DesignD

Designed Service Launch

2011-07-05T17:33:00.000-05:00

With a love for Children's Ministry and a skill in Marketing, Danika LaBrant has founded Designed Service, designing services for messages that matter in ministry and marketing. There is a blog spot on the website. Visit http://designedservice.com and click the "blog" tab. Danika LaBrant will be posting object lessons and other Children's Ministry news on DesignedService.com.

What happens to this blog? It is a curious thing. With the anticipated launch of Google+ the buzz is Blogger will be rebranded. Other than a name change, what other changes will occur? Google is not talking. For now, this blog will remain.

We hope you will find the information available on DesignedService.com beneficial. Ms. LaBrant is available as a guest speaker for AWANA nights, Disciple Now Weekends, special events, retreats, etc.

Acension Awe

2011-05-09T11:20:00.000-05:00

In Children's and Preschool Ministry, my favorite lessons are Christmas and Easter. There are a ton of resources for Christmas, but not for Easter. The death and resurrection of Christ is a difficult lesson to teach to a four year old. Through the years I have stumbled across a couple of really good and fun object lessons that put AWE into Ascension. Here are a couple of fun ones....

1. Ping Pong Ball Ascension - Supplies: a ping pong ball, a hair dryer and a toilet tube role. What to do: turn on the hair dryer (cool air if possible) and point it to the ceiling. Place the ping pong ball in the airflow and watch it balance there. This is a good time to review Jesus was resurrection and appearances on the Road to Emmaus ( Luke 24:35-37) and the 40 days he appeared alive after his death (Acts 1:3). With practice you can even walk around balancing the ball in the air stream. But of course, we want to end with a HOORAY! Jesus is risen. So after you talk about the ascension (Luke 24:51 and Acts 1:9), place the toilet role over the ball. The channelled air will move faster and force the ball to pop out the top. Preschoolers love it. Children want to try it themselves.
2. Breaking Free Baking Soda - Supplies: empty water bottle, lemon juice, water, baking soda, one square of toilet paper, a cork, and an aluminum baking tray or craw fish plate to catch the fizz. Prep: fill about an 1" of lemon juice in the bottom of the water bottle and then add water until about 1/2 full. This is a good lesson to talk about the resurrection. The lemon juice is the oils used to treat the body of Christ. The baking soda is the body of Christ placed in the toilet square which is the linen cloth. They placed the body in the tomb (pour the baking soda into the bottle) and then rolled a great stone in front of the tomb (do it quickly after the pour, cork the top). Then three days later Jesus was resurrected (the pressure builds until the cork is forced to pop out. depending on how much baking soda you use and how tight the cork is in, determines how high the cork will fly.) If you can't find the right size cork, you can try to make one with play dough. It didn't work so well; never popped. But the fizz created did leak out and the discussion became how Jesus's love just keeps flowing. Jesus loved us so much He went to the grave, broke out of the grave, and pours His continued love and forgiveness on us even today.
3. Resurrection Explosion - this one is great fun and an outdoor experiment. It can be used on Easter Sunday as something special for an exciting day or you can use it on Ascension day as the climax to a multi-week study of Easter. All this is is the Mentos experiment which you may have seen on the Steve Spangler, the Science Guy website. Supplies: 2 liter bottle of cheap diet soda, a roll of mentos mint candy, and optionally a geyser tube which you can get on the Spangler website at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/ or check the discovery section of some toy stores or Hobby Lobby sometimes carries them in their impulse buy section by the cash registers. You don't need the geyser tube but it sure makes it easier. Anyway, I recommend having multiple bottles and multiple rolls of Mentos. I keep the kids back since this makes a huge mess so I holler out, "Can death keep a good man down?" Student reply, "No!" I holler, "How many days was Jesus in the tomb?" Student reply, "Three!" I holler, "What happened on the third day?" Student reply, "He rose." I holler, "Let's count! One, two, three!" Then release the mentos into the soda. The explosion is quick so wear a poncho or have an umbrella for you. Kids will squeal with glee. Then I repeat the holler, student reply. Review is always important, and the kids are having so much fun, they don't realize they are learning.

I love the Ascension Lesson. The kids have fun, and we get to celebrate life. Best wishes for success in your Children's program.

Very Bad, No Good Day, but Still Loved

2011-03-31T14:45:00.001-05:00

Reading the Old Testament, it is amazing how many times the Israelites disobeyed God. Unlike today where faith and prayer are the way to a personal relationship, they actually got to see God and hear God verbally. He spoke to them and appeared in clouds and fire. Today His miracles are usually subtle like a great parking spot or a lost job just in time to earn a great job, but back then His miracles were miraculous. Plagues that ravaged the land did not touch the Israelites. They walked on dry land through the middle of a sea. When they complained about that boring old manna everyday, God sent them quail to eat. To be that close to God and to just turn your head and disobey? I don't get it.

So what is the good news? The good news is that God's continued forgiveness, continued blessings for the Israelites offers a great picture of a loving father. The old testament demonstrates again and again the character of God as patient and loving.

How to express God's character to Preschoolers? This is hard for them to understand, but easily described through their relationship with their mom and dad. How many times has a preschooler spilled something on the floor? How many times have they "accidentally" broken a toy? How many times did they spill their dinner down their shirt? Mom and Dad may have gotten mad, but they didn't stay mad. They still love you.

Have you ever had a very bad, no good, day? When you woke up, you got caught in the sheets and tripped, falling out of bed. Since you were so tired and surprised, you had an accident and did not make it to the potty. Mommy was sad, but she still loves you. You didn't like what you got for breakfast and when you pushed the dish away, you pushed too hard. It fell to the floor and made a mess. Mommy was mad, but she still loves you. You watched cartoons nicely but became bored. You decided to be a helper and decorate the wall with your crayons. Mommy was mad you colored the wall, but she still loves you. Mommy sent you outside to play. You enjoyed following a lady bug, but soon the bug flew away. You decided to dig and see what other bugs you could find. How were you supposed to know that was her favorite kitchen spoon that you used for a shovel? Mommy was mad but she still loves you. After lunch you had a play date. You shared your toys but your friend would not share their toys. You had to bonk them on the head to get them to share. Mommy was mad, but she still loves you. Dinner went much like breakfast. Broccoli, yuck. Didn't shove them on the floor, but mommy did not like you pushing them off your plate and onto the new table cloth. Mommy was mad, but she still loves you. Bath time and we are out of bubbles. Ho hum. Bed time finally, Mommy reads a book, sings a song, says prayers and kisses you good night. Mommy loves you.

For every time we say Mommy, we could also say Daddy. Daddy sometimes gets mad, but Daddy always loves you. God is the same. He loves us no matter what happens.

A fun visual aid is a pet. If it is o.k. with your church, bring a child loving pet. Pets make mistakes. They don't make it to the potty. They chew things that are not food. They scratch furniture, floors and walls. Pets have very bad, no good days, but we love them anyway.

Big or Small, God Uses Them All (Balls and a Cup)

2011-03-07T13:57:00.000-06:00

Object lessons are a fun way to grab students attention and engage them in the story and/or life application. Last Sunday our Bible story was of the poor woman who gave a few coins unlike the many coins the rich people gave. Jesus pointed out that the poor woman gave more than the rich people because she gave all she had and the rich people only gave some. There are other life applications for this story but with our 4 and 5 year olds we focused on, "Big or Small, God can use them all." Here is the object lesson we had fun with to bring home the life application.

Supplies...3 or more small balls of different sizes and a one pint size, clear plastic cup
Presentation...Each person gave an offering to God. The rich people gave big offerings (hold up the big ball), regular people gave regular offerings (hold up the medium size ball), and the poor woman gave what little she had (hold up the small ball or a marble).

Each person gave an offering to God. The money we give the church does not actually go up to heaven to God. The church uses the money to show God’s love here on earth.
So this cup is kind of like the church. (drop the big ball in the cup) Can God use this big thing to share love on this earth? Will this ball make it up to God, grab some of his love and then share God's love down here on earth? (place the cup in the palm of your hand and make a circular motion until the ball starts to rise in the cup) This big offering is climbing, I think it is going to reach heaven, (spin until it flies out of the cup). Wow, there it goes into the world to share God’s love.

Could a regular old offering do the same? (pick up the medium ball) Could just an ordinary offering reach up to heaven and bring down to earth a piece of God’s love? (spin the glass) It looks like it is rising. I think it is going to make it. (spin until it flies out) Wow, an ordinary offering can share God’s love just like a big offering.

But this is such a small offering. (pick up small ball or marble) Surely, this tiny offering could not share God’s love. It is so small and God is so big and the world is so big. (start to spin the glass) But I see this tiny offering climbing. (spin it faster) This tiny offering is going to reach heaven? (spin until if flies out) Wow, that tiny offering made it to heaven and back to earth and shared God’s love.

It does not matter what size your offering is to God. Big or small, God can use them all. If you give an offering, no matter what size big or small, God can use your offering to share His love on this earth.

God Can Use Me

2011-02-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

So, I have set a goal to read "The Bible in 90 Days." That is the name of the book and it is the Bible just with headers every 12 pages to mark the start and stop of the reading for the day. Don't think I will finish in 90 days, but I am determined to do the reading anyway.

So, I have finished Genesis and Exodus officially and searched for words to share. The story of Aaron keeps coming to mind. Aaron was Moses brother. When Moses whined about public speaking and being the leader of the Israelites out of Egypt. God empowered Aaron to help Moses. Aaron spoke to the masses, to Pharaoh and performed some miracles. When they were freed and wondering the wilderness, Aaron was still there doing the public speaking and serving God and Moses. When God and Moses had to have some quiet time to talk up on the mountain, Aaron was the one that watched over the people and served as leader.

God was so pleased with Aaron that he wrote on stone tablets that Aaron and his sons were to be priests. God gave great detailed instructions on how Aaron and his sons were to be readied for service, adorned in special garments and given a portion of the sacrifice. But even as God was giving these lengthy instructions on how well to treat Aaron, Aaron was sinning against God. The people had become restless and sinful and asked Aaron to create for them an idol to worship, and he did. When Moses came down from the mountain, he broke the tablets and asked Aaron how he could do such a thing. Aaron was weak and admitted it. He repented. After some punishment of the people and other events, Moses met with God again and again God detailed these elaborate instructions for the temple, for the priests including Aaron and the ten commandments. It took some time, but the people got on track and followed the instructions and built the temple, or at that time it was a tent, and honored Aaron and his sons as the first official priests.

I suspect that is my life story too. Even as God is saying what a good and faithful child I am, I am sinning. Instead of inheriting my reward right away, I have to pay for my sins; I have to repent. I want to be a minister for God, to share His word and share His light in this world. But I am weak. I want the masses to like me. I don't want to present false idols, but will they like me if I don't. In my heart, I know it does not matter if they like me. It matters if I serve God's will.

If Aaron, who saw God's miracles first hand, who survived great tragedy, who knew God personally, can falter and still get back up and serve God's plan. I suppose I can too. If God can forgive Aaron for such a grievance, God can forgive me. If God can forgive and still use Aaron in his plan, then God can still use me.

Sexy Bible Characters

2011-02-24T12:38:00.000-06:00

The Bible, the B-I-B-L-E, is a long book. I have heard the Bible. I have read many parts of the Bible, but I have never read the whole thing cover to cover. Since I recently lost my job and have some time on my hands, I have decided it is time. I am through Genesis and anticipate finishing Exodus tomorrow, but what keeps going through my mind is Indiana Jones.

Now Harrison Ford, the actor who plays Indiana Jones in the movies, is one of my all time favorites with his quiet charm, sexy good looks and adventerous spirit. Now Indiana Jones, some of the movies were awesome and at least one should have been left on the cutting room floor, but still the romantic notion of it all stirs excitement within me. So I am reading the Bible and I am getting the same feelings of quiet charm and sexy characters and fellings of adventure and wonder about the romance and excitement of the era.

Sexy Bible characters? A romantic and exciting era? Yes, I have had some trouble with that too. But put aside your culturally developed stereotypes and think about how many children these guys had. The twelve tribes of Isreal were fathered by one man and then the head of each tribe fathered a nation. That is a lot of kids. An angry ogre would not swoon the ladies. How exciting to see the birth of a civilization! But how dynamic these fathers had to be to bestow trust and loyalty among their budding nations.

Adventure, have you read the story of Moses? Wow! What a plot! Baby survives the river to be adopted by a princess. The baby grows into a man who upon the revelation of his roots is thrown into a course of events that include murder, natural disasters, a mass exodus of people, miracles and face time with God himself. He was a leader but a coward as well who had to utilize the talents of his brother to speak to the people. How cool is that! God was miffed with Moses for all his whining, but God still found a way for Moses to do his job through his brother Aaron. The moral of that story, you will fulfill your purpose in God's plan regardless of your fears and failings.

Aaron must have been just like Indiana Jones, charming, sexy and adventurous. Charming, he spoke with the masses and the masses believed and followed. Sexy, he had several sons, who like their father, were leaders and were eventually appointed priests by God himself. Adventerous, Aaron never complained or whined when Moses told him of Gods plans to send plagues instead of just leading them out of Egypt. He didn't complain when it was time to leave Egypt and walk through the dessert and the wilderness. But why are there not stories of Aaron like there are stories of Moses? Perhaps because Aaron got so caught up in pleasing the people he was suppposed to be leading; he sinned against God by creating a golden calf and letting the people get out of control. The moral to that story, keep your eyes on God. Do not fall to pleasing people.

It is an exciting book, the Bible. I am glad for this time to read it cover to cover. I hope you get time to enjoy the quiet charm of the characters and the sexy adventerous tales of their lives.

The Birth of a Ministry

2011-02-18T10:48:00.001-06:00

Reviewing my blog, I have noticed a trail of ups and downs including the death of my grandmother, the death of my stepfather, and ups in steps of faith, kitchen science experiments and more. I am befuddled by this path that I am on. I have felt an urge to enter ministry since I was a kid, but event after event has shown me I am not ready. I have prayed for years for God to reveal His plan for me and to make it simple for I am a simple person. I guess when my boss fired me last week; that was a pretty simple, "you are in the wrong place. get moving!"

So again I am faced with which path to take. Do I continue my pursuit to be a professional marketing person with expertise in copy writing and event planning? Do I pursue a career in ministry? Do I go back to school and get my teaching certificate? What is God's plan for me?

Since I have some time on my hands and really want to get this right this time, I have decided to commit to read the "The Bible in 90 days" a Zondervan Bibles publication. I have finished Genesis and the whole thing about circumcision has struck me. So God tells Abraham in Genesis 17 for every male to be circumcised, young and old alike to seal the covenant between God and Abraham. To seal a deal with God, a super good deal where they get a bunch of blessings, all the men say, "Sure." I am not a man, but ouch. But they did it and they were blessed.

Now later in Genesis 34, there is another story of circumcision that did not end well. Jacob, the father of nations, also had a daughter named Dina who was violated by a man from the city of Shechem in Canaan. Jacob was sad, but her brothers were furious. The brothers tricked the men of Shechem. They said if they all got circumcised then they would live peacefully among them and become one people sharing livestock and wealth. The men of the city said, "Sure," and were all circumsiced. Now the brother's new of the pain of circumcision and on the third day after the procedure, the brother's entered the city and killed all the men who were still in pain from the circumcision. I guess the moral of the story is if you desire to seal a deal with God, then no price is too high; but if you desire to seal a deal with man for wealth and privilege, check his motives.

So what does that have to do with the ups and downs of this blog? I desparately want to seal a deal with God, but I don't know what the deal is. I have decided I must pursue my desire for ministry but definately not for wealth and privilege though I wouldn't frown on it if it came my way. I just pray that my desire is given to me by God. I pray to fulfill His purpose for me.

So what's next? I plan to offer myself as a guest speaker. I have more than 10 years of experience in Children's and Preschool Ministry and feel strongly that I can provide age appropriate, fun and relevant faith messages to youth, parents, and women's organizations. I have been in development of the DesignD ministry for more than a year. I have friends that are willing to partner with me, and friends who will be supporting me. The time has come to seal the deal and step out on faith. Soon I will be providing more information on DesignD and how you too can book me as a guest speaker at your next engagement.

Love Part of Me, Love All of Me

2011-02-14T10:51:00.004-06:00

OMG, when was my last post?! Well, in honor of Valentine's Day, an object lesson about love. I am a Large Group leader of our Preschool worship and have tested this with our 4 and 5 year olds. LOVED IT! Definitely, solidified my love of teaching children.

