to the mamas

Happy Mother's Day....

To my Mama.... who raised me well, who loves me unconditionally, who laughs with me, listens to me and offers advice when needed. I am thankful for her amazing patience and wisdom, for her strength and for her character. For showing me what it means to be a loving wife and an ever giving mother. For teaching me when to be quiet and when to speak up, how to be strong without ever saying a word. She is the picture of the gentle and quiet spirit that I want to be, the pillar of strength for our family and a wealth of wisdom. She is the picture of real and authentic, never fake, yet always gracious, caring and kind. Ever giving and loving to my children in ways that only a Nana can. Always willing to listen to my endless ramblings and share in my ups and downs.... I know this because I still call her every single day. Truly one of my best friends.


To my Mema... who raised my mother to be the woman that she is. A picture of strength and of kindness all together. A beautiful lady from whom I have learned the meaning of perserverance and of hope. Her heart is for her family, and her thoughts , always on others rather than herself. A role model of courage and always there to listen.



To my Grandmama.... because she loves to laugh and she loves to give. Always willing to give of herself, her time, her money, her advice. A true Southern lady in every sense, always willing to put her family first.



To my mother-in-law.... because she has taken me in and loved me as one of her own. Because she loves my children so well. Because she gave to me one of the most priceless things in her possession... the gift that is my husband. A giving heart like no other who is always willing to put herself aside for the needs of her family. A fountain of wisdom for me to draw from in raising my own children, because she raised hers so well.



To Grandmom... because of her gentle presence and encouraging words. Her heart for the Lord and the example she's set. Her amazing faith and the years of wisdom from which she has to glean. Her gentleness and strength, an example for our family and for generations to come.



I am thankful for all the Mamas in my life. Thank you for making me into the Mama that I am learning to be and for continuing to set a godly example before our family. We love you.


"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Proverbs 31:28-29

where I've been and why

Not that anyone has been waiting on the edge of their seats.... but it's been a while since my last post. The main reason for this is logistics. It's just not as easy to blog now that we have put our computer away. Obviously not completely away, but away from the convenient place that it used to be.

Our kids love the computer. And, truth be known, so do I. But, simply put, we were just spending way too much time and mental energy regulating who was on the computer and when, whose turn is was and how much time was too much. We were also noticing that Jacob is significantly more "chatty" and engaged when he has no screen time. Our girls seemed to be able to function fine with some computer game time and a few videos here and there. But boys seem to be different. At least this boy. His mind doesn't seem to be able to focus when these things are in his world. So.... we removed them. Completely.

He no longer has any TV time and zero computer time. Sounds kind of cruel, doesn't it? Well, it's not. Our boy, who is and has been struggling so with language and engagement is suddenly a social butterfly. He's talking and laughing and playing and imagining and discovering new joys that he never even knew existed.

I don't think this is the only factor is this change we are seeing. We have also changed his diet and implemented a few more proactive things to help with his development. And even though I think he willl still need some speech therapy to catch up, I really think that this removal of screen time is the main thing that is making a difference.

I think (and it has been proven by people who are much smarter than I am) that "screen time", even in small amounts, really effects children's brains in adverse ways, and boys are especially susceptible to this. I recently read a widely accepted study that said that for every hour of daily screen time a kid has between the ages of 1 and 4, their risk for having ADHD by age 7 goes up 10%. (I would cite who did that study, but I don't remember... I read it while standing in the bookstore.)

A love for TV and computer time for our kids has never been a value that we truly desired to give to our children. In fact, we are, in theory, opposed to it. We've gone years in our marriage with no TV at all and hardly missed it. But as kids get older, life gets busier and my comfort is to gravitate towards what is easy. And that's what I've done. I've traded what is best for my kids for what is easier. So now... we pull the ox out of the ditch.

I'm certainly not proposing that our choices should be everyone's choices. I am, however, amazed at the difference I've seen in our family. It's a difference I knew would happen in some ways, yet was amazing in others. I'm seeing the value of the common-sense values of our parents and the fruit of passing those on to my children.

I like bandwagons. And sometimes I am prone to jump on them. But this, I hope, is more than that. It's a choice we're making for our family and I'm excited to see where it will lead. We'll still use computers for school and in a responsible way. And we'll still have the occasional family movie night. But without these distractions as a part of our daily lives, there are so many other valuable things I want to be doing with my kids. And now we have the chance to do them.

This week, we've hunted for snails and blown bubbles. Gone for walks, played in a field of dandelions, played dress up, gone to a baseball game, saw fireworks, and got haircuts. We went to the Children's Museum, played in the sandbox, walked on the beach, did a beach clean-up day and threw rocks. We did puzzles, went to the library, played with wiki-sticks and read a ton of books. We made birthday cards, practiced flashcards, played with friends and watched dump trucks. The list goes on. But those are a few examples of why I wish I had been bold enough to make this decision years ago.

A week without TV and computer games. And we're just so not missing it. Really.

And, by the way, you know that I took pictures of all of those things I listed up there. I just have to put my computer back together to download them all. :)