cousins.

This really isn't a normal occurrence, the whole baby-standing-on-the-table thing. But here they are.

Eli nine months old

Here's Eli on our way home from the pool... I have no idea what he found so amusing.

I Can't Believe I Enjoy Grocery Shopping.

Here's the result of this morning's shopping trip at Harris Teeter. As most of the female world knows, this week is super double coupons at the Teeter so I ventured out before Eli woke up (and while Michael was here before work) to get my grocery shopping done.

The total for all of this was.... drumroll, please...


$25.88!

This included a $10 off coupon that I received from Recyclebank (if you aren't familiar with how Recyclebank works, check Hip2save.com for info. I saved over 40 dollars by using coupons alone (including the $10 off), and another $30+ with the VIC savings, which I love but also realize the retail price of most of HT's items are higher than most grocery stores.


With a budget that limits our groceries to $70/week (unless I get out of hand, which isn't unusual...), this is a lot of food for that price, and it allows me to get the *essentials* at Aldi.

Motherhood in the Trenches

In the way of book recommendations, I have many. Not that I'm the final say on what is worth reading and what isn't, but a few months ago I read and thoroughly enjoyed this book on parenting little ones. Also, I feel like a small fish in a big pond reading about the author's great feats in raising five children--my responsibility seems insignificant in comparison. But admittedly there are days when one feels like five, and he isn't even crawling yet. Aah, how much I have to learn.


Rachel Jankovic has also written an excellent article that's been posted on the Desiring God website. Here's the link, and the article is entitled "Motherhood is a Calling, and Where Your Children Rank."

Totally worth the read, but only if your little ones bestow you with the time!

The Joy of Baking!

A few years ago I found this FUN idea for the 4th of July and have made it a yearly tradition to bring them with me to the Harrisburg festival in the park.

The recipe is pretty easy. For these "July 4th Sparklers," you'll need:

• Pretzel rods
• Bag of white chocolate chips (or bars)
• 4th of July sprinkles--I got mine at Aldi where they usually sell seasonal sprinkles in the "special foods" aisle. I've also gotten Christmas and Easter sprinkles there, but I've also seen them at Wal-Mart.
  

Instructions:
1. Melt white chocolate chips in a bowl, but make sure not to burn the chocolate. Microwave for 20-30 second increments, stirring well after each heating.
2. I use a spoon to scoop chocolate onto half of the pretzel rods. You could dip them too, but I think a spoon is easier.
3. Immediately dress the sparklers with the sprinkles and set gently on parchment paper or aluminum foil to harden.

TA-DA! It's that easy!

Unzipped?

In every stage of our lives, information that we previously knew to be true takes on a whole new meaning. I was recently reminded of this at a meeting with my colleagues about my 11th grade book list. While I personally love A Tale of Two Cities, I might attribute that more to my own experiences than that it is a perfect choice for 11th graders to read. Regardless of what I bring to my reading of that book, it is still a timeless piece of literature that will be regarded as such for its commentary on Christlike sacrifice and the effects of revolution on a society. BUT, perhaps my devotion to that book (above all of Dickens' other works) would be difficult to transfer to 16 year olds who have not had the experiences that I have had. We're going to be reading Great Expectations instead.

In the same vein (sort of), my understanding of American history has broadened dramatically over the past few years. I'm thankful for the wisdom and counsel of so many Godly men and women who have shed light on God's sovereignty throughout America's history and have taught me to embrace it fully. I have re-learned so much since high school... probably because I have no choice as a history/English teacher. Nerdy. Bookish. Silly. Call it what you will!

My recent encounters with God working in history are numerous:

• Reading Unbroken and gaping at both God's humorous irony and complete control in Louis's life.
  
  
• Reading 1984 and being reminded of what a society looks like when God is rejected and exterminated, only to be replaced by the state.
  
  
• Watching The HBO series Band of Brothers with an overwhelming sense of awe, pity, grief, and THANKFULNESS for what my predecessors endured on my behalf. If you haven't felt the urge to spend 10 hours watching one film (don't worry, it took me three years to reach that point, and only after much petitioning from Michael), it is exceedingly worth your time to do so. I promise. (*caveat: the language is atrocious, but utterly poignant given their circumstances in battle*)
  
  
• My current read, Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, in which I've been pummeled with the reality that our culture has done something worse than reject God altogether. We have acknowledged that He might exist, shrugged our proverbial shoulders in apathy, and continued living our lives none the wiser.

The last of those bullets, Postmodern Times, has been a difficult read for me but greatly needed.

I was flipping through the Newsweek this afternoon (I signed up for a free subscription and usually don't waste my time reading it... God wanted otherwise today!), and here's the headline of the article that caught my eye:

"The Founding Fathers, Unzipped: The Constitution's Framers were flawed like today's politicians, so it's high time we stop embalming them in infallibility."


*Somewhat* dismayed, I read on only to find the article littered with postmodern thought, namely the idea that individualism is no more. Postmodernism advocates and glories in group identity. Consider the political, social, and cultural groups that exist today. To a postmodernist, your identity is found within those groups, and so is your amoral compass. I saw amoral because the postmodernist spurns absolute truths and hates authority. In particular, Jefferson would apparently have been a Republican (as defined by our culture), and a terrible one at that. And that's all he would have been. His identity would exist solely in his political party.


