and put on more clothes.

These are just some ideas among the myriad ways one can be a good steward.