I have several containers full of different things from my kitchen (supplies and preparation are at the end of this post). I will ask volunteers to come up and take a guess of what is inside. Some of the things are easy to guess: granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, chocolate chips. Some things are not so easy to guess: flour, baking soda, vanilla.

In addition to asking my volunteer what the item is. I also ask them, "Would you like to take a spoon and eat some of the (butter)?" Some items, the volunteer is very happy to take a spoon and eat. Some items, not so much. I do not actually have the volunteers taste the item.

So some of these things are very tastey by themselves, but some of them are not. BUT if you put all these things in a bowl and stir them up really well, then press the mixture out on a pan and put it in the heat of the oven; in time you will have a very wonderful chocolate chip cookie.

This is a lot like how God made me and how God made you. Inside you are some super great things like knowledge, love, kindness, generosity, and lots of other great things (not the verbiage I used in preschool but it works here). Inside you are some not so great things like impatience, jealousy, anger. God knows about all the good things and all the bad things. God knows that when you put all these parts together He gets all of you, a wonderful person.

God wants to mold you into something fantastic, and to make you that wonderful person, He will put you through the fire to assure you become one fabulous person.

God knows all about the good, all about the bad, all about the pressure you are under, all about the fires you've been through, and He loves you, all of you. So no matter what it is that you do not like about yourself, know that God knows all about that and loves you anyway. No matter what hardship you are suffering, God knows and He still loves you. No matter what fire seems to be consuming you today, God knows all about it and He loves you. He will turn whatever this trial is into something fantastic and you will become a greater whole.

In Jesus Name, I pray for you a Happy Valentines Day!

Supplies: 9 or 10 small clear containers (baby food bottles or Tupperware), masking tape, marker, ingredients listed below, and at least one (1) chocolate chip cookie. Optional: chocolate chip cookies to share with the kids

Preparation: label and fill each container with one of the following: 2 ¼ flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1 cup butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 eggs, 2 cups chocolate chips, and optionally, 1cup nuts. NOTE: exact measurements are not necessary unless you plan to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Roller Coaster Life

2010-09-05T08:23:00.004-05:00

I have heard life referred to as a roller coaster. It is terrifying but exhilarating. It is many ups and downs and a few twists and turns to keep things interesting. But unlike a roller coaster that stops and lets you get off; life does not.

Life keeps going. It does not care that you are having a great time and want to stay where you are. It does not care that you are hurting and just need a time out to recover. It does not care that you are afraid and don't want to go into that next phase of life. Things happen and your stage of life changes.

I recently suffered a terrible loss, the death of my Dad. I definitely want a time out to mourn his passing, but life just keeps going. As I have cried and yelled and hurt, I have been surprised by the depth of my sorrow. I have a dear friend who helps me with my kids during emergencies, and she asked as delicately as she could, "How many deaths is this?" That really made me think.

In the past year and a half, my grandmother/my last living grandparent died. My uncle died suddenly on a business trip. He was young with four children, two still in college. It was natural causes but still too soon. My great aunt died and three days later her brother/my great uncle died. It is hard to explain the importance of all these people in my life in just a few words, but I can say growing up when love seemed just a theory and not a reality, each of these people demonstrated a tangible love and a hope for joy in this life.

Barely a month after the deaths of my aunt and uncle, my Dad died suddenly. He was 84, but up until 2 weeks prior to his death, he was independent. He is my step-father, but he has been my step-father for 31 years. My biological father is in my life and I do have a reconciled, healthy relationship with him. My step-father, however, is the one who was there for this roller coaster. He was the one that was there when things were up and down and even there for the twists and turns. My step-father is the one who taught me that love endures all things.

I am still riding the roller coaster. I want to get off, but I am holding on. This is just a down turn and this too will pass. I hold onto the hope that soon there will be an up or a twist and things will get better. Life, love and happiness are on this roller coaster and definitely make the ride worth riding. I still have tears, but I also have love. My husband is in the seat next to me. My kids are in the seat behind me. This down turn will not derail me. I am going to hold on and look up. An up turn has to be coming.

God Protects (Water Surface Tension)

2010-01-20T09:57:00.004-06:00

Kids often ask for proof that God exists. Well, many adults ask too. The fun of teaching children God's message is bringing in object lessons and fun experiments. In our current series, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" we discussed how God protects us. We used the Bible story "Jesus Calms the Storm" in Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:35-41. We used two water surface tension experiments as visual aides for the "oohs and aahhs" and to amplify that Jesus only spoke a word and the wind and the WATER obeyed. The following are the two experiments....

Anti-Gravity Water
This experiment was taken from : “Anti-Gravity Water” Steve Spangler, http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000075 , Jan. 2010. Steve Spangler has photos and videos to demonstrate the experiment.

Supplies you need a tall water glass, a wet napkin, a pitcher of water and a cookie sheet with sides to catch water spills.

After a long day of teaching many, many people Jesus and the Disciples got into a boat to rest (place cup in the center of the cookie sheet). Jesus rested in the boat and fell asleep (place the wet napkin over the top of the glass, make sure there is a depression like a little bowl in the napkin in the glass). While Jesus slept, a storm suddenly overtook the boat and the wind and the waves were very tall and strong and scary. (pour water into the cup, do not pour more than 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water). The Disciples were scared and woke Jesus up saying, "Jesus, help us!" (stop pouring and slowly pull the napkin tight around the glass) Jesus woke, looked around and with only a word told the wind and the water to, "Stop." (turn the glass upside down and the water will not spill out.) The wind and the water obeyed.

At this point you could ask a volunteer to come up and witness that the water is still in the cup. You can talk about the storms in our lives and if we ask Jesus, pray to God, He will help us. Turn the glass back over, remove the napkin and then pour the water back into the pitcher.

Anti-Gravity Water Experiment #2
This experiment I have seen on-line, in my son's science class and at a Cub Scout meeting.

Supplies you need include a dessert size party plate, a clear plastic cup and a pitcher of water.

In our lives we have storms spring up on us. (Pour a water into cup about half full.) We forget our homework. We have to take a pop-quiz. Mom won't let me play the Teen Video Game that everybody else is playing. I catch the flu. Etc. (place plate on top of cup, top surface down). What do you do? (With one hand flat on the plate and one hand on the cup, flip the cup and plate over at the same time, the water will not spill) Pray to God, and he will answer you. Just like the Disciples cried to Jesus. (balance on bottom hand and remove top hand). And Jesus answered their cries with a simple word, God will give you peace and comfort. He may not bless you with a T-Video Game, but He will answer you. He may inspire your heart to study or read or get involved in a sports activity or community event or something else that will fill your time and your heart with joy. (place hand back on cup and remove hand from the bottom, water will not spill out). BIG OR SMALL, GOD ANSWERS THEM ALL. God will answer your prayers. God will protect you. God will heal you.

God protects. Ask and He will answer. Have a Blessed Day.

Don't Worry, Be Happy (Ball Bucket)

2010-01-13T08:34:00.003-06:00

Our family is under a lot of stress. I love to be a stay-at-home mom. But the reality of life is the expense of living is going up and salaries are not increasing proportionately. So am I worried? I am human, of course, I am a little worried. BUT I know God is good all the time. So Don't Worry, Be Happy.

The following is a sermonette called "Don't Worry. Be Happy." offered to a Children's group.

Before Class: You are going to need a bucket of balls, a paper cross and some tape and then ask for a volunteer.

Presentation: Ask your volunteer to jump up and down. Comment on what a great job they did. Now ask them if they have anything they are worried about. You may need to start the list by saying, "Are you worried about getting your homework done in time to see your favorite t.v. show?" Hand the volunteer a ball and ask them to hold it. Explain that the ball represents worry. Continue to say worries and pile a bunch of balls in the volunteers hands. Allow the audience to voice some of their concerns while adding balls to your volunteers ball. If the volunteer starts to drop balls, pick them up and give them back. This is probably the time to ask the volunteer to try and jump holding onto all those balls without dropping any balls. The volunteer may be a little frustrated, so ask them, "Do you want to hold onto all these balls, all these worries? No?" Pull out the paper cross and tape it to the bucket. The Bible says in Psalm 57:22 "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you." Now you can jump up and down and not drop one single ball. When you give your worries to Jesus, to God, everything becomes easier.

At this time you can go into Bible time and discuss Matthew 6: 26-34. Jesus told the disciples to look at the birds who never work a day, but still have plenty of food and shelter. You are more precious than the birds. Jesus told the disciples to look at the Lillie's in the field. The Lillie's do not sew on their leaves though they are dressed in the most beautiful colors. You are more precious than the Lillie's. God already knows your needs, and He will provide. Jesus said, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring its own troubles. Today's trouble is enough for today."

A fun visual aide is a growing paper tree. This idea came from Steve Spangler Science, http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/how-to-make-a-newspaper-tree , Jan. 2010. Supplies: newspaper, tape and scissors. Tape 5-10 sheets of paper together end to end and then roll them up. At one end cut about 4 cuts to about half way down. Lay the pieces down so it looks like you are holding a flower. Reach into the center of the "flower" and demonstrate how God amply blesses. When you pull, your flower will grow and grow until it looks like a tree. Depending on the number of sheets you use, it may be taller than you.

So Don't Worry. Be Happy. God's got this one.

Wise Men / Happy New Year (Maze)

2010-01-05T18:57:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year! A fun time of year that certainly means more to me as an adult than to my 4 year old Sunday school students. My students do understand fun, so when I found this object lesson on http://www.kidzmatter.com/ (submitted by Ryan Frank), I knew this would be a perfect way to wrap up the Christmas story, bring in the new year and have fun.

The Kidzmatter version says to give each student a maze and a pencil. Mr. Frank then says, "We are entering a new year. You may have some difficult days ahead and may not know what direction you should go. When you don't know what to do or where to go, all you have to do is ask God. Pray to God. God is always there to help us if we will just ask Him to guide us. In Isaiah 30:21, God said, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' God wants to help us, we just need to listen!"

As is customary in many denominations, we review the wise men story after the birth of Christ. The belief is that it took the wise men several day (perhaps 12) to follow the star and find the Baby Jesus. Along the way, the wise men became confused and asked where the new born king could be found, thus creating a tie-in to the maze analogy.

To take the analogy one step farther, I used masking tape to create a round maze on the floor. In the center of the maze was a mini manger with a Baby Jesus. As I told the wise men story, I started to navigate a path through the maze suggesting that the wise men had to walk around houses and trees (turns on the path) to find Jesus. I placed a mini crown at a fork in the maze. The crown represented King Herod and I stopped a moment to discuss that portion of the story. Then I moved to the manger and discussed the wise men's reactions and gifts, but of course, God warned the wise men not to return the way they came. On the other side of the manger was another path offering a quick exit from the maze.

To offer life application for our students, I returned to the beginning and navigated the path again discussing the new year and the challenges ahead of us (someone cuts in line to the slide, your brother breaks your toy, Mom won't let you eat candy for breakfast, etc.). In the center of the maze I reviewed Isaiah 30:21 and offered a simple prayer. The quick exit was aligned with God's guidance. We then had some fun letting the kids navigate the maze themselves.

A tip, let the kids pull the tape up. They love to help and for a reason I don't know, they love pulling up the tape. Some kids made tape balls, and we had an impromptu game of catch. Catch is a good way to review the lesson. The student who catches the ball has to answer a review question. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Angels Appeared (Visual Aid)

2009-12-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

This is a visual aid to help talk about the angels as you tell the Christmas story.

Supplies: blacklight, Tonic Water with Quinine in the ingredients, and a paper plate angel (see how to make below)

Preparation: place tonic water in a clear bottle if it is not already in one. Remove the label. Make Paper Plate Angel and then set it on top of the bottle.

As you tell the Christmas story, every time an “angel” appears bring out or point to your Tonic Water Angel. You may want to draw the students into the angel by asking them if they believe in angels? Do they believe angels appear to regular people like Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds? Then add, “I believe in angels, and I believe that they can appear to regular people just like Mary and just like you and me.” Then turn the black light on behind the angle. The quinine in the tonic water will glow a blue-ish glow. If you decorated the angel with fluorescent yellow highlighter, then the highlighter will really glow a bright yellow.

Paper Plate Angel Craft
Adapted from: "Paper Plate Angel," Big Book of Bible Crafts, Gospel Light, © 2000

Supplies: a paper plate, scissors, stapler or clear tape and things to decorate with such as glitter, yarn, stickers, pipe cleaners (for halo) and markers.

Optional Supplies: a hole punch and 6”-8” yarn strips (to make angel a hanging ornament) and yellow fluorescent Highlighter (really glows bright yellow when put under a black light)

Instructions:

Cut out angel – Fold paper in half. Draw a line straight across. At the center of the line draw a circle to be the head. Cut along the straight line to about ¼” from the head on both sides. Cut out the head. (DO NOT CUT paper plate in half by cutting all the way to the head.)
Fold arms and wings – on the bottom half (the part without the circle for the head). Fold the outer tips forward until they touch together and staple or tape together. Fold the top half down behind the angel to become the wings and secure with tape or a staple.
Decorate – decorate as desired.

Christmas Traditions Today and Yesterday

2009-12-12T23:47:00.005-06:00

Christmas is coming! As we wear ourselves out getting ready, we may wonder why we bother. Why? Why because, it is the biggest birthday party of the year. It is one of the biggest celebrations to give thanks for the greatest gift ever given, God's only Son, the Savior of the World.

When you feel yourself ready to throw in the towel and give up, take a deep breath and remember the Christmas story, the true meaning of Christmas. All of this started with the birth of a baby in a manger in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago.

When you wonder why? Consider the presentation below. I did this for my Sunday School class of 4-5 year olds. They loved it.

Supplies: poster sizes paper (either cut out or draw on it the outline of a Christmas tree), coffee filters, scissors, yellow fluorescent highlighter, black light.

Prep: cut coffee filters into the shape of ornaments, draw on them with the highlighter things that represent Christmas: 1) candy cane/shepherd’s staff, 2) manger, 3) star, 4) camel, 5) sheep, 6) angel, 7) cross)

Presentation:
(tape Christmas tree up where everybody can see it) About now everybody is getting ready for Christmas.
1. We are decorating the tree (tape a coffee filter to the tree)
2. We may be decorating the house with lights and wreaths. (tape another ornament),
3. We may be baking cookies (tape another ornament)
4. We may be shopping for gifts (tape another ornament)
5. We may be going to parties (tape another ornament)
6. We may be going to see Christmas movies or Christmas plays (Tape another ornament)
7. We may even go caroling and sing Christmas songs (tape another ornament)
But is that what Christmas is all about? Is that why we celebrate Christmas? No (get black light ready)
1. We celebrate Christmas to honor the Son of God (turn black light on and point to the cross. The yellow will shine bright.)
2. We celebrate Christmas to remember the story of the King of Kings as just a babe born in a manger (point to manger)
3. We go to watch Christmas movies like the shepherds had to go watch their flocks at night (point to sheep)
4. We sing Christmas songs like the angels did when they told the shepherds the good news (point to angel)
5. We go to parties like the shepherds did when they went to the manger and then told everybody they could find to come and see and celebrate the new born king (point to candy cane/shepherds staff)
6. We buy gifts like the wise men did (point to camel)
7. We decorate our homes like the star above Bethlehem did so many years ago. (point to star)
Christmas is not about toys and food and decorations. It is about God’s love for you and for me. It is the about the greatest gift ever given, God’s only son. It is about Jesus Christ’s birthday. Jesus Christ, the savior of all the world, has given us a gift, a chance for everlasting life.

Enjoy your Christmas and all it’s traditions, but don’t forget where it all started in a manger in Bethlehem. Don’t forget why it started, to celebrate the birth of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.

Friends Help Us Reach High Heights (Ball Bounce)

2009-11-23T10:49:00.003-06:00

Source: unknown, I have seen several variations of this demonstration on-line including one on “Mad About Jesus Laboratories” using a toy called “astroblasters” which is the same concept as the demonstration below.

Bible Story: Jonathan and David, 1 Samuel 18: 1-4

Supplies: one basketball and one tennis ball

Discussion:
Friends, who needs them? We all need them. Friends are fun to play with and fun to talk to. Friends are fun to sing with. Friends share stories and toys. Friends make us feel better when we are sad and make us laugh when we want to be mad. Friends help us to do better and be better.

Here I have a basketball and a tennis ball. Do you think they could be friends? Of course, they can. We do not have to look alike to be friends.

