Tonight's lesson:  Never, ever, ever leave a 2 year old alone in a room with a computer.

Biruk presented us this evening with a sight that would horrify anyone who depends on their computer (that is, most of us).  Unfortunately, it was my sister's computer.  Thankfully, it was fixable.  But still, it was one of the more heart-stopping moments of my mothering career.

You have to know Biruk to get the full feeling of this story.  He is obsessed with letters.  At 2 1/2, he can tell us what letters are in his name, and in the proper order.  He gravitates towards his letter puzzles, and takes them apart and puts them back together over and over again.  He often pops around the corner to pronounce something like "O! O! Says ooooooo!  Octopus!" or run through the list of words that start with B (Biruk, Baba, ball, Big Bird...)  Simply put, letters thrill him, and putting them in proper order makes him happy.

So this evening, when I heard him talking to himself "Dat's a A...dat's a W...dat's a O..." I assumed he'd found his letter puzzle.  Imagine my surprise when I went to get him, and found him standing over my sister's open laptop, with keyboard keys and related parts strewn all over the coffee table and the carpet underneath.

Oh yes.

"Uh...It bwoke", said he, innocently.

I still haven't figured out how he managed to pry out that first key, but the time I got to him, he was on a roll.  Fortunately all the various computer people in the house managed to put it back together, which was a big relief to me.  Nothing like having your kid ruin someone else's expensive, important piece of equipment.

Dad hypothesizes that Biruk saw the keyboard, saw QWERTYUIOP, and decided it was a letter puzzle which needed his attention.  I tend to agree.

We're going to have to watch this one more closely.

Last week we participated in the creation of an article in the local newspaper, the subject being "avoiding brattiness" in children during the Christmas season.  And that's a pretty easy, obvious focus to take.  Children are still working out their inborn self-centeredness, and aren't ashamed to show it.  At least, they don't try to hide it under more socially acceptable terms.

But the fact that adults regularly complain about high stress levels at this time of year tells me that some of us grownups are a little too focused on the material things too.  If we were only celebrating the birth of Christ, there would be no stress.  If that were truly all that mattered to us, and the one and only  "reason for the season", we wouldn't be rushing around like madmen, risking our lives on snowy roads to go shopping, and snapping at our loved ones to leave us alone and let us get the cooking done.

Istanbul, Turkey

Now, I'm not saying celebration is a bad thing, even celebrations that are more cultural than Biblical.  I'm a big fan of gift-giving, pretty cookies, family banquets, and the like.  I love all of that!  But I realized this week that those things have held way too much importance in my mind.  For the 6 years I have been a mother, I have found myself stressed as Christmas approached and unsatisfied when it passed.  Josiah and I deliberately kept Christmas simple, and asked our family members to be restrained with the gift-giving.  But I have always felt like something was missing.

Persia (Iran)

It seems to me that over the years I have been thinking I should replicate the happy Christmas memories I have in my children's lives.  But knowing that I couldn't (it's hard to replicate the kind of Christmases we had at the commune!  For one thing, we lack about 350 people and unlimited acres of snowy beautifulness in the country), I still tried and inevitably felt like a failure.  That was my wrong focus, even if we had the "reigning in brattiness" figured out early and didn't have a problem keeping the gifting thing to a minimum. 

Poland

I can't give my children the same memories I had.  We don't have the resources, or the community, or even a real desire to live that way.  And  as my kids have a heritage that is doubly rich, they need to develop some memories that include their Ethiopian side.  Although one of my recent posts was full of the things we've done recently, all of that is a result of me "pulling back" from my list of "Things We Must Do At Christmas", and sticking to simple, enjoyable projects that didn't require a long attention span and wouldn't end with me hollering at the kids and shooing them out of the room.  What's the point of  "making memories" if the memories made involve a cranky, stressed out mother?  I am done "doing" stuff.  We have a little more than a week until Christmas, and I want to fill that time enjoying relaxed meals with my family, loving on my children, walking in the snow (if we get any), sitting by the fire, listening to beautiful music, and celebrating the birth of the Savior of the world.  I mean, really, shouldn't that be enough? 

Italy

I'm tired of wanting ideals and wanting perfection and never feeling satisfied.  This year, what I want for Christmas is contentment.

Axum, Ethiopia

 This year all my kids are at ages where the can participate and enjoy crafts and baking in some way, so we've been able to do a lot more than we did when I had a disinterested toddler or two running around.

There actually are quite a few things to do that are small-kid friendly.  Here's what we've been doing, in no particular order.

Glitter ornaments:
The easiest ever ornament to make.  Cut out construction paper circles (or any other shape).  Hand the kids glue and glitter and let them have at it.  Let dry.  Punch a hole, string a ribbon through, and it's done.  I cut down on the mess by covering the table with news paper and supervising well.  It wasn't nearly as horrifying as I'd been anticipating, and the kids had loads of fun.  We used these to decorate their room.  With the Christmas lights on, they glitter and sparkle and delight little eyes.

Gingerbread cookies:
Tons of great recipes on the web.  The boys helped me make the dough, roll it, and cut it.  I baked the cookies and froze them, and when we had need of a project, I laid the cookies out on a tray for the boys to put icing on.  For the icing I just mixed powdered sugar with enough water to make it slightly drippy, and showed the boys how to use a fork to drizzle it over the cookies.  Delicious!

I used these along with ribbon to decorate a grapevine wreath, which we gave to some friends, and it turned out beautifully.  If it's hung on an outside door, the cookies can stay on and will stay fresh because of the cold weather.

