Check-up time for those new year's resolutions

Can you believe that the month of January has come and gone?

Well, so I am here to check on those resolutions that I had set up in the beginning of the year. Confession time....

Am I a better wife? I hope so. There were multiple days where I so did not feel like cooking dinner, but than made the kids run out in the afternoon to get ingredients, in order to cook a meal for the Hubby. He is working so hard to provide for his family, I think he deserves a good meal at the end of his hard day.

Am I a better Mami? I think so. I have purposely played more with Coqui, especially when Peanut sleeps. He still gets a short quiet time, but it seems not to work as much as just simply playing with him. So I do it.
Also, I have done some research on the homeschooling. I want to be all prepped when September comes, and he would actually start school. He is doing great, still enjoys it, but there are days when he doesn't so much. And I have to find a way to make it more exciting for him.We recently painted, cooked and baked together, doing some arts and crafts that he enjoys very much, and reading together. He loves his time with Mami all by himself.
And Peanut? Well, here is my announcement...... drum roll...... she is not having her screaming sessions no more!!! Yeah. And she sleeps better in general. I can not spend much alone-time with her, but sometimes I do on the weekend when Coqui is on a daddy date.

Am I a better Christian? Well, since Peanut sleeps so long in the morning, I can actually make my cup of coffee and sit down with it and read the bible. Though I am not doing it every single day, the mornings that I am doing it, I feel much better in general, filled with the word of God. Following Jesus is not just about knowing all the facts from the bible, but it definitely helps to understand why God does some things the way He does. It makes me better, or at least trying to be better, with the struggles that I have. Like cooking dinner. Or throwing a party at my house.
I am also taking a class at our church, that I hope will give me some insight on myself and what God wants me to do in the future.

So there you are. Confession curtains closed.

Down Memory Lane

I was driving in my car the other day, and thoughts kept running through my mind. Actually more like flashbacks. I live in this country for more than ten years now. I got all melancholy about it, too. Remembering my first impressions. Remembering the hardship in the first year, and the following, the struggle of adjusting in a new world and the love I felt afterwards, for this country. America. It has been a good ten years. Even though I had my share of difficulties.

What I was thinking was that because of those experiences, I am the person I am today.

In the movie "Greek Wedding", the brother comes up to the main character and says "don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will be". I researched if this came from a big philosopher, but I guess it just sprang from the writers hand. Nonetheless, it is deep. We are what we are today because of our experiences on this earth, because of the people we met, the circumstances we were in, and the personality we have to deal with those situations. (Besides the "small" fact that God has a plan for us no matter what happens!)

I had to work some odd jobs, real odd ones at times, but they all helped to get me through the rough times. I had lovely friends that stood by my side. The people that helped us out were family people - we were watching their precious children (I know what I am talking about because I have a hard time to leave my kids.).

But these odd jobs are what America is all about: the country where a dream can come true!

America is not just the country of workaholics and crime and Hollywood. Real people live here. And the real people that I have met are among the greatest people in the world. They care about others - at least that's what they taught me! They have the joy of giving - something we are currently teaching Coqui. They stand by what they believe is right. Most of them treated me with respect and fairness. I point that out because I am a foreigner in this country, but nobody ever has made me feel like one. It amazes me to look back and say, wow, I could not have done it by myself if it weren't for all the support that I had.

I thought I'd share that with you today!!! How happy I am to live in this country, by God's will, the country where dreams still (!) come true.

Honesty and Encouragement

Finally, I have come back to the habit of reading the bible in the morning, with my coffee - yeah, the coffee is essential! The coffee wakes me up, the bible gets me ready to face the day...

So I read some chapters from the book of Proverbs this morning. It's a good book. Really. But what hit me the most was how often it talked about correcting someone, in a nice way, in a Godly way. Because we Germans have to do things right, the correct way. And positive criticism is suppose to be encouraging. God is not asking you to be mean and discouraging at all. So here are the verses that I liked:

Proverbs 27:5 "Better to correct someone openly than to let him think you don't care for him at all."

Proverbs 27:6 "Friends mean well, even when they hurt you. But when an enemy puts his arm around your shoulder - watch out!"

Proverbs 27:17 "People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron." 

Proverbs 28:18 "Be honest and you will be safe. If you are dishonest, you will suddenly fall." 

Proverbs 28:23 "Correct someone, and afterwards he will appreciate it more than flattery."

So when foreigners come to my home-country, we have to constantly correct their mistakes in learning our language - a language that is not easy to learn in the first place! So cut them a break! For me, that always seemed so unnecessary and definitely discouraging. When I was a foreigner myself, in France, I have to say, they did correct my mistakes over there; not always, but the big ones, yes, totally! And as an eager learner, I appreciated that. It helped me.