(bounce the basketball) This is a nice basketball. It can do all sorts of neat tricks bouncing up and down and between my legs and more.
(bounce the tennis ball) This is a nice tennis ball. It too can do all sorts of things including bouncing up and down.
(demonstration) Both of these balls are pretty good, but can either of these balls bounce as high as where they started from? Let’s try the basketball first (place on hand on top of the ball and one hand on the bottom. Hold the ball out at arms length. DO not move the hand on top. Remove the bottom hand and let the ball drop. It will not make it back to your hand.) Let’s try the tennis ball (repeat using the tennis ball. It will not be able to reach your hand either).
(Reach High Heights) The basketball is a good ball but it cannot bounce as high as my hand by itself. The tennis ball is a good ball but it cannot bounce as high as my hand by itself. What if the basketball and tennis ball were friends and worked together? (place the tennis ball on top of the basketball. Place one hand on top of the tennis ball and one hand under the basketball and press the balls together like a sandwich. Stretch your arms out and keep the top hand at shoulder level. Remove your lower hand. The basketball will not bounce at all but the energy will shoot the tennis ball really high. Make sure you have some room since the tennis ball may shoot in any direction depending on how center or not center it is on top of the basketball.)

Wow! Together these balls can accomplish some great things. By themselves they are pretty good, but together they are better. Friends can make a big difference.

God Changes Pumpkins, Part 3 (Salvation, Carved Pumpkin)

2009-10-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Halloween is coming with all it's creepy crawlies. What's a loving Christian to do? Carve a special jack-o-lantern to express how God changes you.

This is a great object lesson for children. There are four parts to this 1) the Poem, 2) Action: Carve part of the pumpkin, 3) the Bible verses that inspired the poem and 4) Talking points to fill the time while you do the actual carving. You will probably want to carve and clean the pumpkin prior to the presentation, but leave some of the ooey guts inside and the pieces still in the pumpkin to create the illusion of carving.

Fun Tip: "Jesus" is just long enough to carve in the shape of a face. "J" and last "S" carve large like ears. "E" and "U" carve small like eyes. Middle "s" long like a nose.

Poem: God Changes Pumpkins by Danika LaBrant, copyright 2009
Bible Verses: "Life Application Bible, New International Version." Tyndayl House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois and Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, Colorado. Copyright 2004

My big round pumpkin shows me
Where I want to be
From faceless, full of mess-ups
God changes me
- Action: Present Pumpkin
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

- Talking Points: This pumpkin is a lot like me. On the outside it looks nice, a good shape, just like a pumpkin should. It has a few bumps and imperfections, just like me, but on the outside it looks pretty good. On the inside, however ooey's and gooey's and all sorts of yucky stuff. I need God to change me.

The first thing I must do
Ask God to make me new
Please God open my mind
Your truth I want to find
- Action: Cut top of pumpkin
- Ephesians 1:17 "I keep asking God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

- Talking Point: Nothing can happen until I ASK God. I must pray. I need to "A" accept I am a sinner, "B" Believe in Jesus Christ and "C" Confess my sins. And then God can start his work in me.

The gooey slime inside
Confess my sins and do not hide
God forgives my ooey heart
He offers me a brand new start
- Action: Clean out pumpkin
- Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
- Romans 6:18 "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness."

- Talking Points: Everybody is a sinner, me, you, your Mom and Dad, your best friend, everybody. But we don't have to suffer for all eternity for the wrongs we do. We can ask forgiveness and start new. God will forgive, but FIRST you must pray and ask, then God can work in you.

My clouded eyes I pray
The Lord will wipe away
So I may see the sight
What Jesus has made right
- Action: Cut eyes
- Ephesians 1: 18 "I pray also that eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints."

- Talking Point: No matter how dark and creepy or lonely things get there is a light in your heart. You have to ask the light to come in. You have to pray to God, and then the Holy Spirit will live in you. You will always have someone you can turn to, someone you can talk to. When you ask Jesus into your heart, God will start to open your eyes to see hope and to see the many blessings that surround you.

Open my ears to Your word
I want to be altered
The lessons Jesus taught
In practice, I want to rock
- Action: Cut ears
- Matthew 7:24 (Jesus said) "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

- Talking Points: So it is not enough to hear God's word, you need to live God's word. You need to do God's word. It is important to memorize the 10 Commandments, but you need to actually do them too. Don't lie, don't steal and KEEP GOD FIRST.

To breath is to live
A life that God gives
To choose to believe
A greater gift I receive
- Action: cut nose
- Genesis 2:7 "The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
- John 20:22 "And with that (Jesus) breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

- Talking Points: No one asked you if you wanted to be born. Your life is a free gift, no strings attached. The gift of Jesus is a choice. God asks you if you want Jesus in your life. If you say yes, then the light of Jesus enters your heart and lives in you for the rest of your life.

Praise and Thanksgiving
From my mouth are coming
To others I will share
For them Jesus cares
- Action: Cut mouth
- Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

- Talking Points - With your heart you believe, but it is with your mouth that you are saved. You need to "A" accept you are a sinner, "B" believe in Jesus Christ and "C" confess with your mouth. With our mouth's we can also Praise, give Thanks and share the Bible with others.

My big round pumpkin shows me
Where I want to be
In me, through me, for all to see
God's love for all eternity
- Action: add candle
- Ephesians 5:8-9 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light of in the Lord. Live as children of light. (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.)"

- Talking Points: When God enters your heart, the light of Jesus will change you little by little, but the light within you will shine. The more you change to be more like Jesus the brighter your light will be. (turn pumpkin so kids can see the carving) Whose light do I want to shine through me? JESUS!

And that's it. A fun poem, inspiring Bible verses and a cool pumkin that shines the light of Jesus. Have a Happy DAY!

God Changes Pumpkins, Part 2 (Salvation, Carved Pumpkin)

2009-10-30T08:34:00.001-05:00

Halloween is coming with all it's creepy crawlies. What's a loving Christian to do? Carve a special jack-o-lantern to express how God changes us.

NOTE: Yesterday, Part 1: The Poem; Today, Part 2: the Bible verses that inspired the poem; and Tomorrow, Part 3: Talking Points and tips on presenting this object lesson.

Poem: God Changes Pumpkins by Danika LaBrant, copyright 2009
Bible Verses: "Life Application Bible, New International Version." Tyndayl House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois and Group Publishing, Inc., Loveland, Colorado. Copyright 2004

My big round pumpkin shows me
Where I want to be
From faceless, full of mess-ups
God changes me
- Action: Present Pumpkin
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

The first thing I must do
Ask God to make me new
Please God open my mind
Your truth I want to find
- Action: Cut top of pumpkin
- Ephesians 1:17 "I keep asking God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

The gooey slime inside
Confess my sins and do not hide
God forgives my ooey heart
He offers me a brand new start
- Action: Clean out pumpkin
- Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
- Romans 6:18 "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness."

My clouded eyes I pray
The Lord will wipe away
So I may see the sight
What Jesus has made right
- Action: Cut eyes
- Ephesians 1: 18 "I pray also that eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints."

Open my ears to Your word
I want to be altered
The lessons Jesus taught
In practice, I want to rock
- Action: Cut ears
- Matthew 7:24 (Jesus said) "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

To breath is to live
A life that God gives
To choose to believe
A greater gift I receive
- Action: cut nose
- Genesis 2:7 "The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
- John 20:22 "And with that (Jesus) breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Praise and Thanksgiving
From my mouth are coming
To others I will share
For them Jesus cares
- Action: Cut mouth
- Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

My big round pumpkin shows me
Where I want to be
In me, through me, for all to see
God's love for all eternity
- Action: add candle
- Ephesians 5:8-9 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light of in the Lord. Live as children of light. (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.)"

God Changes Pumpkins, Part 1 (Salvation, Carved Pumpkin)

2009-10-29T07:18:00.007-05:00

Halloween is coming with all it's creepy crawlies. What's a loving Christian to do? Bring a little light into the darkness, carve a Jack-o-Lantern, but not just an ordinary jack-o-lantern. I very special pumpkin that expresses God's love for us.

NOTE: This is Part 1, the poem. Tomorrow, the Bible verses that inspired the poem.

Poem: God Changes Pumpkins by Danika LaBrant, copyright 2009

My big round pumpkin shows me
Where I want to be
From faceless, full of mess-ups
God changes me
(Action: Present Pumpkin)

The first thing I must do
Ask God to make me new
Please God open my mind
Your truth I want to find
(Action: Carve off top lid)

The gooey slime inside
Confess my sins and do not hide
God forgives my ooey heart
He offers me a brand new start
(Action: Clean out pumpkin)

My clouded eyes I pray
The Lord will wipe away
So I may see the sight
What Jesus has made right
(Action: Carve eyes)

Open my ears to Your word
I want to be altered
The lessons Jesus taught
In practice, I want to rock
(Action: Carve ears)

To breath is to live
A life that God gives
To choose to believe
A greater gift I receive
(Action: Carve Nose)

Praise and Thanksgiving
From my mouth are coming
To others I will share
For them Jesus cares
(Action: Carve mouth)

My big round pumpkin shows me
Where Iwant to be
In me, through me, for all to see
God's love for all eternity
(Action: Add candle and present pumpkin)

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People? (Pudding Parfait/Sunday)

2009-09-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

Why do bad things happen to good people? In the story of Joseph in Genesis 37, 39-50, 50:19-20, Joseph may have been a little proud, but he certainly didn't do anything to deserve to be thrown in a well, sold into slavery or put in jail. BUT in the end, thanks to all those unfortunate events, Joseph was in the right place at the right time to help save the people from a famine and to help his family. How does this relate to us today? Here is a little experiment to demonstrate.

Supplies: instant chocolate pudding mix, cold milk, mixing bowl, spoon, tall glass vase or dessert glass, whipped cream, sprinkles, cherries and other things to make a fun dessert

Presentation

Each and every one of us is like Joseph. Every one of us is like this chocolate pudding powder. By ourselves, we are good people (taste pudding powder). Not bad but God has a greater plan for you, a greater plan for this pudding.
To make you better and ready to fulfill God’s plan, the Bible says in John 16:33 “We will have troubles.” There will be times when you feel like you are drowning (pour the milk). Sometimes you may feel like you are drowning in homework and chores.
To make you better, you may not understand why you are getting beaten up (start whipping the milk and pudding). Why are your friends not your friends anymore? Why is the school bully picking on you? Once you have survived school, you look pretty good and you think, “o.k., now I can fulfill God’s plan for me. I have persevered.”
But wait, your parents tell you are moving. Moving away from your friends, your school and everything you love (use spoon to slap some pudding into the tall clear glass).
You survived the move and start making new friends (add some whipped cream) but then your parents tell you have to join a sports team that has games on Saturdays and you are no longer going to be able to watch Saturday morning cartoons (slap some more chocolate on top of the whipped cream)
You survived sports and decided you liked it (add some whipped cream) but then the season is over (if you have more chocolate, add it. Continue to alternate pudding and whipped cream until done.) Life goes on pretty good and you get accustomed to times with sports and no cartoons and times with cartoons and no sports.
You think things are pretty good but then your parents tell you that times are tough and they can no longer afford to pay for sports and worse yet, they are turning off the cable so no more Cartoon Network, no more Disney Channel. You feel like you are being crushed (smash some graham crackers and pour on top)
Well, time goes by and you think you are doing pretty good. You have friends, you are doing well in school. You have collected quarters representing every State and are expanding your coin collection (add whipped cream)
Then a hurricane comes. (start pelting with sprinkles) It rains. The wind is fierce.
Things get worse. (starting adding cherries) You feel like someone punched you in the stomach when you realized the water from the hurricane ruined your clothes, ruined your toys, ruined your video games and then the worst of all, in all the confusion of trying to clean up, you lost your coin collection.
You survive. Your parents rebuild. You rebuild and once again you have a nice home and new toys and your friends are so nice that they all collect some coins and give them to you to replace your lost coins. (finish decorating the dessert)
You are a better person for all your trouble. Now you are ready to be a light for God. When a new kid starts in school, you know just how they feel and are a friend to them. One of your friends no longer gets Cartoon Network and you know just what to do to have fun without watching t.v. The next hurricane you know just what to do to help others rebuild and feel better. You are an example of God’s love.
John 16:33 says you will have troubles but these troubles only make you stronger, make you smarter, makes you better. Just like this dessert. The powder was good but it sure is better with milk. Pudding was good but it sure is better with whipped cream. The pudding and whipped cream are good but they sure are better with toppings. Trouble will come your way but you will survive and you will be a better person for it.

Mismanage a Meanie (Fizzing Liquid)

2009-09-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

Everybody has been challenged by a "Meanie" at some time in their life. How should we respond to a Meanie? Should we be mean right back at them or should we turn the other cheek and be nice to that Meanie? Here is a little experiment to demonstrate what happens when you throw mean words or when you throw nice words.

Supplies: 1 tablespoon of citric acid, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, a small/snack size baggie, granulated white sugar, 1 packet of kool-aide, a mixing spoon, ¼ cup measuring cup, a bottle with 1 quart of water, 2 large clear pitchers/jar/vases, two jars with lids (lids good for transport), one sticker with a smiley face, one sticker with a mean face, one 1 inch deep pie pan (disposable is fine), Towels (back-up for clean-up)

BEFORE CLASS:

In both jars put in an equal amount of sugar. On one jar place the sticker of a happy face. On the other jar place the sticker of the mean face.
In a small/snack baggie put 1 tablespoon of citric acid and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Seal and shake well until thoroughly mixed.
Pour at least half, if not all, the citric acid mixture on top of the sugar with the meanie face. Do not mix. Amount depends on how much water you are using and how big your containers are.

Presentation:

(Pull out pan and place two clear Vases in it) So today you are having a good day. (pour half the water in one vase and half in the other vase). The sun is shining and you think you can do just about anything. You are super.
But then comes along a Meanie. (open the kool-aid mix. Pour half in one vase and half in the other while talking.) A meanie cuts in front of you in line, a meanie pushes you off the swings at recess, a meanie keeps kicking your seat on the bus….
What are you going to do? You have two choices. (Pick up jar with smiley face) You can be kind to the Meanie and forgive them, try to be their friend or just walk away. (Pick up the jar with the meanie face) You could be mean back and push them, call them names, etc. But what happens when you are nice? What happens when you are mean?
(Open the jar with the smiley face and pour into the ¼ measuring cup. Pour into one vase and stir.) If you try to be nice to the meanie, if you try to be their friend, find a game you can play together, ask them to sit with you at lunch, give them a special pencil, you might just create a new friend. (take a sip of the kool-aid) Good stuff.
(Open the jar with the meanie face and pour into the ¼ measuring cup. Be sure to get the citric acid mixture (maybe use a spoon). Pour into the other vase and stir. The mixture should start to fizz and fizz over the top of the vase, spilling into the pan.) BUT if you are mean back, if you push them, call them names, tell others how mean he/she is, someone who could have become your friend is going to grow more angry and more mean and you may never be friends. (DO NOT DRINK!)
There is a saying, “You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.” Honey is sweet. Vinegar is not. People/bees are attracted to sweet, not sour.

Bible Story, Genesis 26:12-22

Isaac had planted crops in Gerar where Abimelech was King of the Philistines. Isaac was very successful with many crops and many herds and this angered Abimelech. He decided to have his men fill up Isaac's water wells with dirt and Abimelech told Isaac to move. Three times Isaac dug wells and was told to move. Isaac did not react with angry or mean words. He just moved to another spot. God blessed Isaac for his good choices.

Resources
Adapted Experiment by Danika LaBrant. Original experiment called “Foaming Sugar” from the “Make Your Own Disgusting Gags and Pranks” kit from the Scientific Explorer Line, Educational Make-It-Yourself Kit by Elmer’s Products, Inc. Company ©2007 Seattle, WA (Item No. A220)

NOTE Regarding Citrict Acid
Citric Acid came in a kit from the toy store called “Make Your Own Disgusting Gags and Pranks”, to buy Citric Acid by itself is much harder. Citric Acid is said to be a natural food preservative and is used in making soda drinks, cheese and candy. A search on the web found a couple of spots; suggestions included a wholesale foods supply, wholesale candy supply, the local grocery co-op, a restaurant or caterer, a health/natural foods store, or ask for a “reagent citric acid” from a science supply store. Another use is in making bath fizzies and bath bombs. Online, I found it at the San Francisco Bath Salt Company website: http://www.sfbsc.com/ and at Soap Suppliers: http://www.soapsuppliers.com/. Their description of citric acid is, “Citric Acid is a white, odorless, fine granular crystalline powder. Aside from using it in many foods, soft drinks, and seltzers it is commonly used in making bath fizzies and bath bombs.”

What is in your heart? (Balloon in a Bottle)

2009-09-21T13:15:00.003-05:00

Like boiling lava in a volcano, what goes in your heart will come out if put under enough pressure. What is in your heart? What is going to spew out of you when the pressure is on? Here is a little experiment to help demonstrate.