Cinnamon Ornaments:
This was just like the cookies only you dry them instead of bake them, and you're not technically supposed to eat them.  They're supposed to look rustic and emit a beautiful fragrance.  We succeeded on both counts.
Here's a non-toxic recipe (in case your two-year old, like mine, decides the "dough" is delicious)
1 c. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cloves
1 t. allspice
1 c. applesauce
enough flour to make the dough workable (it'll still be pretty tacky, though).

Mix, roll out, cut out, and dry for several days, turning halfway through the drying period.  Don't forget to make little holes in these before you set them out to dry, so you have something to put a ribbon through for hanging.

The angels were especially pretty, I thought.  But it really felt wrong to be poking holes through the heads of "angels".  Same for the gingerbread men.

Russian Teacakes and Bon-Bon Cookies.
See links above for recipes.  These are both great because there are no eggs involved in the making, so a little dough-nibbling isn't worrisome.  Russian Teacakes, fresh out of the oven, rolled in powdered sugar, are just heavenly.  Bon-Bons are just fun.  You can make the dough any color, and put inside them any treat or surprise you like.  We think they're great with chocolate kisses as the "surprise inside".

Buttermints
These are extra special, and safe and easy for children to help with (unless you consider copius amounts of sugar, butter, and food coloring dangerous, in which case they'd at best get a 'non-toxic' label).

6 T melted butter
4 T heavy cream
1 t. peppermint extract
5 c. powdered sugar.
food coloring (optional)
Knead together (and add food coloring if desired), and then roll out into "snakes" on a tray.  Cut into small squares.  Set tray in a cool, dry place so the mints can dry out.



Wrapping Paper
This one's a mess but the kids love it.  We used thin newsprint and tempera paints.  I cut several potatoes in half, and cut into them to make several simple shapes.  Those were our stamps.

Since I meant to do one all week and tomorrow is Friday-- how about a re-cap DAYBOOK?

Oh what a JOYOUS day at our home today---

We were able to score a toddler bed on Craigs list for $25!

Dh brought it in and set it up after breakfast.... and then of course he tried it out--

I left the room for some reason-- and when I returned-- he was in his bed covered with a "bink" in his mouth (pacifer) and his "servants" (father and brothers) all kneeling at his bed (what a picture)....but i said "Oh No--- No "bink" in this bed-- this is a BIG BOY BED-- No Binks!!" so they threw it in the crib (which we left up just in case).

So 11am came and it was nap time-- and up he went (he is a GOOD napper-- always says "okay" when I say it's nap time) and crawled in to his "big boy bed" and I covered him and THAT WAS IT!!  Off to dream land he went!!!!!!!!  WHAT?  Really?   No putting him in 10x, no long lecture about staying in bed???  NO BINK!?!

Well when he woke he SCREAMED and CRIED (like always-- I don't think he thinks I can hear him otherwise) and he waited for me to get him out of his bed!!!!!!!!!!!  WOW!!!

Well I was still a bit skeptical....however 7:30pm rolled around and at bed time-- up the stairs he climbed (happily) and in bed he crawled-- I covered him, kissed him and left the room-- and I haven't seen or heard him at all!!!  WOW!!

SO a change in bed made losing the BINK just that easy?   REALLY????  WOW!!!!  ( we tried losing the bink a while back but it was just too much crying for my nerves).

Then my loving husband says to me "well if you just get him potty trained you'll be set".  The thing is I really beleive he was READY for this bed-- and when he is READY to use the potty-- he will let me know-- (right??)

Christian fiction is hit or miss.  So I never expect too much when I first open a novel.  But Blind Sight captured my attention immediately, because the villains of the story are the leaders of a cult.  Spiritual abuse and cultism touched my family's life directly, so anything related to those subjects has my interest.  Author James Pence clearly did his research on the workings and tactics of cults and did a wonderful job giving the reader a view into that scary world.

Blind Sight turned out to be a great fast-paced tale of intrigue, evil, sacrifice, and love.  Thomas Kent, a man nearly destroyed by loss, is contacted by a man he barely remembers and finds himself drawn into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.  Tasked by his old aquaintance to rescue his children and re-unite them with their mother, Thomas undertakes the orchestration of the children's escape from the dangerous World Renewal Fellowship cult, and the ultimate collapse of the organization.  In the process, he faces his own demons and finds himself turning to the God he thought he hated.

This was a double blog tour, because of a strange co-incidence.  James Pence, author of Blind Sight, met the man who's story is told in Terror by Night by chance, or perhaps providence.  The two of them worked together to tell Terry Caffey's tragic experience.

About Terror by Night:
A father denied his daughter dating privileges with a certain young man. Typical teenage behavior might have included pouting, a bad attitude or perhaps even a yelling match. Never in a million years would Terry Caffey have suspected it would involve murder. Yet, in the early morning hours of March 8, 2008, Terry’s whole world turned upside down. His wife and two sons where brutally murdered and burned in the house they lived and Terry was shot twelve times…by his daughter and her friends. 

Terry Caffey and James Pence reconstruct this tragic yet strangely beautiful true story of God’s sovereignty, forgiveness and grace in Terror by Night. As if the story of Caffey’s family wasn’t enough, readers will be captivated by the way God ordained the meeting between the Blind Sight author and Caffey with a burnt page from Blind Sight found at the crime scene.

I will continue with author interviews and extras in the next post.