Easter Rice Krispies Nests

Despite the many cookie recipes I try, a favorite among the kids, and Hub especially, are Rice Krispies  treats.  I remember the early days in college when I first met my sweetheart and wanted to impress him with some good home cooking. Sadly, in my tiny dorm room I only had a microwave and a pot for boiling water. Sometimes you have to make due and in this mini-dorm room microwave I would whip up Rice Krispies treats for him and they stole his heart!

Parenting Teens: Trust

Recently our oldest son stood behind me and said, "Mom, fall back.  I'll catch you."  My first response was, "No Way!  What if you drop me?  What if I fall on the floor?  What if I break my arm?  What if you hurt your back trying to catch me?  What if?  What if?  What if?"  The negative What if's? floating around my brain can overwhelm me leaving me just an anxious ball of stressed out momma worrying about the next terrible What if? consequence rather than thinking of the positive What if's?

Positive, relationship building What if's might be,  "What if I do fall back and he catches me and then knows I trust him? or What if he catches me and realizes his strength and God-given sense of protection for another?  What if I literally place my safety in the hands of another and I build trust as a result?  What if this simple act proves to our son I trust him?" 

After a moment thinking about the worst that could happen if I was dropped, I placed my trust in our oldest son.  Guess what?  He caught me.  I really think it was a trust building moment for us.  He knew I trusted him in that moment and I completely let go of the what if's and believed he was going to do the right thing and not let him momma fall on the floor.

I think it's safe to say the consensus on raising teens is: It's tough.  Our oldest is now an official teen.  It wasn't so long ago he was the little pee wee wrapped around my thigh, climbing counters and leaping from just about everything.  He is now growing inches overnight and looking me in the eyes.  His coolness factor has been on the steady up climb.  He's getting stronger, more athletic, and the braces are taking care of the gaps that resulted from a missing front tooth.  AND he's got cool hair.  I think he's got the cool exterior stuff going on, but what really counts is his character. I'm blessed he's a young man of integrity, compassion, and wisdom.  I wish when I was his age I had half of the integrity, wisdom, confidence and heart he possesses.  He truly amazes me!

Seems like yesterday we had this type of activity going on at the house.  Climbing, Climbing, Climbing!

Last weekend, I dropped the boys off at a birthday party.  This little party has been stressing me out for days.  The invitation was from a girl.  This is the FIRST girl party invitation we've received since a preschool fire station party (I think) and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  We're friends with the family through sports and they're great, but a girl (co-ed) party?  And to make matters more stressful, it was a party with 22 girls invited and...4 boys!  Can I hear an "OH MY WORD!"

I'm sure all who are reading this have an opinion about what to do in the situation.  I think it's often difficult to draw a hard line that would apply to all kids.  I've read many parenting books offering advice I'd never use or some advice I'd use with one of our kids, but not the other.  Some strategies work with one, but are downright failures with the next.  There doesn't seem to be a "one size fits all" method of parenting therefore I think it's important to be flexible and weigh the situation.

After much conversation, a review of family guidelines/expectations, and some compromise we allowed our boys to attend the party.  They were together and they really hold each other accountable.  They are great for each other.  On the way to the party we talked about how as parents their dad and I are just learning how to navigate this season of life.

While dropping them off, I spoke to the mom relayed my concerns.  She was understanding.  I left.  As I drove away, I really felt they were fine.  They were just going to have pizza, play in the pool, play some games and have a little cupcake.  A part of me was still stressed.  I headed to the beach for a release the stress run. 

The crashing waves, the sun and the smell of bon fires and bbq's does wonders!  I feel so at peace at the beach.  I set my ipod to shuffle and started running.  I love when I set it to shuffle and the "right" songs come on for what my heart needs at the time.  About a mile into the run, the song "I Surrender All" came on.  Since I'm a recovering "Control Freak" these words soothed my soul.

I Surrender All

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now,
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all
All to Jesus I surrender
Make me Savior wholly thine
May Thy Holy Spirit fill me
May I know Thy power divine
I surrender all
I surrender all

All to Thee my blessed Savior

There are so many things I need to surrender.  The kids we've been blessed to parent are first and foremost God's Kids.  He loves them more than I ever will.  We've parented thirteen years as we enter the teen years we'll slowly allow each child to make more and more decisions.  Isn't that what parenting is about?  Slowly letting your kids become the men/women God has designed them to be.  One day, they'll each need to make tough decisions and if they've never made the little initial ones they won't know what to do.  I can honestly say I trust our kids.  We've watched them, made mental notes, and have developed trust.

The boys were grateful they were allowed to go to the party.  They handled the situation very well.  On the way to the car our middle son announces with enthusiasm, "Mom, there wasn't any inappropriateness!  We just played in the pool and ate."  He was so happy it was a great party and there was fun had by all.  Furthermore, he knew his semi-stressed out momma could breathe a sigh of relief.  One milestone on this journey of parenting was reached.