Supplies: 2 empty/clean 2 liter bottles with a tiny hole in the bottom (make hole bigger until you can feel air coming out when you blow in the top), 2 water balloons (preferably different colors), approx. 1 tablespoon of confetti, approx 1 tablespoon of runny green slime and a small funnel.

BEFORE CLASS
Clean out two, 2-liter soda bottles. In the very bottom, puncture a small hole. You will need to cover this hole with one of your fingers, so make sure you cut it in an accessible and comfortable spot. Place a balloon with the mouth stretched over the opening of the bottle and the mass of the balloon hanging inside the bottle. Using a small funnel, pour confetti into one balloon. Using the small funnel, pour the green slime inside the other balloon.

TIP
Use water balloons. They are smaller and work really well when you push the inside, outside.
Blow up the balloon a couple of times to stretch it out before putting it in the bottle. This will really make it easier when it is time to blow the balloon up in the bottle.

Presentation
Like boiling lava in a volcano, what goes in your heart will come out if put under enough pressure. What is in your heart? What is going to spew out of you when the pressure is on?

So here I have a bottle with a balloon in it. (pick up bottle with the confetti). We are using our imaginations here. This bottle represents you and the balloon is your heart. What is inside your heart? If you are reading the Bible (take finger off hole in the bottom, careful not to inhale confetti, and blow up the balloon. Put finger over hole to keep balloon filled), if you are praying, if you are studying your AWANAs, then your heart is probably filled with some pretty good stuff. Let’s see. (take your finger off the hole. The bottle will reshape and the balloon will empty of air.) We are not done yet. A time will come when your heart controls your actions. What will your actions be? (cover the hole of the bottle and squeeze the bottle. The balloon will turn inside out and shoot the confetti.) Good thing you had Jesus in your heart!

What if you are filling your heart with scarey movies and violent video games and mean talk about other people. (pick up bottle with slime in it. Blow up the balloon. Careful not to inhale. Place finger over the hole to keep the balloon inflated.) If you don’t take care of your heart and fill it with good things, bad things will get into your heart. If you don’t control sin, sin is crouching at your door, ready to control you (Genesis 4:7). (move your finger and let the air out of the balloon then put your finger over the hole, squeeze the bottle until the balloon flips inside out and watch the slime run down the bottle). EEWWWWWW

Bible Story, Genesis 4:1-12
Cain and Abel are a good example of what is inside comes out. Abel's heart was filled with love and thanksgiving. When the pressure of picking the right sacrifice for God was upon him, he chose to give his very best. Cain's heart was not filled with love or thanksgiving and he did not give his best. God scolded him. Cain then filled his heart with anger and jealousy. When pressure was placed on Cain, he killed his brother. God didn't just scold Cain this time. This time God punished Cain saying never would the ground bare him fruit again and that he would forever be a restless wanderer.

Resources
- “Balloon in a Bottle” Steve Spangler Science, on-line, http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/content/experiment/00000166 , Sept. 2009

Where is God when I am scared? (Ball Drop)

2009-09-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

Everybody gets scared some time. Some are afraid of the dark, some are afraid of the bills, some are afraid of spiders, everybody has a time in their life when they wonder, "I am scared and alone. Where is GOD?" God is always with you. Throughout the Bible there is story after story giving examples of how God was there protecting and making everything work for good such as Joseph, Moses, Esther, and many more. The following is a fun object lesson to demonstrate how God is always there.

Things you will need: an egg or small ball (needs to fit in a cup), tube from a toilet tissue roll, tin/aluminum pie plate, and clear cup of water (about 1/2 to 3/4 full).

PRESENTATION
Sometimes we feel all alone when we are scared, but we are never alone even when we are scared. Sometimes we climb up to the top of the slide and realize how high we are and we are scared. (stack ball, tube, plate and glass of water) Who is always with us? God. (hit the plate, see below for better instructions) Sometimes Mommy asks us to stand up in front of Grandma and friends and family and sing or dance. (stack ball, tube, plate and glass of water) Who is always with us? God. (hit the plate) Sometimes when we are laying in our beds at night. We hear noises. (stack ball, tube, plate and glass of water) Who is always with us? God. (hit the plate)

When we are scared, God is with us. When we feel all alone, God is with us. (stack ball, tube, plate and glass of water) Even when bad things happen, God is with us. When we feel like we are falling, God is with us. God takes care of us. (Hit plate, see better description below). God catches us.

TIPS ON HITTING THE PLATE
With your writing hand, smack the edge of the dinner plate horizontally. Make sure you follow-through. (Tennis, anyone?) It’s important that you use a pretty solid hit so plan on chasing the plate and tube.

Resource
Egg Drop Science Experiment, Steve Spangler, on-line, http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000084 , Sept. 2009

Does God's Word Change? (Red Cabbage Chemistry)

2009-09-14T11:15:00.005-05:00

A question children have is why are there so many different types of Bibles? The AWANA's Leader Guide, "What" attempts to answer this question. Below is an object lesson with talking points that mixes ideas found in the AWANA book, the Steve Spangler Science website and my original thoughts. Kitchen Science is one of my favorite ways to bring the Bible to life. Enjoy.

BEFORE CLASS
Make Your Own Cabbage Juice. NOTE: Red Cabbage has a very strong and distasteful odor. Things you will need: Red cabbage, a Blender, a Strainer, Water and a pitcher
1. Peel off six big cabbage leaves and put them in a blender filled half full with water. Liquefy it!
2. Pour the purplish cabbage liquid through a strainer to filter out all of the big chunks of cabbage. Doesn't cabbage juice smell great?
3. Save the liquid in a jar with a lid for the experiments to follow.
4. Optional: Label pitcher "The BIBLE" or "God's Word"

You will also need to make a solution of Bleach and Water. Things you will need: Oxy Clean (bleach), Water and a pitcher.
1. Fill pitcher with water and add at least two scoops of bleach
2. Stir until bleach is dissolved
3. let sit still to help settle the mixture, eliminate bubbles and clear the water some.
4. Optional: Label pitcher "GOD" or "Jesus"

IN CLASS...
Things you will need Red Cabbage Juice (instructions above), Bleach Solution, four (4) clear drinking glasses, a table cloth, apron, paper towels (for spills) and Test chemicals: Vinegar, Baking Powder, Syrup, Laundry Detergent.

STAGE
Before students arrive, set-up a row with Cabbage Juice Pitcher first, four clear cups and the Bleach Pitcher last. Cover the bottom of each empty, clear glass with one of the test chemicals, but keep the levels low so students cannot tell there is something in the glass. One glass with vinegar, one glass with baking powder, etc. You will need a white sheet, table cloth or paper underneath the glasses to hide the testing chemicals and to protect the table from spills.

PRESENTATION
Does God's word change? No. There are a lot of different types of Bibles just like there are a lot of different type of people. (Have about four (4) students stand up). What's different? Brown Hair, Blue eyes, short, etc. What's the same? legs, arms, head. On the inside are they same? Bones, stomach, heart, etc. Even though they are a different, they are all human beings. They are all the same.

Now, let's look at what I have here on the table. (point to Cabbage Juice) All these glasses appear to be the same. Just like our kids all had arms and legs and heads, these jars look the same but something is different. The juice in this pitcher is all the same kind of juice. Just like the Bible, God's word, the juice never changes. But these glasses, these people are each unique individuals. When they heard God’s word, do they react the same? (pour some cabbage juice into one of the glasses. Pour only about a 1/4 of a cup. The juice should change color) This person reacted happy, turned yellow (vinegar). How about this one? (pour some juice into the glass. The juice should change into another color). This person is ready to grow. They turned green (laundry detergent). This person seems to be a little challenged, maybe a little sad. They turned blue (baking powder). This person seems richer, happier, royal. They turned purple (syrup).

I put the same thing in (God’s Word), but I got a different result. God’s word never changes, but each of us is a little different. When we hear God’s word or read God’s word, we may react differently. Why? Because of how old we are, if we had a good day on the playground, if we got a bad grade at school. There are a lot of things that affect what we hear and how we react to it, BUT God’s word never changes. So there are several versions of the Bible to help all people, no matter how different they are understand God’s word.

Regardless of which version of the Bible you read, God’s word says to receive salvation, to be forgiven, to go to heaven, you have to BELIEVE in Jesus Christ. So if we may react differently, reading God’s word. When we receive God’s word, when we put it in our hearts and believe God’s word, are we different? (pour bleach mixture into each glass. Pour until you reach the top of the glass. Each glass should turn a shade of yellow.) Nope. No matter how different we are, when Christ comes into our lives, we are the same. We all shine, that yellow sunshine, with Jesus Christ in our hearts.

Resources
- "WHAT is your Biggest Question About God and the Bible?" AWANAs Clubs International, Streamwood, IL 2006.
- Red Cabbage Chemistry was taken from “Chemistry Magic” Steve Spangler Science, http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/content/experiment/00000124 , Sept. 2009

Galveston, TX

2009-08-23T08:00:00.003-05:00

Galveston, TX (2009) - It has been almost a year since Hurricane Ike crushed Galveston Island as well as dozens of other shoreline towns and communities and offshore towns and communities all the way through Houston and the greater area. The signs of time have changed Galveston and the surrounding area. You can still find some of the old favorites (Stewart Beach), but some of the favorites are gone for good (Soda shop on the Strand). Still, the beach is there. The beach offering sea shell hunts and sand castle contests and belly surfing and sun ray catching as well as bird watching and fishing are still there.

Galveston has come a long way since the blows of Hurricane Ike. Some of the scars will never heal, but many have been erased. As a family, enjoy the sea wall. There are plenty of beaches, some free (along the seawall and Jamaica Beach) and some not (Stewart Beach). There are plenty of restaurants along the sea wall; some family friendly (McDonald's, Chili's, and Gaido's) and some not. There are hotels and other conveniences (grocery store, souvenir shops, etc.). We just parked along the seawall (free) and walked down some stairs to the beach (free). We had a great time. The only bummer was no bathrooms or places to change clothes.

As a family, strolling the Strand is a gamble. Before Hurricane Ike there were family friendly stores and restaurants. After Hurricane Ike there are many bars and t-shirt shops displaying things I don't want my kids to see or read. On the family friendly side, the Army Surplus shop and the Old Strand Emporium are still there, but both were closed at the time we were there. They used to be fun to browse with lots of conversation starters about history and progress. We didn't find a restaurant that appeared kid friendly, but if you go one street over to the wharf, you will find some pricey restaurants that look family friendly. We skipped pricey.

Another side note, buyer beware when renting a beach house! We had wanted to help Galveston's recovery by renting a beach house, but found it to be too expensive and too much of a gamble to take our kids. During summer season, it is extremely hard to find a house willing to rent for the weekend. Almost all reservations are for a week. We found some of interest and decided to do our due diligence and do an on-site review of the homes. Apparently, all the photos on-line were before Hurricane Ike. We were applaud and sadden by what we found. Houses within a normal, working family's budget were questionable at best. One house that was promoted as "newly renovated" (by the way, since Hurricane Ike, all the houses promote "Newly renovated") had insulation falling down from under the house. I don't know why there is insulation there, but that seemed a bad sign to me. Another house we looked at that was "newly located to beach front" meant that the house in front of it had been washed away. The washed away house had not removed the slab or the pylons from the beach. We found in a number of locations broken pylons still in the ground with splinters of wood jetting up, creating a hazard for running children. We did find a number of gorgeous homes, but the prices were outrageous. For families it is far more cost effective to go to a hotel or rent a condominium.

We still love Galveston and are holding our breath as they go through their necessary changes. We have families and would prefer they hold onto family values. Unfortunately, we see the signs of Sin City creeping in. If the adult entertainment sites and sounds continue to grow, we may have to write Galveston off our list. But for now, there are still fun things for families to do for a day or for a weekend.

Trip Stats:

Who: 2 Moms, two 10 year old boys, two 5 year old boy and one 7 year old girl
What:

Galveston Island, http://www.galveston.com/default.asp
Galveston County Parks, http://www.galvestonparks-seniors.org/default.asp

When: Friday (arrived at noon and left at 5:00pm, traffic down was none, but traffic back was awful)
Where: Beach
Why: Outdoor Play
Cost: FREE, we parked on the seawall and walked to the beach. We took a picnic and plenty of drinks and snacks. PETTY CASH, we did go to McDonald's for ice cream and shakes and bathroom breaks.

Fort Travis Seashore Park

2009-08-22T09:05:00.004-05:00

Port Bolivar, Tx (Galveston) - What says summer more than sand and surf? Beach and boats make for a fun, family excursion. Add free to the excursion and you have a super fun day for Mom and Dad. The Bolivar Ferry and the Fort Travis Seashore Park are both free and both fun. O.k., there is no beach at Fort Travis Seashore Park, but it is a nice destination to get out and run around after riding the ferry.

The attraction of the ferry for kids is simple. It is a boat that you get to actually drive your car on. For Houstonians this is an unusual and fun experience. The ferry crosses a very busy channel so lots of opportunities to see lots of types of boats. There are plenty of sea gulls, pelicans and other birds to view, and the occasional dolphin siting really makes the trip special. The ferry ride is long enough to get out of the car, and there are places to go up and get a better view. It is not a long ride so perfect for little minds, little attention spans.

Fort Travis Seashore Park has a long and interesting history dating back to the early 1800's. I remember visiting this park when I was a kid. Taking my kids to see it brought forth mixed emotions.

The Good - My kids loved it. They enjoyed getting out of the car and walking along the sea wall. Their imaginations took flight looking through the gates at the bunkers imagining soldiers walking up and down the stairs. They imagined the big guns or cannons that may have once sat in the circular depressions around the bunkers. They enjoyed going into what appeard to be a gunner's hut or outpost. The park has a nice playground (but no shade) and some nice picnic tables with shade. There is plenty of space to run, but I recommend tennis shoes. The sticker burs in the grass had some seriously long thorns and cut straight through my son's crocks.

The Sad - As Mom, I could see the damage left by Hurricane Ike. Driving through the area we could see where neighborhoods once were but only the pylons that supported the houses remained, no more houses. In the park there are sidewalk collapses and still some chunks of concrete here and there. The kids thought it was cool, but Mom understood the human impact of such damage.

Still we recommend this full days outing. After your trip on the ferry back to Galveston Island stop at one of the pocket beaches for a little beach and surf time before hitting the road back to town. There are a number of places to stop for drinks, snacks or dinner in Galveston if you run low.

Trip Stats:

Who: 2 Moms, two 10 year old boys, two 5 year old boy and one 7 year old girl
What:

Bolivar Ferry, http://www.bolivarchamber.org/GalvestonFerry.aspx,
Fort Travis Seashore Park, http://www.crystalbeach.com/travis.htm
Galveston Island Pocket Beach, http://www.galvestonparks-seniors.org/default.asp

When: Friday (arrived at noon and left at 5:00pm, traffic down was none, but traffic back was awful)
Where: Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula
Why: Outdoor Play
Cost: FREE, we took a picnic and plenty of drinks and snacks

iT'z Pizza, Houston

2009-08-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

Houston, Texas (Northwest) - Finding things to do with kids on a rainy day or a 100+ degrees day when you just can't play outside is hard to do. iT'Z Pizza, http://www.itzusa.com/houston/index.htm , is a pizza and fun place that is a good location to celebrate something special. I say celebrate, because the cost is way too high for an everyday event. You will not get out of this place for less than $75 for a family of four, even if you take coupons. Though it is expensive, it is pretty good food and does have fun for everybody.

The fun is the expensive part. They have video games, games of chance to earn tickets and games of chance to earn prizes, bowling, and rides such as a kiddie train/roller coaster, bumper cards and the Disk-O, which is geared for teens and adults. You have to buy game cards, which are like credit cards, that have a number of points. You slide the card on a scanner on the video game or ride you want to enjoy. Games/Rides can be 2 points or 10 points depending on complexity.

They do have a store where you can exchange tickets for prizes, but you better earn a lot of tickets to get any prizes. BEWARE: you need your game card to transfer your tickets too and if you don't do it right, you could lose all your tickets. One of my kids lost over 100 tickets by not swiping his card correctly. Happy Day, when I mentioned it at the front desk, they comp'ed him the tickets and strongly re-enforced how to correctly transfer tickets to the card.

BONUS

If you have a toddler or preschool size child, iT'Z has developed a Tiny Tikes area with inflatable jumpers and games and tiny rides like the cars you see in front of grocery stores that just rock back and forth. My 5 year old loved the inflatables and spent a lot of time here. It also created a "Home Base" for my Pre-Teens. I stayed in the Tiny Tikes area and my 10 year olds could go play and check back, and I could see the game floor and try and keep tabs on the boys.

