I was traveling recently and found myself stranded at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. This unexpected curve allowed me to spend some time people watching. The waiting area at the gate was crowded with stranded passengers. I noticed a young mom with two children pushing a carriage while she struggled to pull along their carry-on bag. She stopped and scoped out the available spaces and moved to two chairs near the ticket agent counter. It was interesting to watch her set up camp. 

She blocked off the two chairs with the bag and the carriage creating a safe play area for her toddler. A blanket was put down with some toys and the little guy sat down happily at his mom’s feet. Every once in awhile he would stand up to check on his baby brother sleeping in the carriage and pat his mom’s leg. His mom’s desire and ability to create a temporary home for him made him content. When the ticket agent announced that our flight was canceled the mom left the safe corral to get on line. She built her “home” close enough to the ticket counter that she was able to keep one hand on the carriage at all times. As long as her little guy could see mom’s hand he was just fine. 

It’s amazing how as moms we can establish a cozy dwelling place and the security this gives our children. A carriage, a suitcase, two chairs, and a blanket in a crowded airport and a little two year old played happily while his infant brother slept, all because mom was near. I’ve heard the saying home is where the heart is, but the reality for a young child is home is wherever mom is.

Dear God, allow my child to feel your presence wherever she goes and in whatever circumstance she faces.

MOPS International

I usually don't pass along email information but after I got done reading about this movie I just have to warn others about it.  Then when I found out it was a book series I thought that the information really needed to be passed along.  I also found the sponsors of this movie and we don't plan on helping them sponsor movies such as this.  Please read the information provided in the links and prayerfully consider what God would have your family do.  Feel free to pass the information along to anyone you would like!

Disclosure: we do not endorse this movie, the books, the author, the sponsors or these links, please read/surf with disernment!

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The Below are not my words.

There will be a new Children's movie out in December called The Golden Compass. It is written by Phillip Pullman, a proud atheist who belongs to secular humanist societies. He hates C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and has written a trilogy to show the other side. The movie has been played down to fool kids and their parents in the hope that they will buy his trilogy where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please.

NOW let's do OUR part and get this out to as many people as we can...DO NOT buy his books or go see the movie.

One of the joys of being a mama is peacefulness in your home.  One of the only times I really feel this on a constant basis is at night when it's time for bed.

When Little Monkey was a baby he slept in our room, in his own bed next to our bed, until he was about 3 months old.  I'm not really sure now why we decided that at 3 months he needed to go to his own room, but we did.  When we moved to SC for the first time Little Monkey was 8 months old.  By the time he was 18 months old he was waking back up at night.  He had a hard time going to sleep and then in the middle of the night he would wake.  Sometimes he would stay in his bed and sometimes he would come wander into our bed or get on the couch in the living room.  Several times in the wee hours of the morning when Our Marine had to get up he found him asleep on the couch.  Our Marine left for Iraq the first time when Little Monkey was 22 months old.  He and I had moved back to FL and were lving with my parents.  I don't know what started it, but every night he would end up in my bed sleeping with me.  For a long while I tried to put him back in his bed, I would lay with him, sit by his bed, anything to get him to sleep in his bed.  But he didn't want that and he would scream for a couple of hours.  Well being that my parents had to work I would take him back to bed with me so that he would not wake them or so they could go back to sleep because he had waken them.

Once Our Marine was back Little Monkey did fine returning to his own bed.  We even came up with a time that he could come and sleep with us.  Every Friday night if he had slept in his bed all week long he could come sleep with us.  We sometimes made this a date between the 3 of us and would put a movie in our bedroom tv and watch it.  Most of the time Daddy and Little MOnkey fell asleep leaving me to see the end all alone.

When we moved into our new home Little Monkey started waking again in the middle of the night and coming to our bed.  We weren't sure if it was because Princess JoJo was in her bed in there or if it was because he felt alone on the side of the house all the other bedrooms are on.  Most nights if I woke to find him in our bed I would put him back in his own bed.  But many times he made it there all night.  When Our Marine is gone Little Monkey usually asks to sleep in bed with me and I usually let him.  So since our Marine has been gone he has pretty much spent all those nights in bed with me.  Of course Princess JoJo has been rooming in with us since she was born.

Well tonight I am happy to say that BOTH Little Monkey and Princess JoJo are in their own beds in their own rooms.  I don't know if it will last for the whole night but so far it has been 2 hours!  So I am excited.  I wasn't wanting to move Princess JoJo yet, but she is just too big for her craddle now and she hasn't been sleeping peacefully and I believe it is from us moving around in the bed and making noise while we sleep.  So I prayed about moving her in her room and this is where the Lord has brought me.  So we will see how it goes!