Coincidentally, or not so much so, Focus on the Family has a radio broadcast today about raising and parenting teens.  It's well worth the listen! 

Here's the link:  http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?MediaId={71FAEC9D-F42B-42D7-A23D-AE3F5206F24B}

Our oldest and I.  Taking the teen years one day at a time, and having a being blessed along the way.

Summer Stay-cation

Summertime conjures up ideas of fabulous get-aways to beaches, mountains, far-away islands and rustic campgrounds.  Whether you're a camping family, a traveling family, or a relaxing-by-the-poolside family summer means vacation!  But living on a single income with the current economic struggles, rising gas prices, and the cost of airfare, planning an {expensive} get-away can be impossible.  Even with the best planning and bargain hunting, a vacation for a family of five is just not always financially possible.  

Sometimes vacations are best left to the off-season when airfare is cheaper and hotels offer bargains.  I've gotten accustomed to and quite successful at Name Your Price on Priceline.com.  On previous trips we've managed $250 round-trip airfare from the west coast to Washington D.C.  Lodging at 3.5 star hotels for $58 per night and inexpensive car rentals.  We've traveled with no plan in site, just internet phone access while we're on the road and hotel reservations made on the fly.  I know not everyone is comfortable not having a plan, but sometimes last minute can save big bucks.  Granted, I knew the hotels were not going to be full because it was the off-season so we were not concerned.  If we were traveling to a city with a convention during the peak season, I'd make reservations in advance.

This summer we were hoping to visit our hometown in the Pacific Northwest, but it doesn't seem feasible so we're going to try mini-staycations.  I was pretty bummed about not being able to visit friends and family. While driving yesterday, the kids and I were listening to an Adventures in Odyssey cd we received at the Focus on the Family event we attended.  The program was titled "Our Best Vacation Ever" and the episode was on stay-cations!  God has such perfect timing!  I didn't even know the episode was on the disc and my heart was settled.  Listening to the cd came after our oldest son sent me the most precious email,

"I know this trip (if we go) is going to be loads of fun but this thousand plus dollars that we might or might not have why spend it and then not have money for a while.  Having to cut back and really watch it because we don't have much money waiting for dad to get his next pay check.  Why not save it for something for our family or use it just to get by and have a back drop in case something happens?"

Such wisdom from a little guy.  This summer we'll travel to local destinations and see what we can experience close to home on our limited budget.

Recently my parents visited and we've started our stay-cations. I'll post some of our fun day trips.  Before we moved from the Pacific Northwest, we went on a number of day trips.  Sometimes it was just a visit to a local lake and then a trip to a bakery or a visit to an unfrequented park.  The options are endless and the fun is being with family.

A must have if you live or want to travel in Southern California is Fun and Educational Places to Go with Kids and Adults in Southern California.  It is a GREAT resource for field trips, day trips, and vacations.  It is thorough with descriptions of fun spots, costs, and contact information.  

So, if money is tight there's still a lot of fun to be had.  Stay-cations can be the best un-get-away!

More Inspiration- TOMS Shoes & Sunglasses

Last night we were blessed to attend a recorded taping of a Focus on the Family Feet on the Ground Event.  Brandon Heath started the night off with his awesome heartfelt music.  While he was singing "Give Me Your Eyes," I was reminded of a service class I taught at our local homeschool co-op.  This song was one of our theme songs for the class.  We prayed that we would have the eyes of Jesus to see the needs around us and to respond to those needs.  As a class we saw kids giving sacrificially, working to serve others, and then paying blessings forward to others.

Following the singing, we heard from Amon Kasambala, the CEO of Focus on the Family Africa.  Focus on the Family Africa has been so instrumental in African countries in helping care for the orphans, family education and community service. The mission is "Nurturing and Protecting Families in Africa through Outreach and Trustworthy Resources."  


Lastly, Jim Daly from Focus interviewed TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie.  Here's a clip on the history of TOMS.

Blake shared his inspiration in starting TOMS, one of his many entrepreneurial efforts, and the success he has experienced.  He shared about his faith in Christ and his heart to reach others in a self-sustaining business.  To date, TOMS has given away over a million shoes worldwide!  Amazing!  Jim shared the verse from Luke 12:48 "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  Blake is living out this verse and his giving is an inspiration to us all.

I love the faces in the following short TOMS clip!  Such precious children.

A few weeks ago TOMS launched their next One For One product.  Watch this touching video:

All of us, has the capacity to give to others.  Today is a great day to look at ways we can serve.  Ask God to give you eyes to see a need.  Listen.  Be creative. Maybe it's a smile. Maybe it's making a meal for a neighbor who just had a baby. Perhaps it's opening up your home to an orphan. Or, maybe it's buying a pair of TOMS shoes or sunglasses so that one can be given away.  Whatever you choose to do, I'm sure through your sacrifice, it will be blessed.

Happy Giving!!