BUMMER

There really is no good place for parents to create a "Home Base." (We were lucky to be there on a slow day. I suspect the toddler area fills up quickly.) If you have older children who don't want Mommy following them around, you cannot sit anywhere and still be able to watch your kids from a distance. The dining rooms are walled in with no windows and no views of the games and rides area.

A bit pricey but a good experience.

Trip Stats

Who: Mama, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy

What: iT'Z Pizza, http://www.itzusa.com/houston/index.htm

When: Thursday, Noon-ish

Where: Northwest Houston off Hwy 249 near Willowbrook

Why: Indoor Play

Total Cost: $81.83 which breaks down to.....

$44.85 - for 3 Summer Thursday Specials of 90 minutes of unlimited play

$19.99 - a coupon from a door flyer for 4 buffets and 4 drinks

$16.99 - for 1 Eat and Play Combo (buffet and 50 game points)

Disney Train Tour, "A Christmas Carol"

2009-08-13T21:37:00.005-05:00

Houston, Texas - Family Fun? NOT! DO NOT GO! This was a miserable experience for my kids and me. I received an e-mail promoting the "one day only" event the day before it was supposed to arrive in Houston, so I suspected the crowds might not be that big. BOY, was I wrong.

The gist - Disney is promoting its new animated feature "A Christmas Carol" starring Jim Carey. They have outfitted a train to be a rolling museum with cars with costumes and behind the scenes information. The big reward is the last car of the tour which allows you to have your picture digitally taken and morphed into one of the characters from the movie.

The Problem - oh, there are so many

3 hour wait for what was supposed to be a 20 minute tour

100+ heat with little shade and little to no breeze. They had 3 small misting fans near the end of the wait, but not everybody got to enjoy them. Those who were fortunate to stop in front of one, huddled around them, blocking the air to others in rows farther back.

100+ heat with little to no water or other beverages. I don't think any of us anticipated this kind of a wait. I took two bottles of water with me but those were gone before the end of the first hour, and we still waited two more hours. The Amtrack train station had vending machines but after a 30 minute wait in line to get to the vending machine, my friend with me discovered the machine was out of water and only took exact change. It would not take her dollar. She had to buy chips from the neighboring machine to get change to get a drink. Near the end of the line we did find 2 water stations offering dixie size cups of water which did help, but not enough for older people or very young children.

Staff - the staff outside was very patient and understanding, but the staff inside was rude. We were told to hurry along. I just waited 3 hours to get in this train and now you are telling me to hurry!?!

Exhibits - the first train car had costumes. Why would you display costumes if the actors never wore them? Supposedly the actors wore black jumpsuits with wires and acted in front of a green screen. If there was an explanation somewhere, I wouldn't know since the staff told me to "hurry along." They had a number of screens with different stuff being shown but you couldn't hear anything coming from the speakers over the crowd noise. As far as I could see, there were no written explanations of what you were seeing, but again, I was told to "hurry along." From what I could tell, there was nothing on the train that you would not see on the DVD in the 'Behind the Scenes" section.

Snow - We live in Houston so snow is a pretty big deal. The radio stations were promoting that Disney would bring snow to Houston for this one day event. There was no snow. There were two pillars that periodically spit out the top a handful of bubbles. They were pitiful bubbles to boot.

Bonus

For waiting 3 hours and "hurrying along," we were ushered into a very small booth to have each member in our group's photo taken digitally. Each picture was then morphed into 4 different characters from the movie. You got to pick your favorite and supposedly that picture is being e-mailed to me for each member of the group. I still haven't received the e-mail, but the directions did say it could take up to a week to get the pictures.

My dilemma was when to cut and run. In all fairness, we were told when we got in line that we could be waiting 2 to 3 hours, which we did. The deceptive part was how fast the line moved in the beginning. The first hour went very fast. The lined twisted and turned, and there were radio stations to talk to and booths to sign-up for sweepstakes. We decided to wait a little longer. At an hour and half the line turned behind the train, and then we could see exactly how long the line truly was. We were mortified. We had already invested so much time, but we could tell the line was just as long if not longer over here. We hoped the line would move fast like the first part but we were very wrong. The line came to a crawl and did not twist and turn and there was nothing to look at or do. At the end of the line we did get treated to one carol by some strolling singers. We did see two screens showing trailers for the movie, but you couldn't hear the screens over the crowd noise. Besides, what you saw on the outside screen was exactly what you saw on the inside screens.

I suppose if we had not waited 3 hours in 100+ heat with little to no shade or water and told to "hurry along", it would be worth the trip. I guess if you happen to live in a small town that the train is visiting. Go. But if you live in one of the 4 largest cities in the USA and the event is coming for only one day, skip it.

Trip Stats

Who: two Mamas, one 10 year old boy, one 8 year old girl, and two 5 year old boys
What: Disney Train Tour of "A Christmas Carol," http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/christmascaroltraintour/
When: Tuesday, we arrived at 9:45 am and left at 1:15 pm
Where: Downtown Houston Amtrak Train Station
Why: Museum
Cost: Train Tour was free, but parking in downtown Houston cost $9, plus the $2 spent on vending machine chips and $2 spent on vending machine sodas

McKinney Falls State Park

2009-08-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Austin, Texas - Texans are known for their Texas Pride. I am a native Texan, and I am just bursting with Texas Pride. The simple size of our great state offers a tremendous diversity in geographical formations. Traveling east to west through the middle of Texas you will start in lush green forests followed by rolling hills and ending in a dessert. Thankfully, many treasures are being preserved, maintained and rehabilitated by Texas State Parks and Wildlife. Visiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife website http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ you will find all sorts of information including information about hundreds of state parks. This week we visited McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Texas.

We are visiting family in the Austin area and were looking for something close and cheap. Woo Hoo, McKinney Falls State Park fit the bill perfectly. It is located in south Austin near the airport just a 10 minute drive down Hwy 71 and I-35 to Hwy 183 to McKinney Falls Drive. It was a cheap $5/adult to enter for a full day. Then we enjoyed exploring, fishing and just simple family fun.

The park has preserved the ruins of some of Thomas McKinney's homestead. Thomas McKinney was one of the first 300 settlers in Texas. The park has a visitor center full of interesting historical information. The park offers a number of trails and easy access to the "Upper Falls" where you can swim.

We spent all of our time at the Upper Falls in the swimming hole. We did very little hiking, but we did have a lot of fun watching fish and turtles and listening to birds and bugs. We swam and threw rocks, lots of rocks. The good and the bad of it....the good being a Friday, work day, we had the swimming hole almost completely to ourselves. The bad, Texas is experiencing some massive and serious drought conditions and poor McKinney Falls is suffering. What normaly is a spread of falls across a massive rock has dwindle down to one trickling fall. The rock is still really interesting and easy to view since it is not under water, but you can tell the area is suffering.

We had a great day and enjoyed this tranquil spot. Bonus being a State Park, there were bathrooms, picnic tables and trash cans readily accessible. We recommened McKinney Falls State Park.

Oh yeah, if you are a bike rider, I understand they have an extensive hike and bike trail which looks like at least part of it is paved. It looks like a great place for entire families to ride together.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mama, one 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: McKinney Falls State Park, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/mckinney_falls/
When: Friday, late morning through mid afternoon
Where: Austin, Texas (Texas Hill Country)
Why: Outdoor play (swimming & hiking)
Cost: $5.00 per adult

Tranquility Park and Hard Rock Cafe

2009-08-09T08:00:00.005-05:00

Houston, Texas - We were downtown for an errand and since I had the kids, I decided to park in the theater district and do a little walking tour. We, again, rode the elevator in the JP Morgan Chase Tower to the 60th floor to the viewing deck. We really enjoyed the view of downtown and could see as far as the Astrodome, the Galleria, and the 290 corridor.

From the viewing deck, I could see city hall and the corners of Tranquility Park. It didn't look far so we went for it. That was a mistake. The official weather report says the high was only 96 degrees, but it felt much hotter. The heat just sucked all the life out of us. From the tower it was only 3 city blocks to the park, but those were some long, hot blocks. The park was a huge disappointment to the kids. They were too tired to run and there just wasn't anything for kids there. There were some trees and some shaded picnic tables. The tables were all occupied by some young adults playing rap music. The fountains were nice, but the metal bridge is a hugely bad idea in the heat of a Houston summer.

Two more blocks of walking, and we made it to the Hard Rock Cafe. On a Tuesday afternoon, there was no crowd. It is a nice little place with plenty of pictures and rock n' roll collectibles. The food was a little pricey, but not bad. We paid $35.00 for one salad, two kids meals, a glass of water and tip.

The 10 year old and I recuperated enough at the Cafe to walk a block and a half back to the car, but the 5 year old did not. At the Cafe the 5 year old just layed down in the booth and went to sleep. I had trouble getting him to eat or drink anything. The heat really hurt him. I mustered the strength to carry him back to car. He was limp and argued about eating and drinking the rest of the day. Thankfully, by morning he was back to his old self.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mama, one 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: JP Morgan Chase Tower http://www.chasetower.com/sub-frameset.htm, Tranquility Park http://www.visithoustontexas.com/visitors/parks_and_outdoors/listing.details.php?category=13683&id=28464, and Hard Rock Cafe http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=56&MIBEnumID=3
When: Tuesday, Afternoon
Where: Downtown Houston
Why: Indoor/Outdoor Play
Cost: Tower and Park are free. Hard Rock Cafe is a restaurant with the average entree at around $11.
Parking: For almost 2 hours, we paid $5 to park in the underground theater district parking garage.

Minute Maid Ballpark Tour

2009-08-08T08:00:00.005-05:00

Houston, TX - Minute Maid Park, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp , is home to the Houston Astros professional baseball team. As a native Houstonian living everyday in one of the biggest cities in the country, I don't go to tourist attractions often. I am busy living an everyday life, raising two boys and trying to make ends meet. Tourist attractions are usually over priced for everyday people.

As a volunteer for my son's Cub Scout Pack, I was in charge of obtaining tickets to an Astros game highlighting a Scout Parade. Since I had to go downtown to pay for the tickets, I decided it was time to do the tourist thing and take the Ballpark Tour. I shelled out $9 for one adult and $5 for each child age 3 - 14. The tour was worth the time, travel and money.

They offer public walk-up tours year round, Mon. - Sat., at 10 am, noon and 2 pm. We were there on a Tuesday to take the Noon Tour. Traditionally, they have 50 to 60 people on this walking tour, but on our day, we were the only ones. They didn't cancel. They didn't bump us to 2 pm. They gave us a private tour of the park. For me and my two boys, it was awesome.

Tamara, our tour guide, was a wealth of information about the ballpark, the Astros and baseball history. She even had a few tidbits of information about the history of the railroad. The ball field was added to Union Station which has a long history dating back to the 1800's. The Astros have made an effort to preserve some of the history and have reconstructed Union Station to its original glory.

The tour is a walking tour so be prepared. It took about an hour and 10 minutes, but it did not seem long. We saw the stadium from several points of view where Tamara stopped and gave us tidbits of interesting information. We stood in the upper deck, in box seats, in the VIP lounge, the broadcasters booth and then the best part for us, on the ball field, in the dug outs and in the pitching cages. The 10 year old loved it all. The 5 year old enjoyed the pigeons and running on the field. But don't touch the grass. It was a game day so the grass was off limits. Apparently you have to have a college degree to maintain that grass, and we just weren't qualified.

We recommend the Minute Maid Ballpark Tour.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mama, one 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Minute Maid Park, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp
When: Tuesday, Noon Tour
Where: Downtown Houston
Why: Indoor/Outdoor Education
Cost: $9.00 per adult and $5 per child age 3 - 14.
Parking: When it is not game day, you can park in the Diamond Lot for free (corner of Texas Avenue and Hamilton Street, connected to the ball park). The streets around the ballpark have meters so read the signs carefully. There are also a number of surface parking lots which can get pricey.
Notes: Purchase tickets in the Team Store in Union Station. There are restrooms in Union Station. There is no time for potty breaks on the tour. If the roof is open, the tour moves inside and outside so it will be hot in the summer months. There are no vending machines or snack shacks open for tours. I had a cooler in the car with snacks and drinks which worked out well to give the kids a snack before going in and a healthy drink when we came out.

Monkey Business (Inflatable Jump Place)

2009-08-07T08:00:00.004-05:00

Houston, TX - Monkey Business, http://www.monkeybizness.com/ , is an extremely fun, slightly dangerous place to take your kids. Monkey Business is a place like Pump It Up, an inflatable party place. Monkey Business hosts open play times so anybody can come and have fun. This is a great alternative for rainy days.

Here is the fun part. They have two rooms but may only have one room open depending on number of participants. Both rooms are identical so no loss if only one room is open. Each room has a plain square jumper with some super sized boxing gloves that little ones can hardly even pick up much less box. They have another jumper with jump space and a small slide inside. They have a jumper with a climbing cone for your real monkeys. They have the super, tall slide and an obstacle course. Plenty of space to run around, jump and have fun.

Here is the slightly dangerous part. You have a lot of kids, all ages jumping. Kids are not always cautious or wait their turn, so accidents happen. One trip, my 10 year old twisted his ankle. Another trip he slid down the slide on his elbow and rubbed/burned off his skin. The wound was larger than a quarter and took several weeks to heal. My 5 year old has never been hurt, and he is the adventurous one.

I suspect because toddlers are usually early risers, the morning crowd usually has more little ones than older ones. Lunch time and later, you will see more and more big kids.

Tip: They allow you to bring in your own snacks and drinks. They do have a vending machine for drinks in the lobby. You can order pizza, but they call a local pizza parlour for delivery so plan to wait 45 minutes for food. No food or drink are allowed in the jump area, but they have benches and a "party" room where you can eat and drink.

We still enjoy this place just be aware of the natural hazards of kids and exuberant play. Don't forget your socks.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Monkey Business, http://www.monkeybizness.com/
When: Wednesday, late morning
Where: Northwest Houston
Why: Indoor play
Cost: $5.00 per child age 1 to 18 before 11 am; $7.50 per child after 11 am; adults are free, parking is free

Quintana Beach

2009-08-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

Quintana Beach, TX - This was a nice surprise find. Living in Houston my entire life, I have always driven down to Galveston Island to enjoy the beach. However, after Hurricane Ike, the island just isn't the same. The beach is overrun with sea weed and the Strand is more bars than family fun.

Since we were making the trip to Lake Jackson to visit the Sea Center of Texas (see yesterday's post for more details), I did a little research around the area to see what else is there. I was happy to find Bryan Beach State Park (we did not find it) and Quintana Beach (jackpot). NOTE: websites of interest for this area are listed at the end of this post.

Quintana Beach is a 15 minute drive from the Sea Center of Texas. We didn't find the official County Park, but we did find a clean, park on the beach, stretch of sand and surf. We followed TX 288 from Lake Jackson until it dead ended into Hwy 36 and then you will find signs that will direct you through Freeport, over an intracoastal waterway on Fm 1495 and onto CR 723. We turned left and followed a long and straight road with high berms on either side. The first drive we came to said "no Beach Access," but the next one we found said "Welcome to Quintana Beach." Reviewing the Yahoo map, I think we turned too early. If we had gone until the road dead ended, we would have found the County Park. Even though we were not at the official park, we had a good time.

About the beach, this beach you drive directly onto the beach and pick a spot to park. There were no restrooms or other facilities, but they did have some trash cans. There were a number of birds, but the birds had no interest in us and did not bother us. The sand was perfect for building sand castles. The water was shallow for a long way out. One of the 10 year olds wanted to walk out until it reached waist deep on him. We made it to upper thigh high on him before we decided we were getting too far from shore and turned around. Being so shallow, the 5 year old loved it. There was a constant lapping of little waves which made splashing around a lot of fun.

Take a picnic lunch and plenty of other snacks and drinks. Once you cross the intracoastal bridge, there are no shops or restaurants.

We went on a Thursday afternoon and we were almost the only people there. To our left, about 100 feet away was another family, but to the right you could barely make out the shape of the next car, it was so far away. We could see what appeared to be a nice fishing pier, but we didn't check it out. Driving in sand with my minivan was not something I wanted to test. I did see one or two other cars drive down there, and they did not appear to have any troubles.

Anyway, a good trip, we had a lot of fun.