I've enjoyed our family bed.  And I will still enjoy it as our Friday night rule still stands with Little Monkey and one day with Princess JoJo and one day all the others to come.  I guess some will have to reside to the floor when there are to many for the bed! ;)

Not to long ago I told my sister that I use to try so hard to get Little Monkey to sleep in his own bed.  Then I just gave up and realized that it's okay, he won't want to sleep in my bed forever.  And it's so true.  The family I nannied for that has 6 children.  They all use to sleep in their parents bed every night.  But now everyone sleeps in their own bed.  The oldest is only 13 and the youngest is only 6, so see it doesn't take forever before they decided to go to their own bed.  And really you do miss it!

This year we have a BAN on toys for Christmas for Little Monkey and Princess JoJo.  For Little Monkey it's clothes, Christian DVDs, Books, CDs, Art Supplies, Magazine Subscriptions, and Money for College.  For Princess JoJo she can have toys that are for developmental purposes, but only a couple!  She can also have clothes, Baby Einstein DVDs, Girly books (as we don't really have any), Classical Music CDs and Christian CDs, Room Decor (bedding and pictures) and Money for College.

So with that I have to start their Christmas lists so I can get them out to family so they can have their shopping done by Thanksgiving!

I love getting a new order of diapers dropped off at the door.  I placed my second order of cloth diapers for Princess JoJo at the begining of the week and recieved them this afternoon before we head off to FL for Grandparents day!  It's like opening a Christmas or Birthday present when I get to open up the packages of diapers.  It also is a milestone, meaning that Princess JoJo is getting bigger!  I love cloth, I love spending the money knowing that I'm not going to be throwing it away and that another baby can benifit from these diapers too!

ThanksMama.com

So this week I have been here at my little sister's house.  My niece, Baby E, is almost 10m/o; Princess JoJo is 3 1/2m/o and Little Monkey is 3 1/2 y/o.  Spending time with a VERY mobile baby that eats solid food and all that good stuff has made me remember things that I can't believe I forgot.  See I practically raised 6 kids before I got married.  I was a full time, should have been live in, nanny for 6 homeschooled children.  I started when I was 12y/o with the first one was born and went on to my own family when the 6th one was 1 1/2y/o.  So I pretty much know as much as you can know coming into mommyhood.

Since having Little Monkey I thought people that had their kids so close together were sort of crazy.  I mean practically having 2 babies at once isn't the easiest thing in the world.  But after being here for a week I can understand why some people choose to do that.  Though I am VERY grateful for God spreading our first 2 children out so far, I really have forgotten a lot of the little touches to mobile babies.

A topic that has come up to me and been on my heart a lot lately is about vaccines and our babies/ children.  Should we really be giving them these vaccines and what are they really doing to our little ones?

So I was wondering if there was anyone out there that would like to share, without being judgemental about the other side, about why they DO or DON'T vaccine their children!?

I really want to know what others do and have found and I want you to feel free to post your comments.  Know that any comment bashing someone with different beliefs than yourself will be deleted!

Thanks to anyone who shares there heart, convictions or knowledge!

The Benefits of Babywearing

Wearing your baby helps you develop a secure mutual attachment.

Babywearing increases parental sensitivity to a baby's needs.

Babywearing simulates the sensations of pressure, motion, warmth and security of the womb.

Carrying your baby in a sling reduces her level of stress hormones.

Babywearing can greatly reduce crying and fussiness. It also helps your fussy or tired baby fall asleep.

Babies sleep longer and more comfortably when in a sling.

Sling babies have a reduced incidence of colic and are less susceptible to vomiting and excess spitting-up.

Toddlers who were/are carried in slings initiate separation sooner, and become more self-reliant.

Babywearing has been shown to strongly benefit premature infants and lower their mortality rate.

Parents who wear their babies can more easily accomplish daily activities, tasks and chores.

The natural movement and stimulation provided by being in a sling promotes neurological development.

Babywearing gives children the message that they are safe, secure and loved.

Babywearing is the most comfortable way to hold a baby. You can use a sling on your shoulders, back or hip distributing your baby's weight evenly.

Wearing your baby in a sling provides her with constant and easy access to breastfeeding, and makes nursing in public easy and discreet.