Strive for five

STRIVE FOR FIVE!!!!! If anyone is familiar with the beloved Wegmans of upstate New York, you undoubtedly have heard this phrase! Strive For Five is the grocery chain's logo that encourages shoppers to eat atleast five cups of fruits and vegetables a day, and thus buy more food from them! Let's take this phrase and use it for a goal to spend time sharing Christ with our children on a daily basis. This is a good starting point if you are a new believer or if you have fallen away for while also. What could be more important then our relationship with GOD and spending time getting to know him? We say nothing, ofcourse! But our actions often tell otherwise. It is also so important to share God's Word and pray with our Children, even at a young age. This is something that I have been trying to do. I read a little Biblestory to Mike this a.m. and then we prayed together. It was soooo precious to hear him pray and talk to God! Five minutes a day is not much time at all. Most preschooler's attention spans are about that long, so it's perfect. Let's think for a moment about what we spend 5 minutes of our day on... hmmm... for me.... tweezing my eyebrows (Only if your Italian like me would that take so long! Lol!), Watching the morning weather forcast, picking up toys in the playroom, checking my email, Staring at a room in my house and moving things around, Waiting on hold to make an appointment, putting on my makupe, chasing the dog around the house, who has once again stolen a dirty diaper out of the garbage or my underwear out of the laundry! I am sure I could go on forever but you get the point. None of these things are even close to being as important as spending time with the Lord and teaching my children to pray, seek God, and develop a relationship with him. But they all take up atleast five minutes of my time on a regular basis! How much time in your day are you devoting to God? If you have children, how much time are you devoting to nurturing their spiritual needs? Lets Strive for Five. Leave those dishes in the sink, skip your eyemakupe for one day, turn off the t.v., leave the toys for later. Grab your kids and share with them God's love for them. It will make a difference in their lives, and yours!

This is what we do.....

1. We talk about who we could pray for and decide who will pray for what, then we pray

2. I then pick out a Bible verse to read. We read it and talk about what it means and how we can apply it to our lives.

3. Then we usually will go over some memory verses that I keep on notecards in a little recipe box

PROJECT IDEA: PRAYER JAR

With your kids, put the names of everybody that you know on little peices of paper. You can even include the president, Christians in China, and the Mailman, whoever you want! Put them all in a cleaned out candle jar or some other sort of jar. When you have your meals, or during your devotion time let the children each pick out a name or two and add those people to your prayers! The kids will be so excited to pick a name and it will help encourage them to pray!

Hope this has been an encouragment to you! Have any other ideas or comments? Please Share!!!
Love,
Shannon

TOP TEN funny things my kids have said and done

1. ( 2006)When Michael was first born, Domenic was about two and a half years old. At that time we realized that yes, even children as young as two years old are capable of lying! Michael was laying in his crib watching his mobile spin. I told Domenic not to touch the mobile and I went into the other room. I came back to find the mobile ontop of baby Michael! After fixing it, I asked Domenic if he touched it and knocked it down like I told him not to. He looked at me with a completely strait face and said, "Michael hit it really hard" Ofcourse he did not! He was only an infant! Lol. Lets just say Dom got into trouble fo that one!

2. After peeing all over me while learning to go pee on the potty, Michael looks up at me (who had just flipped out!) and says with a pouty lip and big eyes, "Sorry about that mom." I have to say I couldn't be upset at him after that.

3. (Oct. 2008) It was fall and the boys were outside raking leaves and playing in them. I had gone inside to take care of Sam. I came back out a while later after Domenic told me he had a great idea: Sliding down the slide into the leaves. Yes, that would normally be a good Idea. But when I came outside I realized he had left out one little detail. He and Michael decided to do this IN THE GARAGE!!!!! They had raked all the piles of leaves in teh front yard into the garage!!! You couldn't even see the ground. As I helped them rake out the garage it definitly was not funny; but I can see the humor in it now!

4. (Feb. 2009) I was cleaning the coffee table with pledge wood cleaner and Domenic looks at me and says, " Mom, why are you putting Chemicals on the table?"

5. (Feb. 2009) I was making a salad and the boys wanted to eat some cucumber slices so I gave them each one. I look in the family room and they have their shirts off and their cucumbers in their mouths like mouthgaurds as they pretended they were fighters.

