Kickin' the habit

Sunday afternoon, we ran to the red dot boutique to pick up this old time remedy for the awful habit of thumb sucking. I was a thumb sucker as a child and I remember this being used on me.

You simply paint this cayenne pepper concoction on the chosen thumb nail as though it were a pretty polish.

It.is.not.

The second that thumb goes into the mouth, you quickly remember to take it out. I tried to use this on Natalie before, but the child sucked right through it. I also felt horrible putting this liquid fire on my child's nail, knowing it was simply not working for her. She was determined to suck her thumb.

Well the big 5 year mark is around the corner as well as summer and kindergarten.

 We mutually agreed that it is time to break this habit. So Sunday we began the fire polish (before we even left the parking lot). She's slipped a few times when I have caught her and a couple where she caught herself and told me about it. So day one down and we are making progress. Her goal is to be done when her daddy gets back from his work trip on Friday.
UPDATES TO COME...

Blessed to be a Mother

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3

Being a mother is like a job you take on with God as your "boss". When He gives you a child, he is trusting you with a huge project. In my devotion, I read about several things God commands of a christian mother.

Availability: morning, noon and night. Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Involvement: Interacting, discussing, thinking and processing life together. Ephesians 6:4

Teaching: Scripture and biblical worldview. Psalm 78:5-6

Training: help your child develop skills and discover her strengths (Romans 12:3-8)

and spiritual gifts. 1Corinthians 12

Discipline: teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consitantly,lovingly, firmly. Eph 6:4, Hebrews 12:5-11, Proverbs 13:24,19:18,22:15,23:13-14,29:15-17

Nurture: Providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection and unconditional love. 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 4:29-32, 5:1-2, Galations 5:22, 1Peter 3:8-9

Modeling Integrity: Living what you say, Being a model from which a child can learn by "catching" the essense of Godly Living. Deuteronomy 4:9,15,23, Proverbs 10:9, 11:13, Psalm 37:18,37

The Bible does not say that every woman should become a mother, but those women who are blessed with children should take the responsibility serious. Mothers play a crucial role in the lives of thier children, it's not a chore or a task. Just as mother bears a child during pregnancy and feeds and cares for the infant, so should she play the role in lives of her children as children, teenage, young adult and even adult children who rear their own. The role of a mother will change and develop, but the love, nurture, care and encouragment will never cease. I am so thankful to have the blessing of a child. I have always known motherhood is a blessing and a responsibility, but I need to make a better effort to follow ALL that

 God commands of me for MY daughter.

Happy Mother's Day!

(yes a day late- but I was enjoying my day)

A little catching up

Wow! My last post April 15th...I was doing so well keeping up on my blogging. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Here's the run down...

April 18th: Melissa, my long time and one of my BFFs arrived with her daughter, Maddie. We had a fabulous time hanging out. She was here until the 28th. We caught up on a lot of things with each other, you tend to fall behind when you live across the country from each other. We laughed a lot! We shopped, we ate out almost every meal, ate at JENI'S ICE CREAM 3 times, got a tattoo, went on a hike to see the bald eagle's nest which we never saw, went to the movies, and just enjoyed each others company with our girls! I miss her and the fun we had!

Celebrated some birthdays! My little neice Shiloh turned 3 on Aprill 22nd! She and I have devloped this bond lately. She is such a neat little girl. The child was more than anything to be as old as her big sister and her cousin, Nat. She is so sweet and helpful. Just this week, she spent the morning with Natalie and I. While we were waiting for Nat to wake up, she helped me gather and start laundry, fold laundry and do dishes. I didn't put her to work, she said "I help you do that, Jackie?" I really wish the booger would call me aunt Jackie! We also celebrated my cousin, Ashley's 27th birthday! Natalie and I, Ashley and Andy went to a local mexican joint (that tends to be our choice of cusine), and ended our evening at yet again JENI'S ICE CREAM! Love that girl! She is so talented, kind and giving and so much fun to be around...

Last week, Natalie came down with strep throat. She was out of commission for about three days, but bounced right back, with lots of energy. I guess she had to make up for laying on the couch for three days.

This week, I along with my AMAZING staff prepared and hosted an open house event at the salon! It was a great success! Lots of stress leading up to it, but it was so worth it! Thanks to all the girls @ Studio 31 Salons!

Natalie has learned to ride her bike without training wheels!!! YAY!!! She gets better daily!

Yesterday, was a fantastic day! Started out not feeling to great, but opted for a massage since Nat was at school. A massage was so needed, as I felt so much better. Josh and I surprised Nat by picking her up from school together! She was so excited, she told me about three times during the day,"that was a wonderful surprise that you and daddy picked me up from school". We had a nice lunch and headed to the opening day of the polar bear exhibit at the zoo. It is a really nice, very cool addition to the zoo. I do love the zoo!

So here we are today. My car being repaired, no transportation at the moment, a storm blowing in, things to do no way to do them, Natalie resting, maybe I'll read one of the two books waiting for me.