Then I came to America, and my, was I in for a surprise. One is suppose to be 'nice' and it is considered impolite behavior to correct someone - at least that was my perception here. Being still an eager learner, I asked my friends to, please, correct my mistakes - I mean, how else am I gonna learn it, right? Surprisingly, or maybe I just had good friends, they listened and I was able to ameliorate my English, a little bit!?!

So listen to God and please, correct my 'bad' English!!!

Isn't it rather nice to know that some people do care in our life and do the right thing to correct us. That goes for any kind of behavior, not just the language thing. I rather have someone point out to me that what I did was wrong, in person, openly, than behind my back, 'bitching' about me.... at least that's my thinking!
I also want to hear when I am doing things right.

But I found this saying:"Being honest is more than NOT laying." Wow. It also requires our understanding that the words coming out of our mouth might hurt someone. So we should put those words in a thoughtful and meaningful way, a way that it is beneficial and profitable to the recipient. Don't speak before you think about it. And I know, I am guilty in that way myself - I didn't say I was perfect. But I sure can try. This is an encouragement for all of us. And if hurtful words were spoken, that's were forgiveness comes in, and friends do forgive each other.

Lethargy

Coqui is sick.

Seeing him 'out of order' like that is just so sad. At least to me.

I have very active children, wild at times even. But I have to admit that I love it. To me that means they are happy. It means they are full of energy, so full that it just needs to bubble out all the time. (I always thought lethargic children are way to sad for me.) Kids are suppose to run around in circles, laugh to the fullest and ask a million questions because they are kids.That's how they learn...

So that all brought me to the homeschooling idea.
I am reading up a few books on the subject, and it just fits right with my ideas. So that encourages me to pursue it even more. One of things that came up in one book was children's energy and how to encourage it! Encourage you say? Wow. Because every school settings tries to calm that energy down in stead of raising it! Wow again. Think about it for a minute. In school, you need to sit still for long periods of time. At home, as the parent that really cares about the progress of our own children, we want to encourage them. Because the early years of childhood and learning are really just "information-gathering". And how children do that? Motion! It's all about motion. Using all our five senses. It's about touching, yes the constant and annoying touching of everything that comes their way. It's about seeing. So they can copy us, just like Peanut copies her big brother in pretty much everything he does. Hearing. The words coming out of our mouth, in order to learn our language or another one. Feeling. Feeling the love we give them - okay, okay, of course feeling different textures. Smelling. And tasting. You know what I mean.
We want our children to be curious, to be creative, to be imaginative, to be enthusiastic, to be adventurous in discovering and trying new things. The point being: to be energetic. So why trying to undermine that?

So I am very much looking forward to my child getting better.

And I am looking forward to this homeschooling journey - 'cos a journey it will be! But I am dedicated to pursue it.

Coqui's obsession with trains

 This might be news to you, or not, but I have a train maniac on my hands!

Coqui loves trains. Alot! Trains are everywhere in the house. He has train system called GeoTrax, that are plastic, and the wooden ones from Thomas the tank engine. He has train books. Many! We have shirts with trains on, we have train hats and whistles. We have posters and calendars. And he has DVDs. I mean the plain ones that are all about trains, and nothing else! Yeah.

I have absolutely no idea where it comes from. At first I figured, it's a boy thing. Right? We got him the GeoTrax because it was plastic, so less breakable. It has push trains and remote-controlled trains. So we thought it's a good start. When playing with it, he just has to wear a certain shirt, matching train pants and hat. And the remote control in his hands! My train engineer!

When he was younger, I had to help him alot with building those train tracks, but now, that he is older and has much more practice in what works and what doesn't, he has become quite excellent in building complicated tracks with ups and downs and under the bridge and over the tunnel. It's amazing. And it teaches so much. Patience when things don't work. And when things don't work, it teaches also problem solving. It teaches perseverance. Sharing with his sister. Obedience for following rules in how to set it up a certain way that works. And while we are at it, it teaches integrity. I love the enthusiasm. I love his seriousness about this hobby.

And I have to admit, I love learning about trains with him through the books we have. It is interesting. And it is a fun way to travel, too. He has been on fun trains in amusement parks, but he also has been on real trains! I find it sad that no-a-days kids don't get to ride trains anymore. I grew up with it, went on vacation with it, overnight, and I have alot of memories about trains. It's exciting, especially as a kid. So I want to make sure that my kids know that there is more than just cars! Like there are bikes and trains and airplanes and trams and buses - the public transportation system is endless and there to be used.

Please let your kids ride a train - at least once in their childhood! It is so much fun. We have. On a train with a steam engine. On a train with a diesel locomotive. We rode on a monorail and on an airport train. We've been on a little garden railroad that they have in Germany. (picture to the right) We've been to a train museum and explored all about trains. Coqui was fascinated. He has a great hobby.