6. I was cleaning the house and singing that song that goes "No air, how am I suppost to breathe with no air... no air.." Domenic looks at me with this raised eyebrow and says, "Mom, you couldn't! You would just die!"

7. When Domenic found out we were having a baby shower at our house he asked me, " But mom, how are you all going to fit in the shower?"

8. When Michael was 3 we went on a walk one afternoon and he was riding his scooter. Out of the blue he stopped his scooter and said, "wait mom! Someone is texting me" He pulled out his toy phone opened it up and pressed a couple buttons. Looking up he said, "Its Buzz" then put the phone back in his pocket and got back on his scooter!

9. Pretending to talk on the phone one day Michael said, "Hi Domenic. I miss you. I'm stuck here with the two girls!"

10. We took the boys skating at R.I.T one day. Domenic saw the big metal sculpture and said to Bryan, "what is that?" Bryan told him it was art. Domenic then said, "It looks like a big pile of garbage!"

So there you have it! And knowing my kids, there will definitly be more to come!! I hope this gave you a good laugh!

Love,

Shannon

Thanks and Thoughts on Mother's Day

On this Mothers Day, I would like to thank my grandmother for raising my mother to be such a great woman! I would like to thank my mother for being such an example of godliness and love; for all the sacrifices she made for me growing up; and for raising me to love the Lord. I would like to thank my mother-in-law for all she does and for the amazing man who is now my husband. I would like to thank my husband, for without him I would not have my three beautiful children. I am so blessed to be a mother and to be able to stay home with my children as they grow up! I never could have dreamed I would have been blessed with such a life! There is no one else I would rather be than mommy. Mom to a six year old fully dressed in camo outside collecting bugs and climbing trees. A boy who says to me on a rough day, " Mom, you look tired, why don't you go lay down and rest and I will do the dishes." A boy who is so protective over his sister that when she hurts her head on the door, he goes crazy " beating up" the door, because he is so mad that it hurt Sam! (Can't wait to see what he is going to do when the first boy hurts her! Lol) Mommy to a four year old who needs his blue doggie in order to sleep every night. A boy who loves to cuddle and give me kissess all day. A boy who would rather drink milk than eat food (Milkle the Milkaholic). The little man who just attracts coolness and can hold a beat from any song he hears. Momma to a little princess who already loves shoes. The one who says babada for bananna, and who sings "dada, dada, Papa, Papa" all day. She is a little girl who loves her doggie and loves to climb on his back and bounce on him. Her first words were no, stop, and dont! (lol! She had all the critical ones down to manage her brothers) definitly a little girl who can hold her own! She is a true daddy's girl who loves to give him kissess and cuddle in his neck when she is sleepy. Each one of my precious little gifts I am so thankful for! It is a priviledge to care for them. Lastly I want to thank my God for entrusting me with their little souls. I pray that as their mother, especially on this mother's day, I would be a mother that glorifies and pleases him. A mother that raises her children to love and serve the Lord.

Introduction to Growing God's Gifts

Hi Everybody! Yes, I too, have officially joined the blogging bandwagon! I have decided to start this blog in an attempt to motivate myself in my goal of daily encouraging my children to follow Christ. I am a stay at home mom, with my oldest child in public school. I am realizing more and more how fast they grow up and how early the world starts attempting to make its mark on our children. My desire is to Make my time home with the Children Matter! (Check out My Sis-In-Law's blog: makeitmatterjr.blogspot.com) I thought that maybe this would not only encourage me to be consistent, but also other mothers who have the same goal! Striving to raise your children to be "in the world, but not of the world" can be a daunting task, especially when they are in school most of the day. We struggle ourselves with the same thing! But it is important, and God would not give us mothers a task that was impossible. I will be blogging about ways we can point our children to Christ including devos, activities, ect. I will also be sharing stories of my experiences with my children as i strive for that goal. Even if you don't have kids, I promise you will atleast get a lot of laughs out of this blog. I will be posting all the funny things that the kids say and do on a regular basis! Along with all that, I will be giving updates on our family and on the new ministry we are starting at Open Door Baptist Church called "hearts in his hands." This ministry's goal is to encourage and support new and expecting mothers as they start off on a new chapter of their life! I am by no means an expert, but learning as I go, so if u have an idea or imput, especially if you are an experienced mom who has "been there and done that" Please Share!!! and stay tuned!

Godbless,
Shannon