Advent Day Nine

                                                           Joseph: A Righteous Man


We read together:

Matthew 1:18-24;

^"18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His nameJesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife."

                                 Working on Joseph ornament and got the Mary ornament to compare to


I asked Sissy, how she thought Joseph felt when he found out he would be the earthly father to Jesus. She said, "He was happy." :-)

Advent Day Eight

                                                         He will Shine Like the Sun

We read together: 

Luke 1:57-80

New King James Version (NKJV)

Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸ When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹ So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰ His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”
⁶¹ But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
⁶³ And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵ Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ And all those who heard them kept themin their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy

⁶⁷ Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸ “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
⁷⁰ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶ “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited^[a] us;
⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

    Our sun ornament

Advent Day Seven

                                                             Mary's Song

We read together:

Luke 1:46-56

The Song of Mary

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁸ For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
⁵⁰ And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
⁵² He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
⁵⁵ As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

                                                      ignore the lack of makeup and wet hair :-)

Advent Day Six

                                                            Mary and Elizabeth

We read this together:

Luke 1:39-45

³⁹ Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

⁴² Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed areyou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Then the craft we did today was pregnant Mary and Elizabeth ornaments. This has been Sissy's favorite craft so far. 

                                          Sissy painting Mary and Elizabeth 

                                         Afternoon snuggles with Moses (Nana's dog)

Advent Day Four and Five

                                                        The Angel Gabriel and Mary 

We had to do a catch up day and so we did both day four and five together, first we read:

Luke 1:26-38

New King James Version (NKJV)

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸ Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

                                         Angel ornament (sorry best pic I could get :)

                                         Our Mary ornament

Advent Day Three

On day three we read: 

Luke 1:5-25

New King James Version (NKJV)

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wifewas of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸ So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’^[a] and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
¹⁹ And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. ²⁰ But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
²³ So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. ²⁴ Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Then we made our Zechariah ornament. Sissy loves his "silly face". 

Walking into favor

So, I have to quickly interrupt my Advent postings because a wonderful surprise came in the day today and I want to share it with my "readers". HA. The week before Thanksgiving I was asking the Lord for favor and just His hand to be on me. That evening on a date with my husband I got a notification on my phone that I had won a drawing on a facebook page for a sweet package of lotions from Delish Naturals. I was pretty excited! Then the next day which was Friday I went to a soiree at our local cloth diapering store and on the way I told my husband I was going to win if they had any drawings, he smiled at me. He went to get some dinner with our three year old while I took the one year old to walk around the store. When he came to get me and entered the store the owner told him to enter the drawing they were having, he was like "no, thats ok," but then I told him to and he did. WELL, he ended up winning the grand prize drawing of $100 worth of cloth diapering products and I won the third place drawing! I just felt the favor of the Lord on us and that was worth much more than any of the awesome products.

Then to finish off my little story the next day we went thrift store shopping to find my husband a suit jacket and as we were walking in the store I just asked the Lord for favor and to help me find something special. I went to the picture section and right in front of me was this little picture of Jesus on the road to Emmaus, my dad has a big one hanging in his office and I have always loved it. I turned it around and it was only $2. I was going to go look for more things and felt the Holy Spirit say to my heart "you got what you came in here for." I am so happy to have this picture hanging as a reminder of how Jesus longs for my friendship and to have my heart attuned to hear His whisperings throughout the day.

Advent Day One and Two

                                                  Jesus is the Light and the King

Isaiah 9:2-7

New King James Version (NKJV)

² The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.

³ You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;^[a]
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
⁴ For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
⁵ For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

⁶ For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

                             Days One, Two and Three

Day One: Jesus is our Light in a dark world

                       My boy and our Jesse Tree

With Days One and Two we read Isaiah 9:2-7 and I talked about how it was dark in the world (turned off the lights in the room) and then Jesus came to bring LIGHT! Day Two is about the Kingship of Jesus and that is just naturally easier to explain to my little Princess. He has a white horse and is coming to earth to be our Hero, where He will rule and reign!! Can't wait for the day! Maranatha come quickly!

                      Day Two: Jesus is King of Kings

Advent with My Toddlers

Taking a break from my cloth diapering posts to catch up on whats really important this month:  The birth of our Savior. We are on day five of Advent and so I am going to do catch up posts tonight and tomorrow.

Since my kids are so young (one and three) I didn't want to overwhelm them and really wanted them to be captured with the nativity story of Jesus. I decided to download and print "Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands" and supplement it with "Everyday Emmanuel". We are also reading different Christmas books everyday that are focused on Christ and His birth and I will share some of our favorites as we get closer to Christmas.

Cloth Diapering Cont

                                            Cloth diapering Continued: Diaper Lingo 


Forget learning Spanish or another foreign language, I know the language of the cloth diaper addicts!! The lingo is reason enough to scare away a curious first time momma! What does, "AIO", "OS", "Fitted",  and "Hybrid" mean anyway? What in the world is a "wet bag", "boingo", or "diaper liner"? What do I even do with a "flat", a "prefold", or a "cover"?! Why are you confusing me with these words?! Ok, I promise I will try to make this as simple and painless as possible.