Websites of Interest:

Quintana, Texas - http://www.quintana-tx.org/#Brazoria%20County,%20Texas

Quintana Beach County Park - http://www.brazoria-county.com/parks/Quintana/index.asp

Freeport, Texas - http://www.freeport.tx.us/

Bryan Beach State Park - I couldn't find a website for this park, but if you Google Bryan Beach State Park, you will find reviews of it on various sites. Reviews talk about fishing, birding and hunting. We didn't drive to this beach, but best I can tell is it is an undeveloped nature reserve.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Quintana Beach, http://www.quintana-tx.org/#Brazoria%20County,%20Texas
When: Thursday, afternoon
Where: along the coast in Freeport, TX (15 minutes from Lake Jackson)
Why: Outdoor play
Cost: Free
Travel Times from Cy-Fair/Northwest Houston: 1 hour and 15 minutes to Lake Jackson another 15 minutes to Quintana Beach. We drove back during prime time Houston traffic (4 pm) and it took us 2 hours to get from Quintana Beach back to Cy-Fair. We did utilize the 290 HOV.

Sea Center of Texas

2009-08-04T22:44:00.007-05:00

Lake Jackson, TX - The Sea Center of Texas, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/seacenter/ , is a cute aquarium that is worth the visit if you are in the area.

The Sea Center of Texas is quite a drive from Houston. But bundle it with a trip to Quintana beach (see tomorrow's post for more details) and you have a full, fun day's outing. From the northwest (Cy-Fair) area of town it took me an hour and 15 minutes to get there. It took me, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy about 45 minutes to slowly walk through and see everything.

The Sea Center of Texas is FREE and offers a "touch" tank. The day we were there; they had a number of different types of crabs for the kids to pet. The kids loved it. Once done with the Touch Tank, turn around and find a table with crafts/coloring. Moving past the Touch Tank you come to a series of floor to ceiling tanks with a variety of fish including the ever popular shark. Continue viewing the tanks until you work your way back to the beginning. I think there were 5 tanks to view.

Outside they have a boardwalk where people can enjoy the sights and sounds of a fresh water wetland and a salt water wetland. It is a good length and has a couple of benches for resting. The Sea Center of Texas is also a fish hatchery. They offer tours of the hatchery, but bad for us, they did not offer any tours the day we went.

Hatchery tour or not, the Sea Center of Texas was a very nice stop.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Sea Center of Texas, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/seacenter/
When: Thursday, late morning
Where: South of Houston near the coast in Lake Jackson (not Galveston)
Why: Outdoor play and education
Cost: Free Admission and Free Parking
Optional Cost: Donations are welcome and if you donate $5 or more, the gift shop will give you a poster.

Downtown Houston

2009-08-03T08:00:00.004-05:00

Houston, TX - Finding things to do with the kids that won't break the bank is a little tricky. We have been to the swimming pool a lot, and it is too hot for the local park. What to do? We live in the suburbs so a trip downtown sounds like the thing to do. Since you will have to pay for parking and most likely lunch, here are a few things to consider that are free.....

JP Morgan Chase Tower - This building has a view deck on the 60th floor. Just take the express elevator up and enjoy a view that reaches from downtown past the Galleria. Only the windows directly outside the elevators are available to the general public, but it is an outstanding view. The glass goes from floor to ceiling so even the little ones can enjoy this spectacle.

Discovery Green Park - In an earlier post I discussed this park. Good things: sidewalk dancing fountains the kids can get totally soaked in and bathrooms. It has nice walkways and beautiful gardens as well as space for shuffle board, bocce and a small putting green.

Parks - Now remember this is downtown so playgrounds and bathrooms are not available at most parks. These parks are intended to offer some peace among the hustle and bustle of downtown. They usually have some kind of interesting sculpture, shaded seating and nice landscaping. The best reviews I have found are at a website called Downtown Houston at http://www.houstondowntown.com/Home/Lifestyle/WhatToDo/Parks/

Recommendation - Be prepared to walk a lot.

We parked at the public parking garage at Walker and Main Street.
We walked one block to the Main Street Square. My 5 year old enjoy watching the trains drive by. The fountains were fun to look at too, but these fountains are just for viewing and not for playing in. The down side is there are a number of beggars and street musicians trying to get a dollar or borrow your cell phone. We walked around the square and then headed over to the JP Morgan Chase Tower. Walk Main Street up to Capitol Street and turn left and go one block.
There is a Burger King across the street from the tower so we had a quick lunch and then went up the JP Morgan Chase Tower for a view from the 60th Floor. We didn't continue our walk simply because I didn't realize how close we were, but if I had thought it through we would have continued our walk to Tranquility Park. Continue walking down Capital to Smith Street and take a left about one block.
Tranquility Park has water pillars and interesting walk ways. Can't play in this water either but nice to look at. Continue walking down Smith Street and you will come to Herman Square.
Herman Square is right in front of City Hall and is just a nice reflection pool with shaded benches. You are now at Walker Street and just four blocks from the Parking Garage.
Downtown Tunnels - if the heat is getting to you, explore the tunnels. You can go one block from Herman Square and get to the tunnels from the Wells Fargo Plaza. The tunnels will wiggle over to the parking garage at Walker and Main. There is a good map of downtown and the tunnels at Houston Downtown.com, http://www.houstondowntown.com/Home/GeneralInfo/GettingAround/Maps/

By now the kids should be wiped out from walking. Definitely leave the downtown area by 3:30 pm to make sure you are ahead of traffic. Bonus for us suburbanites though, kids count when driving on the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles). The HOV opens outbound at 2:00 pm for vehicles carrying 2+ passengers. Go to METRO to get schedules and maps at http://www.ridemetro.org/SchedulesMaps/HOV.aspx .

Trip Stats

Who: Mama and one 5 year old boy
What: Downtown Houston, http://houstondowntown.com/home/default.asp
When: Wednesday, lunch time
Where: Downtown Houston
Why: Outdoor play
Cost: Free walking tour, lunch was about $11 at Burger King and then parking.....
Parking is not free: We paid $6 for a little over one hour. The price goes up the longer you are there. I didn't catch the maximum, but it is not unusual to pay $10 to park in downtown Houston ($20 for special events). There is parking on the street, but look for the meter boxes. It is hard to find and not free either.

Discovery Green Park

2009-08-02T08:00:00.013-05:00

Houston, Texas - Houston is hot. They talk about times being "Africa" hot, but boy howdy, have they tried "Texas" hot? Not just any "Texas" hot, but "Houston" hot? That is hot. In June and July so far we have had 9 days of 100+ heat. Not a big enough number for ya'? How about more than 40 days of 95+ heat.

So what do we do to cool off? In the good old days, we played in the sprinkler. Today the modern kids play at splash pads and dancing, sidewalk, water fountains. Discovery Green Park, http://www.discoverygreen.com/ , in downtown Houston across from the George R Brown Convention Center has a sidewalk, dancing fountain that the kids can get totally soaked in. Thankfully, there are bathrooms adjacent to the fountains so changing in and out of swimsuits and/or wet clothes is not an issue as long as you have brought spare dry clothes.

Lucky for Mom, there were plenty of seats around the fountains and the fountains are recessed a bit into the ground making a natural bench around the fountains (you will get wet if you sit on the edges).

There were at least 2 day cares when we where there, and it was crowded. My 5 year old was not slowed down a bit by the numerous bodies. And surprisingly, when all the noisy critters left, my little critter wanted to leave too. I guess the noise and busy-ness added a sense of excitement.

Discovery Green Park is more than just a fun fountain to get wet in. It does have restrooms and a couple of restaurants (didn't go to the restaurants so not sure what the prices are like). It has nice walkways and beautiful gardens. If you bring your own equipment, you can enjoy a game of shuffle board or bocce or even some putting practice on a small putting green.

The park does have a playground, but most of it is fenced off. The playground is disappointing. It is just a bridge with a couple of short slides. Skip the playground and just enjoy the refreshing water fountain.

Trip Stats

Who: Mama and one 5 year old boy
What: Discovery Green, http://www.discoverygreen.com/
When: Wednesday, late morning
Where: downtown by the convention center
Why: Outdoor play
Cost: Free
Parking is not free: We parked in the Convention Center underground parking and paid $5 for one hour. The price goes up the longer you are there. I didn't catch the maximum, but it is not unusual to pay $10 to park in downtown Houston ($20 for special events). There is parking on the street, but look for the meter boxes. It is hard to find and not free either.

Kids Movies, G-Force

2009-08-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

G-Force, http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/gforce/ , is a kids movie. I have heard a couple of official Movie Critics "boo" this movie. I disagree. I am guessing these critics don't remember being a kid and certainly don't have kids. So here's just my two cents....

I took four 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy, and they loved it. To them, it was a simple story with some really cute characters, funny lines and cool action sequences. The transformer at the end was a good touch. The favorite line in the movie that, of course, my 5 year old learned, "Get your face out of my butt. (other character) Get your butt out of my face." Yes, I am a proud Mom.

From an adults view the story was predictable, the characters shallow, the humor was cheesy and the action sequences were just not plausible. Now, did I go to a kids movie expecting an epic tale of courage, of good triumphing over evil, of a personal journey of discovery to find what family truly means? No. These are all loosely touched on in the movie and slipped right over the heads of my kids. Did I go to a kids movie about guinea pigs expecting a realistic story with plausible action and engaging dialogue? No. Get real people.

What I am not sure of how I feel is what the kids talked about on the ride home. The kids spent the entire trip quoting the commercials and debating whether or not they saw it in the movie. I am sad my kids have watched the commercials enough to have them memorized, and not sure if it is misleading of Disney to promote scenes that are not going to make it to the final cut. Anyway, just be aware that not everything that was promoted in the trailers is in the movie.

Overall, it was a good movie with some really cute guinea pigs. To answer my oldest son's favorite questions: 1) Blaster was my favorite character, and 2) my oldest son is most like Hurley, incredibly cute, love for sweets, heart of gold and tremendous inner strength when it really counts.

Williams Tower Water Wall

2009-07-31T08:00:00.004-05:00

Houston, TX - The Williams Tower, formerly Transco Tower for you natives, Water Wall has been a popular attraction for decades. Who could possibly count the number of bridal portraits taken at this location or the number of first dates that strolled around the park? This is a fun one to see, but bundle it into a trip to the Galleria Mall.

The kids loved the big open field that they could just run and wrestle and run some more. They enjoyed getting close to the water and feeling the cooling spray. We walked around the Water Wall and the kids were amazed, "Mama, there is water on both sides of the wall."

If you are planning a picnic, test the grass before you sit. The closer you get to the Water Wall the wetter the grass gets. Add some sprinklers and you get a very moist lawn which is great for wrestling boys to land on, but not so much fun on Mama' fancy shorts.

Other amenities? Not much. No bathrooms, no drinking fountains. They do have a few benches to rest on and a number of shade trees.

Don't park at Williams Tower. This makes the walk really short but you have to pay to park. If you visit Macy's at the Galleria, you can park in their parking lot for free and just walk a block over to the Water Wall.

Trip Stats

Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Williams Tower Water Wall, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_Waterwall
When: Thursday Afternoon
Where: Galleria Area, 610 and Post Oak.
Why: Outdoor play
Cost: Free
Galleria Mall: http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=805 , this is not my thing, but if you enjoy shopping, this is the place for variety. However, be prepared to pay higher prices. This is an "up scale" mall. They also have ice skating and plenty of places to eat so not all bad.

Houston Firehouse Museum

2009-07-30T08:00:00.003-05:00

Houston, TX - The Houston Firehouse Museum, http://houstonfiremuseum.org/index.html , is a historical monument, a look into the history of fire fighting, AND kid friendly. What kid is not awed by the sounds of a fire truck? The museum was a great stop and the kids loved it, but please remember that this museum is inside the original fire station No. 7 built in 1898. This is not a big museum. If you have energetic kids, this will be a quick stop and not a full afternoons excursion.

The museum has several antique fire truck with plaques telling you about the truck and how it worked. Throughout the building there are easy to read signs giving interesting tid-bits about the history of fire fighting and there are artifacts showcasing old equipment and new equipment. All fine and good for Mom and Dad, but what about those kids?

The best part of the museum is the kid friendly part. They have several antique, NO TOUCH, trucks but thankfully, the curators remembered what it is like to be a child and included a truck the kids could crawl on and in. Walk to the back of the museum and you will find a ladder and pole set-up that allows kids to climb up and slide down a fireman's pole onto a padded mat. They even took the cab of a more modern truck and affixed it to a wall so the kids could crawl in and pretend to drive. Cool part about the cab is it has switches that actually turn lights on, and thankfully the curators remembered what is like to be a child and did not include the siren. There are some other fun things like helmets and fireman jackets the kids can try on and a wall with cartoons and areas to color. There is a display that allows kids to feel the weight of the hoses and to tighten them off and on the display. I understood that it was a replica of part of a more modern truck, but I didn't understand what the hoses of different sizes were for. Fighting fires, I suppose.

Anyway, the kids loved it. I loved it. It was a very good stop.

Trip Stats:

Who: one Mom, two 10 year olds boys and one five year old boy
What: The Houston Firehouse Museum, http://houstonfiremuseum.org/index.html
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: downtown Houston
Why: indoor play and education
Cost: $3 per adult and $2 per child over 4 years old
Parking: You can park on Milam Street for free as long as it is not rush hours. Read the signs carefully.

George Bush Park

2009-07-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

Houston, TX - George Bush Park is located on the west side of Houston off Hwy 6 and Westheimer. It is a large park on the map, 7,800 acres, but the park part is a very small area. We enjoyed the playground area which has some very nice sitting areas, restrooms, water fountains and shaded pavilions with picnic tables. We did not enjoy that none of the playground is shaded. There are trees around so maybe in the distant future there will be shade.

If you look at the park on-line at http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/georgebush.aspx , you will see a nice picture of a wood bridge. Our only guess is it must be along the Hike and Bike path which on a 100+ degree day we opted not to explore. There appears to be a very long hike and bike path. We didn't see it so no idea how nice or how challenging.

We did see the Bark Park. The Bark Park is a fenced area where you are allowed to take your dog off leash. It is a pretty good size so dogs can actually get in a full run if they want. They had some shaded seating for owners. My kids said the part they thought the dogs would like the most is the pond. There is a nice little, shallow pond for dogs to jump in and cool off or just have fun. There were only a handful of dogs when we went by on a Wednesday afternoon, but everybody seemed to be getting along just fine.

Overall, we would recommend this park if you are in the are, but I wouldn't make a special trip over there. If you live on the northwest side of Houston like we do, there are several parks closer that are just as much fun, i.e. Bear Creek Park, Matzke Park, Telge Park, Bane Park, etc. BUT if you are in for the Hike and Bike, perhaps George Bush Park is better. If you are in the Hike and Bike category, you may also want to look into Terry Hershey Park which connects to George Bush Park at Memorial Drive and Hwy 6.

To end this, a good park, but not good enough to go out of the way for.

Trip Stats:

Who: one Mom, two 10 year olds boys and one five year old boy
What: George Bush Park, http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/georgebush.aspx
When: Wednesday afternoon
Where: west side of Houston off Hwy 6 and Westheimer Parkway (the first jaunt to the right once you cross Hwy 6 while traveling on Westheimer Road)
Why: outdoor play
Cost: Free except for gas

San Jacinto Monument & Texas Battleship

2009-07-22T10:34:00.009-05:00

La Porte, TX - Trying to find cheap and fun things to do with your kids throughout the summer is sometimes hard to do. Visiting the San Jacinto Monument & Texas Battleship can be either a cheap or expensive event. Our group had one adult, two ten year old boys and one five year old boy.

On the cheap
Do the Texas Battleship. Kids are free with an adult ticket. On a Monday for one adult and three kids it was $10 to get on board. It took us about an hour to explore all the decks and let the kids spend time sitting in the seats of the big guns and pretending. We took our time and really enjoyed the battleship.

Take a picnic lunch. There are plenty of shade trees and picnic tables. There are decent bathrooms and plenty of space to run and explore.

Drive the battle grounds. You have to pay $1 to enter the park but keep the receipt they tape to your windshield on your windshield, and you do not have to pay again when you go across the road to visit the San Jacinto Monument.

Anyway, Drive the battle grounds. When you pay your $1 at the guardhouse, they will give you a map of the grounds. On the map you will see numbered markers. When you drive around, the markers coincide with boulders that have the same number engraved on them. Between the map and the boulders you will get a brief outline of the battle of San Jacinto and see where Sam Houston was wounded and where Santa Ana surrendered. To us Texans, this is a big deal. I was excited to share it with the 10 year olds. The five year old was just happy to be there.

