The Best Stories

As a parent, I have always struggled with finding good books for my children that teach about the Bible.  You may know what I’m talking about.  When my girls were much younger, they received “The Little Girls Bible Storybooks” in their Easter basket and I committed to reading them a story each night.  This was a grand idea because I wanted my children to be familiar with the Bible but I found that often they were too young to truly understand the stories as I attempted to explain words like pharaoh or why Abraham tied his son to the altar as a sacrifice.  Know what I mean?  Bible stories are important but sometimes not always age appropriate.

Cyndi  came across some great ones while at a visit to her daughter’s home and since, has purchased several for our preschool library. And we are very happy with them!

I recently used one for a devotion lesson that the children seemed to really enjoy.  It was called “The Lost and Found Lamb.”  The shepherd had 100 sheep.  One day he counted them only to find that he had 99.  Most of them were there so did it really matter that one was missing?  It did to the shepherd.  He and his sheepdog looked everywhere for that missing sheep.  As the story goes on, we read all the places he looked for that sheep until finally finding him and bringing him home to celebrate.  Just like the shepherd, Jesus loves each and every single one of us.  And he always knows where we are and promises to take good care of us.  I used a puppet as I read the story and the children were enthralled.

If you were to use these books at home, they are interactive as they all include flaps that the children can help to lift and see what is underneath.  The end of each book contains a Bible verse too.

I read another one yesterday in our 4/5 Enrichment class about Easter.  It can be especially tough to find age appropriate books that tell the story of Easter but this one did so perfectly!  Jesus died on the cross for us, was buried in a tomb when an earthquake happened!  An angel came down and when the soldiers guarding the cave looked inside the tomb, it was empty!  Jesus was alive!  He visited his friends and told them to announce to everyone, “Tell everyone the good news!”  Jesus has risen!  He went to Heaven and that’s where we will all go someday!

We supplemented the Easter story yesterday by making resurrection rolls.  This is another excellent tradition to begin in learning about the Easter story.  The recipe is quick and easy and one that the children can do.  You can find it here.

When my family got home from watching the KU game last night, we were delighted to find that our yard had been “egged.”  There was a sign on our door explaining that twelve eggs were hidden in our yard.  One was empty to remind us of Jesus’ empty tomb: He is Risen!  Find the printable here.

The Bible storybooks can be found on Amazon if you click here.

On a personal note

This is a photo of my daughter Allie and my granddaughter Anna.  (It was taken by my daughter Mandy – thanks for all the beautiful photos you take!)  This weekend I visited Allie and Grant’s farm.  When I returned I updated my status on Facebook.  I thought I would share the post with you.

“Today I am mourning the loss of one of the sweetest words I have ever heard, “Abiya.”  For many months now that is how Anna said, “Again.”  For those of you that know anything about little kids, you know they say “Again” often. For Anna we often heard this after a pretend blast off, a reading of Pete the Cat, a push on her little car, a singing of her new favorite song, a viewing of Elmo’s Ducks on YouTube, . . . . This weekend we had a very short (due to this darn old snow) visit and she now says, “Again peas.”  I must admit that she says this in the sweetest way possible and it does melt my heart but alas, I will forever miss, “Abiya.”  They grow up too fast!”

Here is that plea again.  Enjoy it now!  You will not believe how in a blink you are now the grandmother watching her grand baby grow up way too fast.

I know, it’s another snow day.  I know, this is on the end of a spring break full of yucky weather.  I know.  Mixed in with all those memories of the sweet things my kids did I also remember the long days with kids getting antsy.  My suggestion for today is to turn the day around.  You can’t go anywhere so take advantage of it.  Build a blanket fort and have lunch or dinner in it.  Break out the photo books (or pull up pictures on your computer) and tell stories of when your kids were “little.”  They love to hear stories about themselves and it will be fun to think back on all the adorable things your children did or are doing.  Enjoy it.  Enjoy them!

Parenting – a perspective from a mom of six

I have been thinking about my last blog post a lot.  I hope everyone took it the way I intended.  I hope it bolstered a little confidence for trusting yourself.  I hope it showed that is is okay not to know all the answers and to lean on God for some guidance and wisdom. 

My daughter recently linked to this post on her Facebook page.  I is a GREAT post about parenting.  I haven’t said it much lately but I often remind our parents of young children to “enjoy the ride” while it lasts.  It goes by so fast.  Jennifer, from Living in GRACEland echoes that sentiment in a fun and yet powerful way.  http://livingingraceland.com/2013/03/18/my-message-to-my-younger-momma-self/ 

Grab a warm drink and enjoy a little reading time on another SNOWY day!

Cyndi

Bluffing: an important parenting tool

Uncertainty should be the synonym listed for the word parenting in a thesaurus.  We’ve all experienced it at one time or another, if not daily.  What should I do in this situation?  Should I let my baby cry a little at night or comfort her?  Should I watch as my child tries to walk on a log that he most likely will fall off?  Should I allow my older child to skip his nap one day when I know my younger one still needs one?  Does my child need an extra year of preschool?  In a moment of frustration I said, “No TV for a month.”  Do I really need to stick to that?

Yes, parenting is a tricky proposition.  We are constantly making decisions that hopefully fit our child (each child –  because every one of our children are so different.)  Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not stray from it.”  So, God, why didn’t you send an instruction manual with every child.  What exactly is “the way to go” for this specific child?

Today I gave a tour to a family.  It will be their oldest child’s first school experience and the mother was very nervous about it all. Our conversation brought back situations from the beginning of the school year.  I often tell parents who are themselves a little hesitant about their child’s first school experience to put on a brave face.  I encourage positive talk about school and confident assurances that the child will have a great day.  I have seen brave mamas drop their child off with a smile only to tear up once out of her child’s sight.  It is a huge milestone for both the child and parent.