                                                       

Cloth Diapers pretty much fall into three categories: Sized Diapers, Two-Size Diapersand then the most popular One Size Diapers (OS). Sized Diapers are sold in different sizes: small, medium, large or if they are Two-Sized they come in two sizes that are based on weight. They are bought for their trimness and fit.  They also last through multiple children since you aren't using them as long as One-Size diapers. The downside is you have to purchase multiple sizes as your baby grows. One-Size Diapers are true to their name and fit a baby from infancy to potty training. They do this by adjusting in the rise as the baby grows, however because of this they are bulkier in the beginning than a Sized Diaper. However, they are one of the most economical cloth diaper investments since you will not need to buy more diapers.

                                                               Kinds of Cloth Diapers
The gateway diaper- The All-In-One (AIO). This is the infamous diaper that started my diaper addiction, and it is commonly called the easiest diaper to use and the closest comparison to a disposable (sposie). This diaper usually has a layer of polyurethane laminated fabric (PUL) that surrounds an attached cotton or fleece layer that lays next to the baby's bum. It then fastens with snaps or velcro just like a sposie.

An example of an AIO is Cotton Babies' Elemental Diaper pictured here:

The Pocket Diaper is the second diaper I tried and is still my go-to diaper. There are three parts that make up the pocket diaper. The first is the PUL layer just like the AIO, then secondly the pocket diaper has a moisture wicking fabric that will be touching the baby directly, the third and what makes it different than the AIO is that these two layers form a "pocket" that you then stuff with an absorbent insert.

An example of a pocket diaper is Kanga Care's Rump-a-rooz pictured here:

                                                        Picture of Rump-a-rooz insert

Then we have the All-In-Two (AI2) and Hybrid diapers, these diapers are made of two parts; a cover and then absorbant inserts that snap into the diaper and can be removed when the baby needs to be changed. With these diapers you can usually get by with 3-4 covers, which makes them a big money saver

And with Hybrid diapers you can also use disposable inserts that are biodegradable instead of cloth inserts.

The Fitted Diapers give your baby a contoured fit but require a cover to make them waterproof. You are guaranteed to get a perfect fit with a fitted, pardon the pun. However, they can be a more expensive way of cloth diapering. If you go the fitted route you will need Fitted Diapers and then covers either PUL, fleece, or wool to complete your stash. Most Fitteds are made of natural fibers that are breathable and there are some really, ridiculously cute Fitteds out there, which is always a plus!

Lastly, we have Prefolds and Flats, the diapers than transcend the generations. Flat diapers are the grandmother of all diapers, a big piece of absorbent cotton that you then fold to fit your baby. A Prefold diaper is only slightly different than a Flat as the middle has a more absorbent layer than the sides. Both diapers need covers to be waterproof but are definitely the most economical way of cloth diapering or growing a smaller stash quickly. After you have mastered the different folds, Flats and Prefolds are actually quite fun. They are the pure and simplistic way of cloth diapering.

So there you have all the different diapers! In my next post I will talk about covers. 

The World of Cloth Diapering

                                                  

                                                        Cloth Diapering: Part One


This could be a long series... just sayin.. I have a lot to say on the subject :-) I decided to cloth diaper when Sissy was 6 months old, mainly because I wanted to save some $$$ but also because I wanted to be a "crunchier mommy". I wanted to get dioxin and sodium polyacrylate off my baby's bottom!! I had already tackled the chemicals in my house cleaning and skin care. I even brought my own baby wash and lotion to the hospital when Sissy was born because I didn't want the Johnson & Johnson parabens touching her little, newbie body. So, cloth diapering was the next thing to tackle! After doing hours and hours and hours of research, I found an awesome deal on Craigs List and bought six bum genius AIO in size medium. Since I only had six I usually didn't make it through a whole day and had to wash every night. I quickly became addicted to the world of cloth diapering with all its idioms and phrases and went on to try a wide variety of different diapers. Three years later and I have tried am assortment of different diapers, diapered a newborn, had two in cloth and even three for a short while with foster babies, successfully conquered the world of night diapering and know a thing or two about cloth trainers. I definitely have my opinions but the awesome thing about mothering is that you really have to figure out what works for you through trial and error. What works for me, might not work for you! But perhaps I can save you some frustration and keep some money in your pocket by sharing a little of what I learned.

If you are still interested in cloth diapering please read these short blog posts that I think are helpful:

The Cloth Diaper Whisperer: Converting Others to Cloth

Dirty Diaper Laundry: Don't Be Afraid of the Cloth Diaper Monster 

This is a great little resource book, Changing Diapers, written by Kelly Wels (The Cloth Diaper Whisperer). 

I have more to say but my little buddy boy just woke up.