There is an intentional rewriting of history going on that is meant to accommodate and complement the changing tides of popular opinion, and this article was a perfect example of that.


The article assumes that the founding fathers, if alive today, would belong to some particular political group (read: Republicans) and that they (Jefferson in particular) would be crushed in the 2012 election. Author Simon Schama says this about Jefferson:
"It is incontrovertible historical fact, as is his absolute determination never to admit religion into any institutions of the public realm."

Was Jefferson a Christian? No, there is little evidence to prove that he believed in the God of the WHOLE Bible. Did he own slaves? Yes. What land owning man didn't at that time? Did he want to keep religion out of "any institutions of the public realm?" Not quite.

Unlike postmodernist academia today, Jefferson acknowledged the authority of a Supreme Being when he wrote that Jesus Christ's "system of morality was the most benevolent and sublime...ever taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any of the ancient philosophers."


He strongly believed that what a person believes about God, how he worships, etc. are outside of the jurisdiction of the State. You cannot force a person to believe what you believe. But Jefferson also realized that a person's actions CAN be regulated by the state... He wrote to the Danbury Baptists: "The legislative powers of government reach actions only." Ironically, this is also the letter in which the misunderstood idea of "separation of church and state" originated.


But Jefferson, despite the wreck that his personal life might have been, still acknowledged that a system of moral absolutes must be the foundation of any governing authority. His VA "Bill for Punishing Disturbers of Religious Worship and Sabbath Breakers" is evidence enough of that. The bill considered it a crime to work or employ workers on the Sabbath.


It is a dangerous thing to minimize the laborious work of the Founders and to attempt to dismantle the deep seeded convictions they held, as Schama does in this article. Primary documents are laden with proof that the country was established under the assumption that God exists. He has given us certain rights, which makes even the state under His authority. Men are fallen and must have moral parameters set on them to maintain order in a society. These things are foundational to our understanding of American history. We are lost without them.


I could go on and on but I'll close by quoting Schama's final statement, the irony of which appears to be completely lost on him...

"There is no surer sign of a country's cultural and political decay than an obtuse blindness to its unmistakable beginnings."


PS. Much of my understanding of the Founding Fathers, and much of the information above, was found in "America's Christian History: The Untold Story" by Gary Demar. Wonderful book that is an apologetic on what the postmodern media will not tell you about our history... :-)

7.5 Months!

These days we are savoring every minute with Eli as he continues to grow into a little boy. I’ve been intending to record (for my own benefit in future years) what our typical day looks like now that I’m at home with Eli full time. Here goes:

6:30-7:00am Wake up and, after a full night’s rest (YAY!), go get Eli from his crib where he has situated himself nicely in the prime position to push his feet against the bumper pads

7:00am Feed! After his feeding we usually hang out on the floor or upstairs while I shower… and he typically is most pleasant in the early morning hours before he has a chance to not nap.

8:00am Eli will eat his cereal and two fruits at this meal. Up to this point, we’ve tried apples, mangoes, bananas, peaches, and prunes—all foods I have prepared except the prunes (ugh. it’s worth it to buy the canned prunes).

9:00-9:15am Eli goes down for his nap, usually with relative ease. He loves Goodnight Moon and I’ve found only a few other books that I can read in their entirety without hi m fussing. Rachel recommended Sandra Boynton books, which he enjoys… but the measure of enjoyment is relatively subjective since he can’t talk to me yet.

11:00am Feed! Usually Eli is up by 10 but sometimes we’ll get a few good days of 1.5-2 hr naps. This is rare, but I’ll often let him lay in his crib and play, fuss, or squeal—sometimes all three—until close to 11. After he eats, I’ll sometimes let him play alone on the floor while I do things around the house. He entertains himself quite well for right now, despite the fact that he’s not crawling yet.

1:00-1:30pm Eli will go down for another nap which is typically as short as his morning nap.

2:30-3:00pm When Eli wakes up from his nap, I’ll feed him again. If I have errands to run, I’ll typically do those at this time since I don’t particularly mind if he falls asleep on the way home. I’ve also found that by this point, I enjoy getting out of the house for a quick errand, a walk, or a more extensive (and financially dangerous!) shopping trip. :-)

5:30pm Eli eats his dinner which consists of rice cereal and two veggies—in the vegetable world, Eli has had avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, and peas. I’ve really enjoyed making his food and watching the process of transforming what we eat on a regular basis into food that he eats (and LOVES!)

6:00pm Daddy’s home! Bathtime around 6 which Eli loves—not in the same way that Claire, my niece, loves the bath. Eli’s enjoyment is a bit more clandestine and subtle. The lack of protest is enough for me to know he’s having a good time.

6:30pm Feed!

7:00pm Eli goes down for the night. Since he has started sleeping through the night, Michael and I both treasure and look forward to this time to catch up, read, or watch movies together. Most recently, I have submissively agreed to watch Band of Brothers with him after three years of holding a foggy memory of falling asleep after episode two. Admittedly, I’m really enjoying them this time around, especially when accompanied with a glass of wine, crackers, and cheese.

Bedtime for us varies but as sure as the sun will rise, we’re up again by 7 the next morning to repeat the process. For my thoughts on the monotony of it all, refer to my previous post. Haha!