As a parent, I questioned my parenting decisions often.  Allie, my oldest child, was very strong-willed.  I remember a multitude of half hour to even hour long screaming sessions about the smallest things.  I vividly remember asking her to shut the back door for me.  She refused with great passion.  I followed through giving her options of when and how she could do what I requested.  I did that but still insisted that she please do as I asked.  An hour later, as I listened to her continued cries and screams, I doubted my parenting decision.  I did this away from her and I think I called my sister to reaffirm my decision.  When I spoke with her – I bluffed it!  I acted as though I had total confidence in the consequence she was facing.  I would love to say this single episode was a changing point for us – it wasn’t.  So, I faced many more years of questions and I bluffed it  – a lot!

I could list for hours the times I moved forward as though I was confident when inside I was PRAYING I was doing the right thing.  I think it’s okay to do this.  Yes, I do think there are times we can let our children know we made a mistake and talking through the situation come up with a mutually approved plan.  Doing this shows our children that we are human.  It shows we care about their input as well.  In general, though, I say “Bluff if you have to.”   I believe children want and NEED to know (well at least believe) you have everything under control.  I think that is part of the reason children test us.  Our children (some more than others) need to know to their core that we’ve got this covered.

So, you don’t have all the answers.  I didn’t either.  It’s okay.  I also believe God gives us wonderful parenting instincts.  I believe God will guide us if we just ask through prayer.  We are inundated with blogs and websites, articles and tv show experts with all the right ways to do things.  Yes, listen, take in what speaks to you, develop some new habits, try new things but in the end, trust yourself.  If you can’t truly trust yourself, then – Bluff it!

Cyndi Mawhiney

(Credit for photo is unknown)

It was a BLAST!

We had our annual Ice Cream Social this past Saturday.  It is a fun day for our families to gather together to play, eat, enjoy some fun entertainment, create, bid – in general just have a great time.  This year we did all that and more!  Here are a few pictures that capture some of the activities. 

   

I was going to rearrange the pictures by activity but seeing them all mixed up gives you a feel for how it was.  All areas were busy and active.  Kids and parents were trying all experiences with equal enthusiasm. 

We owe a HUGE thank you to our Preschool Board members for their work gathering items for our silent auction and preparing the ice cream and bake sale.  Thank you to our families and staff for all the yummy baked goods.  They were so cute AND delicious!  Thank you to the leadership team of boy scout Troop 315 for building the incredibly fun tunnel from boxes and then helping us serve and clean up. Thank you to Shelly Todd and all of our staff for the fun activities.  Thank you to Mad Science for some great entertainment (and learning). 

This event is also our largest fund raising project of the year.  We use fund raising money for all those “extras.”  Our budget mainly covers our day to day expenses so having a cushion to replace carpet, add or replace fun and innovative toys and manipulatives, provide good cameras so we can take quality pictures of “our” kids, etc. is invaluable.  This year we are adding additional security measures on some exterior doors and more camera monitors as part of our upgrades. 

Of course our sponsors and businesses that contribute are so greatly appreciated.  We send a huge THANK YOU to the following families and businesses.  Please consider these businesses first if you are needing any of these types of services or goods. 

3 Women and an Oven

360 Gymnastics

American Heartland Theater

American Girl Corporation

AMF

Armor Creek Dental

Ball Foods

Barry & Leslee Nelson Family

Beauty Brands

Bella Nails

Black Bob Pet Hospital

Bretano & Williams Realty Team (sponsor)

Bret’s Autoworks

Chick-Fil-A

City Museum

Cosmic Mini Golf

Coterie Theatre

Crown Center

Culvers

Cyndi Mawhiney

Dana Tracy

Debbie Howards Gym

Family Eye Care Center

Fenney’s Hallmark

First Watch

Frit’s

Garmin

Harvest Moon Natural Foods

Here We Grow AgainHome Sweet Home (sponsor)

Houseworth Family (sponsor)

I-9 Sports

Jenkins & LeBlanc (sponsor)

Jennifer Mellick

Julie Music Briosco

KC Royals

KC Zoo

Kelci Marie Photography

KLG Design/Kassi Brown

Lil’ Kickers

Lutz Plumbing (sponsor)

Mad Science

Magic House

Maloney Family

Michelle Loe

Midwest Aquatics

Mission Bowl, Olathe

Monkey Bizness

Music with Mar/Beth Welland

New Day Yoga Studio

Oliver Beckett Photography

Olympic Car Wash

Omaha Zoo

Paint, Glaze & Fire

Papa Murphy’s

Paradise Park

Perfectly Packaged Parties/Jennifer Duxbury

Pure Aesthetics

Raytown Parks & Recreation

Sara Willis

Shelly Todd

Silver Dollar City

Smiley’s Golf Complex

Spin Pizza

Sports Clips

Stanford and Sons

Stephanie Inglehart/Oragami Owl

Surewest

Susan Kupfer

T-Bones

Texas Road House

The Bristol

The College Basketball Experience

The Fieldhouse of KC

The Hairem

The Learning Tree

The Mommy Shop

Trendz

T-Rex Cafe

True Star Health/Heather Beveridge

Two Chic Blvd

Union Station

Walt Disney World

Waterway Carwash

Wonderscope

YMCA

We appreciate everyone’s support financially.  The money raised is a reality of what needs to happen however, as Terri Hatch, our preschool Board Chairman said, ” The best part about this event was seeing all our kids having such a great time.”