The way to a (little) man's...

Obedience is through food (his stomach).

Thought I was going to say heart, huh? As a Momma I don't have to fight my way to his heart it's already mine, at least for now. I know one day he will grow up and his heart will go to another woman, but for now it belongs to me. The way to his obedience, though, is through food! As an almost 2 year old wearing 3t-4t clothes it is obvious that he enjoys eating. In fact he has yet to learn the word "hungry" to indicate his need for food he simply walks up to me and says "Momma. Eat." So, when I need his obedience and I know there is a treat already in mind I use it! The other day the kids and I made sugar cookies and I took full advantage of using them to get Caleb to take a bath (which is not usually a fight but this time he had cookies on the brain). I have not forsaken discipline to teach obedience but I do try to choose my battles :)

My little Man

The one who has my heart as much as I have his

Chased By Rain

Our first adventure for today was our Garage Sale. I have been preparing for this sale for a couple of weeks, but it has definitely consumed my attention the last few days. We have a few things around the house that need replacing. We were given a new dining table that I am so excited about. It is just a plain black wooden table but it's just what I wanted.

I wanted a table like this for several reasons:

1. Ours was too big for the space. It has been since it was given to us. I never complained about the size because I would rather a table that is slightly too big than too small.

2. Ours was solid wood but had two glass pieces in the center - I don't think I even need to explain why I didn't like the glass - 3 kids

3. Ours had fabric seats and backs. Again - 3 kids. While the corduroy cleaned easily it was still a pain. Our new chairs (2 still needed) and bench (Matt will build) will be wooden.

I have sold our old table and chairs on craigslist and made enough to buy material for a bench. So I am trying to raise money to cover cost of chairs.

The girls also need new matresses for their beds. They are still sleeping on the used matresses that came with the bunkbeds when I bought them in October of '07. Natalie has requested a new matress for a while so I owe her a new one.

There are a few other 10 year old kitchen items I would like to replace as well!

All of that to say, with all of my hard work of getting ready and setting up for the garage sale we were run off just a few hours into it by the rain. It started as a slow drizzle and quickly progressed into a hard rain. Our garage is detached from our house and is set back in our yard so we threw everything into the back of the van and scrambled to get the rest into the garage. We were so soaked we had to change clothes.

It was quite the adventure and pretty fun at the same time! Here's hoping for the rain to hld off in the morning so that I can continue the sale!

( I will post pics of the new table next week after Matt finishes building the bench)

The Start of Something Grand

Alright, so I am going to set up two blogs. This one will be one that documents the life and adventures of our incredible family. I hope you enjoy as I share our joys and frustrations and challenges. I will be creating another bog where I will share thoughts and discoveries as I explore deeper the greatness of our great God!

Love to all,

Heather