The San Jacinto Monument, the only cheap things to do is walk the grounds and view the first floor museum which is very small but interesting. They do have nice bathrooms and water fountains. The monument is where things get pricey.

Expensive
The San Jacinto Monument does not have kids free with an adult. Estimate at least $4/person for each activity. You will need tickets to see the 35 minute movie (we did not see it). You will need tickets to see the photographic exhibit of "Developing Houston" (we did not see it). You will need tickets to go to the observation deck and if you go to the observation deck, be prepared with several quarters. It is $0.50 per viewer (binocular). The observation deck was disappointing. It cost us $13 just to get up there and another $1.50 to give each child a turn with the viewers. We were up there maybe 5 minutes and the kids were done. The viewing deck does not go all the way around. It is a small area and gets crowded easily. They did have a short one minute video giving an overview of the battle and surrounding area, but it is almost impossible to hear over the chatter of other visitors. There is one plaque with information about the Houston Ship Channel that was pretty interesting. It was interesting, but not something I would do again.
Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: San Jacinto Monument and Texas Battleship http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/
When: on a Monday, day trip (11 am - 3pm)
Where: La Porte, Texas (about an hours trip from northwest Houston)
Why: outdoor play and Texas history education
Costs:
Texas Battleship (on a Monday) $10 for one adult and 3 kids
San Jacinto Battleship (on a Monday) $13.50 for one adult and 3 kids and another $0.50 / viewer ($1.50 for three kids to have a turn with the binoculars)
Parking $1
Optional costs - There is a concession stand by the battleship which we did not look at since we took a picnic. There are gift shops at both the battleship and the monument. I did get suckered into buying some really cute sailor hats for the boys ($13/hat), but the boys really looked cute in their sailor hats.

Beat the Heat, Water Guns

2009-07-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

Houston, TX - Living in Texas you know what "Texas Hot" really means. It is hot, and this summer, even for us Texans, it is super hot. According to AccuWeather.com, in just June and the first 10 days of July we have recorded temperatures at 100 and up for 8 days. Do you want to know how many days we have been above 95 degrees? This number includes the 100 temps: 28 days. That's hot.

So what's a mother to do with active, preteen boys in the house? Get out of the house. One day my kids were on the verge of tearing the house down with their rowdiness, so I decided, regardless of the heat, we were going to get out of the house and let them run some energy off. I took a medium size cooler and filled it half way with water, then I dumped all the ice we had in the freezer into the water as well as enough water guns for everybody. We drove to a nearby park with shaded benches and nice fields (Matzke Park at Jones and Grant), and let the kids run, shoot and get wet.

The kids loved the ice water for the guns. Of course, being clever boys, they decided why settle for little squirts from water guns, why not just dunk your head in the water. Then it became a contest to who could hold their breath the longest in the ice water. Eventually, that led to some splashing. The kids drained the cooler of the water and thoroughly soaked themselves. They were happy. I was happy. They had fun and I had fun watching them. Of course, I recommend towels for the ride home.

For a fun cheap way to let your preteens spend some energy all you need is a cooler, some water, some ice and maybe a water gun or two. You might even save money on the water guns by taking some plastic cups or over sized cooking spoons and ladles. Any way you do it, be prepared for wet and dirty with high chances of fun.

Challenger 7 Memorial Park

2009-07-09T08:00:00.005-05:00

Webster, TX - If you live in Houston, you are aware of NASA and the shuttle program. If you were living in Houston in 1986, you are aware of the tragedy that befell the Challenger 7 and its crew. The sad news is that all lives were lost. In their memory memorials have been erected in Arlington National Cemetery in, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX and in the Challenger 7 Memorial Park in Webster, TX.

Now for some good news, the Memorial Park is well maintained and offers a number of fun amenities to its visitors and still offers a place to respectfully remember those who bravely boarded the Challenger 7. The park is an easy drive off I-45 (exit #19- FM 528 and turn west, turn left at the second light-NASA Parkway and turn left at the first stop sign and you are in.)

When you first turn in you will see open fields and an administrative/maintenance building to your left. Keep driving. There is a memorial to the right to respectfully remember the Challenger 7. Stop and then keep driving. You will soon see a wooden dock where you can fish. If you keep driving. You will wind around some more, see more open fields and then you will come to a sizable parking lot.

Immediately to your left is five (5), count them 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 COVERED playgrounds. On the left you will also see bathrooms, covered pavilions, picnic tables and a couple of grills. At the far end on the right is a Nature Center and the start of the boardwalk and nature trail. Travel past the parking lot and you come to a loop that u-turns you back towards the Nature Center and the rest of the park. Throughout the loop are a number of picnic tables and at the bottom of the u-turn is a canoe boat launch. It looks like it could be a nice wading area, but there were signs that said the boat launch was closed. It was hot and we were tired so we didn't go that far. We had already spent a lot of time climbing and exploring the playgrounds. Bonus for Mom was the swinging benches. We saw several of them and most were well shaded by trees.

It was very peaceful the Monday afternoon we visited. It is a healthy hour drive from northwest Houston, but a good spot to stop for a picnic on the way too or from Galveston.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Challenger 7 Memorial Park, http://www.co.harris.tx.us/comm_lee/PChallenger7/
When: afternoon, on a Monday
Where: South of Houston headed towards Galveston (about an hours trip from northwest Houston)
Why: outdoor play
Costs: FREE

Bayou Wildlife Park

2009-07-07T15:16:00.005-05:00

Alvin, TX - We highly recommend Bayou Wildlife Park, http://www.bayouwildlifepark.com/ . This is a wildlife sanctuary that offers tram tours, a mini petting zoo and pony rides (a short, guided ride around a circle).

We had a great time at the Bayou Wildlife Park from the moment we entered the gate. As soon as you turn into the property, you are stopped at a guard house where you pay your admission fees and purchase buckets of feed. The animals know you have just purchased food and they are waiting for you when you cross the cattle guard. The posted 5 miles an hour sign is no joke. With the number of animals we encountered, I would not drive any faster than that. But don't be too quick to throw your food out the window of your car, save it for the tram ride.

We finally reached the parking area and waited about 20 minutes for a tram. In that 20 minutes we took advantage of the bathroom facilities. We enjoyed the petting zoo, feeding a few animals through the fence and taking pictures. When the tram arrived and was ready to reload, they asked us for our numbers which we were given at the gate when we paid our admission fee. The lowest number got to pick where they sit first. The driver guided my boys to the front of the tram where they had kind of a shelf they could sit on criss-cross applesauce. I sat on the bench by the shelf.

Once the tram started the tour we enjoyed approximately 30 minutes of meandering around the 80+ acre park. The driver was fantastic with great information about all the animals. Fun and education, it just doesn't get any better than that. Anyway, as we toured the land and listened to the interesting facts, we were greeted time and time again by wonderful animals. We saw up close and personal lots of deer but we also saw emus, ostriches, a longhorn and camels. From the tram we came close to, but not personal, zebras and water buffalo. We saw from a distance a rhino and wildebeest. Safety tip, don't try to feed the animals from your hand, hold out your bucket but definitely hold your bucket with two hands. One large cattle creature took the bucket right out of the hands of one of our boys. The animals appear very docile. The only aggressive animal we saw was an alligator, who was guarding her nest of eggs, within a fenced enclosure.

I had four boys with me that day and everyone of them said thank you and asked to come back.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: Bayou Wildlife Park, http://www.bayouwildlifepark.com/
When: late morning, on a Monday
Where: South of Houston headed towards Galveston (about an hours trip from northwest Houston)
Why: outdoor education about wildlife and fun
Costs: $16/adult, $6/child and $8/bucket of feed. Tip on the feed: you really need to go ahead and get a bucket for every person who wants to feed. The animal walk right up to the tram and take a nibble out of every bucket hanging out. We had two buckets for four boys. It was a challenge to share.
Food & Beverage: There are plenty of picnic tables, but no concession or snack stand. Bring your own food and beverages. There is a very small gift shop that was not open the Monday that we went. We did see a vending machine for drinks, but we had our own so not sure how much or what kind.
Creature Comforts: The bathrooms are good. But be prepared for heat. There is no air conditioning anywhere. You can wait inside a very large shaded barn area, but unless there is a cross wind, there is no air. The tram has open sides so you can feed the animals. The tram does have a rooftop to shade you from the sun. The tram also travels through a lot of trees so the trip is quite comfortable besides you will be too excited about all the animals to worry about the temperature.

Matzke Park

2009-07-04T08:55:00.001-05:00

Cypress (Northwest Houston), TX - Matzke Park at the corner of Jones Road and Grant has been remodeled and is really nice. We live about 15 minutes from this park, so it was a little by accident that we found it while traveling from the Willowbrook area towards our home. Anyway, worth the trip.

The park is literally on the corner. On Jones Road it is located next to the elementary school, Matzke Elementary. On Grant Road it is on a new cross street, but I didn't catch the name of it. The new cross street appears to connect Grant and Mills Road but I am not sure. I didn't drive it. The website says the park has restrooms. I am guessing it is by this new road are the restrooms. It has a walking path from the soccer fields to the playground, but in the Houston heat and with a small child, I chose to park at the elementary next to the playground.

A little about the layout, the park is a good size with soccer fields at one end and the playground at the other. Next to the playground is the butterfly garden, picnic tables and one water fountain. It is a healthy walk for children to take the walking path over to the restrooms on the other side of the soccer fields on the other side of the park. The website says that restrooms are planned for closer to the playground. If that becomes true, then this will be an excellent spot for picnics and play.

The playground is awesome and appears to be accessible for children in wheel chairs. My kids thought the wheel with letters and numbers in braille was cool. They also enjoyed banging on the chimes. The playground had places to climb, slide, bounce and run, and plenty of space for the 5 year old to explore and the 10 year olds to run.

The butterfly garden actually had butterflies. The flowers were beautiful and the kids loved the butterflies. There was plenty of benches and plenty of shade throughout both the garden and the playground area.

We recommend this park for picnics and play.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy

What: outdoor playtime

When: late morning, weekday

Where: Matzke Park, http://www.hcp4.net/parks/matzke/index.htm

Why: exercise and fun

Costs: FREE

Bowling

2009-07-03T08:26:00.003-05:00

Houston, Texas - Mom, home alone all day with two 10 year old boys and a 5 year old boy, could grow some grey hair trying to keep the kids off the furniture, off the walls and nothing broken including the kids. But I have found creating a schedule of activities really helps keep the time moving and the kids under control. We try to plan at least one outside activity every day. Usually it is either a trip to the community pool or to a park. This year we have collected a number of coupons and are trying a few entertainment places: today - bowling.

Bowling has fond memories for me (Mom). I remember my Dad spending Daddy-Daughter time teaching me how to bowl. I remember before I married my husband, bowling with my future spouse and actually being able to beat him at something (yes, we are a little competitive. keeps things spicy.). So when my friend offered me a coupon to take the boys bowling, I thought this will be fun.

The first game was fun, but the second game was not. We went ahead and got bumpers on the lane. The 10 year olds said they would agree to bumpers to help the 5 year old, but they really didn't need the bumpers. Hmmmm. The 10 year olds loved the bumpers. They didn't worry so much about technique as they did about throwing the ball as hard as they could. They scored pretty good the first game. The second game was a lower score mostly because the boys discovered you could bank the ball off both bumpers . It became more of a game of who could hit the bumpers the most times like a pinball machine and less about hitting the pins.

The 5 year old did the "Granny" bowl placing the ball on the floor between his legs and pushing as hard as he could. We were continually amazed that the ball never stopped and actually made it down the lane. We were continually amazed at the number of pins the 5 year old hit. He was very into the game the first round, but the second round he was much more into the soda and popcorn and playing with one of his Match Box cars.

As a Mom I would recommend bowling but plan only one game, not two. At the end of one everybody will be in good spirits, but by the end of two silliness will teeter on the edge of bad behavior and tempers may flare.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy

What: indoor playtime

When: early morning, weekday
Wednesday at 9:30 am - not a crowd but at 10 am two day cares came in and that really made it crowded. One day care came into the lane next to us and the kids were bad about not waiting their turn to bowl, horsing around in our sitting area (tripping over my kids) and were loud.

Where: AMF Willow Lanes facility, http://www.amf.com/corporate/index.htm

Why: exercise and fun

Costs:

Parking - FREE
Shoes - $4.50 / person
Games - We had a value pak coupon for $0.99/game up to 10 games which made two games for 4 people only $9.00. I think the original cost with no coupon is $4.25 / per person / game.
Snacks and Drinks - We got a pitcher of Sprite which was enough for one game, not two. Pitchers were $7.00 so we only got one. We also got a small popcorn for $3.00. The snack bar also sells pizza, but we decided to go home for lunch.
Extras - They have a few video games: a couple of driving games, a punching bag game, a crane game, etc.

Houston Children's Museum

2009-07-02T07:23:00.004-05:00

Houston, Texas (Museum District) - This fun little museum is not so little anymore. We have enjoyed the Children's Museum of Houston for a number of years, and this year was no different.

I don't know if there is a good day to go to beat the crowds. We went on a Monday and the line was out the door. It was crowded, but the kids still had a great time. For Me it was a little crazy trying to keep eyes on my 4 kids and apparently not all parents are teaching their kids to share, take turns and don't take a toy out of another child's hands.

The good stuff, the museum has been completely remodeled. Some of the old time favorites are still there just moved around a bit. Unfortunately, the bubble exhibit and the duck fountain are gone (had boats and ducks you watch float down a raised channel), but the new super sized, mega fun Flow Works outside is a good substitute. My kids loved the new flow works. There was a cool exhibit that showed how waves flow (did not keep their attention long, but I loved it). There were a number of stations to watch the water move and plenty of opportunity to get wet. One section my boys enjoyed was building little dams and structures and then opening the flood gates to see if the structures would survive. They made one structure that seemed to do well, but I guess it is more fun to watch them fall since the boys knocked it over when the water didn't.

Inside there are just a ton of things to do. At admissions we received a pass for the new Power Play and Kid-tropolis. I suppose they are trying to monitor how many people go in. We couldn't enter until the time that was stamped on the pass, but once we were in, we could stay as long as we wanted. The climbing structure in Kid-tropolis was very cool. The 10 year olds did it once and were ready to move on; the 5 year old would have stayed in a very long time. Unfortunately, some bigger kids climbed over him and pushed him and that was the end of that.

Power Play stations, they had some cool interactive stations, but several were too complicated for my 5 year old. He enjoyed the bottom level obstacle course and the scoot board track.

Kid-topolis is a very cool concept. The 10 year olds got jobs, earned pay checks, made deposits and spent money. The 5 year old, of course, did not grasp any of that and just played. The grocery store is half the size of the old one and was too crowded for us, but the 5 year old did go in and play for a little bit. They have a downsized police car and ambulance for the kids to crawl in which the 5 year old loved. It appeared there was a lot of good information about how a city works, but I was chasing the 5 year old and the 10 year olds, well, they are 10.

As Mom, my favorite part was the Invention Station which we almost missed. You have to take an elevator downstairs to it and the elevator is in a hallway off the main exhibit floor. Anyway, we found it and loved it. I enjoyed making paper rockets and shooting them in the cage. The 10 year olds loved making Lego cars and testing them on the ramps. The 5 year old enjoyed the rockets, the Lego cars and the sound exhibit.

The Cyberchase exhibit looked really cool but did not interest any of the kids. There was too much reading for the 5 year old and he was off in a shot. The 10 year olds went in and tried to participate in the exhibit, but again, too much reading and they were done in just a couple of minutes.

Overall it was a good trip. For something, extra special, we recommend the Children's Museum of Houston.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: indoor/outdoor playtime
When: weekday (all day)

We arrived shortly after it opened at 10:15 am and did not leave until 4:00 pm. The boys wanted to stay longer, but Mom (me) said we had to scoot to beat prime time Houston traffic which we barely did using the HOV lane.

Where: Houston Children's Museum, http://www.cmhouston.org/
Why: education, exercise and fun

Costs:

Parking - $7
Admission - $7/person but we had a two for one coupon from the Entertainment Book.
Lunch for this family of five was $35.00. The Children's Museum no longer allows outside food and drinks though I did see people who had stowed away picnics in diaper bags.
Snacks & Drinks - Then we did have an ice cream break which was $1 / fruit cream bar. We did not indulge in drinks from the vending machines which were $2 each. If you decide to get drinks from the Cafe, you will pay $1.50 - $2.00 / drink which for 5 people adds up quickly. The only water fountain we found was on the bottom floor by the bathrooms.