DIY: Dishwashing detergent

I was waiting to run out of my beloved Seventh Generation dishwashing detergent to begin experimenting with some more cost efficient solutions. Seventh Generation is my favorite natural dishwashing detergent I have used but gets pretty pricey at around $8 a bottle. For quite a while I was using Palmolive because it is pretty inexpensive and says "Eco" and "Phoslate Free" and "Better for lakes and streams" right there on the bottle so I figured it must be semi-natural, plus it is conveniently sold at Target. Then I found out not only is it owned by Colgate and has chlorine in it but a host of other dangerous ingredients. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) gives it an "F".

I went back to using Seventh Generation but my pocket book was hurting. So, I decided to start experimenting and making my own. I am still not sure where I stand with using Borax, so opted to leave it out for now. Lindsay over at Passionate Homemaking (one of my favorite blogs, I have been following it for years) had a recipe for homemade dishwashing detergent I decided to try.

Very simple.
1/2 cup of Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds
1/2 cup of water
1 tsp lemon juice
3 drops of tea tree oil
1/2 cup of white vinegar

I added a 1/2 cup of baking soda (I wanted my dishes clean!)

***Update: I have been using this for the last two weeks. It definitely does not get my dishes as clean as Seventh Generation but it is soooo much cheaper to make! I am not sure exactly how much I am saving though since I do have to lightly wash my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher to make sure they are really getting clean.  I would be interested in exploring that more. I miss the smell of Seventh Generation's dishwashing detergent, so lemony and light. The white vinegar smell is not at all pleasant. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with this recipe but am going to keep experimenting..

First Book Review: Montessori From The Start

I have been on a mission to get our little household organized and de-clutter this month, along with starting some basic schooling with my oldest who is three. I am going to call her by her nickname "Sissy" for this blog. Also, I have been working on focused play time with my little "Tiger" who is pictured, he is fourteen months. I love my kids! They are my delight and I love that we get to go on this adventure called "life" together!! I am so humbled that God entrusted them into my care and so very blessed to be their mommy.

Recently, I have been inspired by the book, "Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three", which I just started reading. I really wish I would have read it when my daughter was younger because it has some practical ideas I would have applied earlier into our daily "rhythm". Primarily the emphasis on simplicity and decorating the home for the Montessori child. We have way too many toys and I have been deliberately weeding through them as I have been reading this book. Also, just getting rid of the clutter and the distraction from too much even useful items. I want our home to foster imagination, learning and prayer.

I will say rather STRONGLY that there are quite a few recommendations in the book that I do not agree with and am still weeding through Montessori- learning as whole. The biggest weed in my personal opinion was the recommendation in the book to wean babies prematurely and potty train before they are truly ready. It feels like from some of the Montessori books and blogs I have been reading that the attempt to foster independence take precedence over the child's individual needs and personal readiness in a given area. It actually becomes the opposite of "attachment parenting"with some of Maria Montessori's ideals which maybe I will blog more about later. I am still learning about her.

Right now the two practicals from reading this book that I am going to work on implementing into everyday life with my littles are:
1. having uninterrupted block of learning/work time. I want to really work on being an observer of what is capturing Sissy's attention during our learning times and be sensitive to disregard our "schedule" and go with her flow.
2. Creating a home that is conducive to the growth and learning of a one year old and a three year old. Moving things down to their level, rearranging their rooms in order to give them simplicity and supervised independence. Including them in what I m doing throughout the day i.e., cooking, cleaning, feeding the dog.

I still haven't finished the book and so I am sure I will have more thoughts to come. :-)

Rainy Days and Lattes

What a perfectly delightful day as hurricane Isaac brought much needed rain to the plains of Kansas, Starbucks pumpkin spice latte' was added to their menu for the fall season and I finally got a date with my husband. I would say August ended with a bang! Our date was needed as we went over our fall/winter schedule and tightened our budget, the latte' made it a little sweeter than it might have been otherwise. For us it is definitely a season to tighten ship and get our lives in order. We are attempting to do a money envelope system for our finances and really steward our time in a way that will benefit our family as a whole. My husband is juggling a lot of balls right now: finishing college, Alderman in our city and working full time as an insurance broker to provide for our family so I can stay at home with my littles. I am blessed. Our goal this month is to eat at home except for our weekly coffee date. We spent way too much money on eating out this summer. September we welcome you!

The Red Balloon

Our (my kids and I) favorite book is "Goodnight Moon" and it only seemed fitting to use the title as the name of my blog. However, it was already taken and so I chose "Good Night Red Balloon" as the title of this new blog. There is a darling French movie about a little boy and a red balloon who follows him everywhere, the movie ends with the little boy floating up in the sky to a place where children and balloons are friends forever. Balloons remind me of hope and childlike joy. And that is somewhat of the journey we are on, isn't it. "Goodnight" is the only time I have to blog, when my sweet children are tucked in bed, fast asleep and dreaming. Hopefully through this blog I can share with you some mommy musings that might inspire you on your own journey. Goodnight Moon. Goodnight.