Bear Creek Park

2009-06-29T22:00:00.001-05:00

Houston, TX - We are very fortunate that Harris County has developed a number of parks that are family friendly. To see a list of parks go to http://www.co.harris.tx.us/parks/park.asp to see information about Bear Creek, go to http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/bearcreekpioneers.aspx . Bear Creek is easily accessible on the northwest side of town. It can be reached from Eldridge, Hwy 6 and Clay Road.

The Eldridge entrance puts you in a fun part. Immediately to your left is a nice area to walk with a number of birds species to view and a small pond to feed ducks. If you follow the sidewalk, you will walk past buffalo, deer and turkeys. Be aware that due to extreme heat, the buffalo and other animals may be removed from the enclosures and may not be available for viewing. On your right from the Eldridge entrance are ball fields, a fun playground and bathrooms.

The Clay Road entrance brings you into a maze of roads that drive by pavilions, picnic tables, playgrounds, bathrooms and beautiful trees and fields. There is plenty of space for kite flying, throwing a frisbee or ball and just running around. During the week, there is not a lot of traffic and the roads make a nice level area to go for bike rides with small children.

Of course, you can reach all the sections of Bear Creek Park from inside the park. You just have to zig and zag a little through the roads.

For us the park is close and fun with lots of space to explore. We recommend Bear Creek Park for a family friendly day.

Beware Canyon Lake, TX

2009-06-27T11:02:00.003-05:00

In today's economy "Stay-cations" are the "in" thing to do. Well, our economy has been tight for a number of years, and we have done a number of "stay-cations." This year we scraped together enough money for a weekend trip. We have friends with a boat, and we all decided a trip to a lake would be great. Who knew such frivolity could be so futile.

We booked a cabin and campsite at Mermaid Cove in Spring Branch, TX, which boasted to be 20 feet from Canyon Lake anywhere on the property. Our trouble started when our friends hit a rough patch and couldn't go with us. We were beyond the cancellation date so I called and the owner said he would cancel the campsite and move us into another cabin better suited for a party our size.

We were still anticipating a fun weekend at the lake and were kind of excited about staying in a cabin instead of a campsite for a change. Our disappointment started as we traveled down the main Farm Road towards the campground. We couldn't see the lake. The lake is in the Hill Country so we tried to tell ourselves we just couldn't see it because of the hills and trees. We held our breath as we entered the campground and still could not see the lake. We tried to stay optimistic, so we unloaded our gear and then went for a hike to find the lake.

We hiked in 100 degree heat with a 5 year old and 10 year old. Our best guess was the website meant 20 feet from the original coast line of the lake, but the lake in this part appears to have dried up a long time ago. The owner defended his position by saying he told us to get to the "lake" you had to enter the river bed from the old boat ramp and walk a block in the river bed. Now we saw what he was talking about on our hike and the old boat ramp is not a walk from the campsite, it is a drive to the other side of the dried up tributary. The "one block walk in the dried river bed" is longer than a block and not something I was willing to try with a 5 year old, and the "lake" is a swimming hole definately not big enough for a boat or jet ski and not big enough for the trouble of hauling a kayak or canoe.

Our disappointment turned to disgust as we walked back to the cabin and were informed that the cabin we were in had been double booked, and we had to move. They offered to move us into an RV, a self-contained trailer permanently parked on the property. We looked at it and were accosted by a strange odor upon opening the door, disappointed at the cushions on the floor situated like a couch with a covering that was far from its original color and turned away by the bathroom in the hallway. When we considered how much we would be paying for this lopsided smelly place, we told them it was unacceptable. They said they would not charge us the balance and would consider refunding our deposit, but we had to leave. So we packed our gear and drove off wondering where we would stay for the night.

We stopped at a local restaurant to get our bearings. We then got another call from the owner saying we could come back and stay in the cabin. Our disappointment and disgust became anger. Aside from the disappointment of this lakeside cove that was no longer on the lake, the cabin was not what had been promoted on the website. It was not a cedar cabin. It was a concrete block structure. It was not a one bedroom cabin. It was a one room effeciency. It did not have a grill. It had a fire pit without a grate. It did not have a kitchenette. It had a mini-microwave and mini-refrigerator; no stove top or oven. (You need to take a camping stove or grill with you to cook unless the mini-microwave is enough for you. We did not have either a camp stove or grill with us.) The bathroom was a nice size but had no windows or ventilation, and if you closed the door, no air conditioning. The cabin did have air-conditioning, one small window unit. The cabin did have a t.v. and DVD player so at least that was true.

Bottom line, disappointed by the lack of lake and cabin not meeting expectations, disgusted by being told to move to a smelly, lopsided, old and well used RV, and then anger for being told to leave and then extreme anger after packing up and disappointing our kids to then be called and told to come back and that they would not refund us our money. We did not return to the campsite. My husband was able to get the owner to agree to not charge us for the second night, but we lost our deposit and first night fee (there goes our vacation money).

We choked down our cold, undercooked food and started a search for a place to stay. We did finally see the lake through a gap in the trees and saw how low it was. It was sad, really. We passed a number of locations boasting "lake views" and "water falls," but there was no lake and no water on these shores anymore and, it appeared, not since a long time ago.

It was getting late, and we could not see how to get to the lake. We followed FM 306 into New Braunfels. There were a number of hotels. We went to probably 6 of the them. The best availability for our family of four was a room with a king size bed and roll-away for $160, one night. We couldn't afford that. Our hearts sank, and we began the trip back home. Our vacation, a 10 hour car ride from Houston to Canyon Lake to New Braunfels and back to Houston.

Our lesson was beware of Canyon Lake. We did see water and there is a lake there. Accessibility is quite another issue. If you go online, you will see that 13 boat ramps and 2 fishing docks have been closed. What we saw was remnants of an age that has past. In our minds eye we can imagine that many, many years ago when the water actually reached the lake front properties, it was a beautiful and family fun place to be, but today it is just sad.

An alternative is the Guadalupe River which is the river that feeds the lake, but you can see in another post that this is not a family friendly place on the weekends. We have been to the Guadalupe River and stayed on the river twice this year (once on a weekend and once during the week). Most people who come to the river are coming to drink and party. Their attire is swimsuits so a lot of exposed skin to expose to your children. If you go with children, go during the week and try to go the first part of the week to miss the party-ers who are making a long weekend and setting up early. We were very surprised how many party goers came on Thursday.

I suspect Canyon Lake could be fun, but we didn't find it.

Summer Fun, $1 Movies

2009-06-25T07:36:00.001-05:00

Houston, TX (2009) - If you have the privilege of staying home with your kids, a couple of theaters around the area offer Summer Children's Series. These are second run family and animated films for only a $1. Studio Movie Grill is our personal favorite, http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/summerseries_houston.html . AMC has a good offer too, http://www.amctheatres.com/smc/ .The movie times are early: Studio Move Grill - 11 am and AMC 10 am, but for kids this is a good time.

Studio Movie Grill is our favorite but more expensive. It is my favorite because of the seats. This is a dinner and movie theater and offers independent, rolling office chairs. Because there are moving chairs, I can position chairs to mark off a boundary to allow my Preschooler to play out of his chair. Allowing my Preschooler to move around, makes the movie experience better for everybody and is my Preschooler's favorite part.

My Grade Schooler's favorite part is the food. The food is where it gets expensive, but at least I only paid a $1 to get in. Anyway, you hit a button and a waiter comes to you and you can order popcorn, pizza, hamburgers or a number of other things. They do have a children's menu which helps keep some of the cost down. Sometimes to help costs, I feed my kids a snack before going, allow them a dessert (one to share) at the theater and then feed them lunch at home after the movie.

AMC is much cheaper and the movies are just as good. The seating is traditional movie theater which is tight and difficult for my Preschooler. The bonus for my Grade Schooler, again, is the food. They offer a "Kid's Pack" for $3 which includes popcorn, candy and a drink. What else do you need?

Beat the heat and enjoy family entertainment, we recommend $1 movies.

Summer Fun, Pools & Picnics

2009-06-24T07:00:00.003-05:00

Houston, TX (2009) - If your neighborhood maintains a community pool, this is a great way to spend the day. It is out of the house, requires exercise, a great way to get to know the neighbors and is a lot of fun. If your neighborhood does not have a pool and you live in Houston, the City of Houston maintains over 35 swimming pools. Check them out at http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/aquatics.html

Our community pool opens late at 11 am. This is frustrating since my kids wake-up wanting to go swimming and count the minutes until it is time to go. AND as soon as we get to the pool, it is time to leave for lunch.

Solution: Take a picnic.

For a fun filled day at the pool, we pack a picnic lunch, a couple of extra snacks and drinks. We also pack diving toys, a floaty toy of some kind, goggles and a pool safe car of some kind for the 5 year old (Matchbox and Hot Wheel cars are too small; get lost easily and fit in the pool filters). For comfort you will need plenty of sunscreen, towels and flip flops.

Another help is the pools required "Safety Breaks" also known as "Adult Swim." This happens about every 50 minutes and lasts about 10 minutes. Ten minutes is plenty of time for kids to snack and take a drink. It is important to get them to snack on something. All that exercise swimming can really drain a body and a little snack and maybe some sports drink can help keep the blood sugars and electrolytes in balance.

Swimming: it is good for you and fun too.

HALS Train Rides

2009-06-22T07:21:00.004-05:00

Hockley, Texas (2009) - TRAINS, what more do you need to say to excite the imagination of a child. My son has been fascinated by trains ever since he was given his first train set for Christmas at the age of two. I could go on and on about train sets, which we have two of, but today it is about Family Fun on the cheap. Today's family fun idea is Train Rides offered by HALS.

HALS stands for Houston Area Live Steamers, http://www.hals.org/ . This is a fantastic organization. They are serious steam train hobbyist who, out of the goodness of their hearts, share their love of trains with the public. They have struck up a mutually beneficial arrangement with the County for park land. HALS maintains their grounds and manages events as well as structures on the land. The County has added a nice parking lot to accommodate the numerous visitors.

So here's the deal. HALS offers for FREE rides on their steam trains. For you tech heads, it is a 7-1/2" gauge track (that is the model size of the steam trains for you non-techs). The track the trains use for the Public Run Days is 4,700 feet long which makes for a very nice 15 - 20 minute ride. The sitting area is like a bench that you straddle and will sit two adults and a number of small children. The trains pull 3 to 4 benches each.

On Public Run Days the Train Depot sells cold drinks at a low cost and recently they started selling t-shirts, hats and train whistles (while supplies last). The Depot also has bathrooms!

PLEASE remember that none of the people who are working/managing the Public Run Days are paid. Everyone selling drinks and souvenirs, handing out FREE tickets, managing the lines, driving the trains, maintaining the tracks, fixing trains, etc. are volunteers. The trains are NOT paid for by the county nor are the tracks and cute buildings, bridges and other accessories along the track. These are paid for by donations collected on Public Run Days and mostly by the Hobbyists themselves. The trains themselves are owned by individuals who spend their personal money and time building and maintaining them. That said, please donate something when you visit this great event.

On Public Run Days, you arrive and park on a paved parking lot, you walk to a covered area and get your tickets, you wait in a covered area with benches through a roped off line area, and then you enjoy a pleasant 20 minute ride that travels by cute little buildings, over bridges, past a pond and through a wooded area. And you will see ducks. When you are done, you return to the covered area where there are bathrooms and a stand to buy drinks and souvenirs. What's next?

We normally take a picnic with us and drive around to the county park area, Zube Park http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/zube.aspx . Zube Park offers play ground equipment, tree shaded benches, soccer fields, picnic tables and yes, bathrooms. Now that is a full day.

TIP on the train rides: this little secret is not secret anymore. We went this last Saturday (June 20). The rides start at 9:00am. We were there at 9:15am and the wait in the line was one hour. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze, the line kept moving and the wait did not seem like an hour, but I have been there when there was no breeze and that hour felt like an eternity. So what's the tip? Pack drinks, snacks and perhaps a couple of Match Box cars (or some kind of small toy) and a personal fan along with lots of patience for the line. I have been told if you go later the wave of crowds has receded, but last June we were there late and still waited an hour. My personal favorite is going in October when it is cooler.

Bottom line we recommend HALS train rides for a Family Fun Day. Train rides are open to the public only one Saturday per month Spring through Fall (no train rides in the winter months), so check the schedule and have a fun family day.

Summer Fun, Vacation Bible School

2009-06-15T14:48:00.003-05:00

Houston, TX (2009 ) - In the Houston area there are several Vacation Bible Schools (VBS). VBS is fun with a purpose. It can be free. The expense is t-shirt and other potential souveniers such as a music CD. VBS is for kids who have completed Kindergarten through 5th Grade. After 5th Grade students can become youth volunteers. Some churches have special events for older students.

Some VBS accepted preschoolers as young as 4 years old, but these are hard to find. If you are a member of a church, if you volunteer to serve at VBS, then you can get your younger children registered.

I highly recommend volunteering in crafts. The prep work is pretty intense, but all the hard stuff is done before VBS begins. If you are not in charge of crafts, you may only have one or two work days and that is all the prep you do. The week of VBS students come to you for about 20 minutes for their craft time. The rotation of students makes the time go by very fast. It is also just fun to meet all the kids and see all their special creations.

We have attended the MET (Metropolitan Baptist Church, http://www.themetonline.org/jonesroad , VBS is July 13-17, 2009). For the kids it is a blast; lots of energy and fun. For volunteers it is tough; high expectations with little to no staff support.

For the last two years we have attended Copperfield Church (http://www.copperfieldchurch.org/ , VBS is June 15-19). For kids it is a blast; lots of energy, fun and the "Shark" song. For volunteers it is fun; lots of staff support.

Houston has a strong Christian Radio Station, 89.3 KSBJ which has a calendar of community events and listings of VBS throughout the city. http://www.ksbj.org/events_list_category.php?category=bible

We just finished our first day at Copperfield VBS, and it was fun listening to the boys talk (I took 4 boys: a 5 year old and 3 - 4th Graders). The boys remember the story (Paul becomes a disciple) and were proud of their craft (a sun catcher). They enjoyed talking about the music the most. The sang the "Shark" song and said the most memoriable song verse was the "Boomerang Express" theme song.

VBS a cheap fun way to spend a summer day.

New Braunfels, TX

2009-06-15T14:06:00.007-05:00

New Braunfels, TX (2009) - When I was a kid, the river in New Braunfels was a family friendly trip. Today it can be, but you really have to plan appropriately. DO NOT take small children to the river on the weekend.

We took five (5) kids ages 4 to 10 years old. The kids had a great time and rave about the trip. As Mom, it was a good trip with a few dicey moments.

The days you are there are an important factor to the success or stress of your trip. We decided to camp Wednesday through Friday. We left early Friday. We were surprised how many campers came on Thursday. I don't mind a full campground. What I do mind is a bunch of drunks with loud music and bad language. My kids are still too young to notice the lack of clothing, but in a couple of years it will be a concern. Everybody is running around in swimsuits and some of these "bikini's" are no bigger than dental floss. If I do it again, I will try to camp Tuesday through Thursday.

We camped at the Lazy L & L Campground up river. For kids this is a great campsite. They have an area called the "Devil's Playground." There is no playground equipment anywhere. As long as the river is running low, this area is a fun area for all ages to wade, throw rocks and go down a small chute. There are trash cans and plenty of rock shelf to picnic. You do have to hike up some serious stairs to get to the bathroom, but the bathroom is in walking distance. Oh yeah, not handicap accessible. The stairs are a challenge to get down to the river.

Benefits of the campground, it has a lot of sites on the river with steps built into the banks to make the river accessible. The campsites we saw all had a grill, a firepit and a picnic table. We were in site #15 which is pretty much in the middle of the campground. It was an easy walk to the bathrooms and to a dock to swim or drop a kayak. It was a healthy walk to the Devil's playground and several other steps that went down to the river for exploring and swimming.

Things to plan for include the showers and river equipment. You must buy tokens from the office to operate the shower ($1/6 minutes). It is helpful to have someone watch the timer for you since it is outside the shower and there is no beep or warning that the water is going to shut off. Showers are just concrete stalls so shower shoes are recommended.

River Equipment: we just took $4 tubes from Wal-mart. For our kids this was perfect. They probably would have enjoyed renting at least one tube to share, but I had a little trouble justifying the $15 rental fee. If we actually traveled down the river, it would have been worth the rental fee, but just for swimming around the campsite, it was not.

During the day, we had a great time. Night time was dicey. Every night we were there we had at least one neighbor we had to tell to keep the music down and watch the language. There is a quiet time from 10 pm to 8 am I think, but it is definately not enforced.

It was a good trip, but I don't think I will do it again for a long while.

Bane Park

2009-06-08T08:22:00.004-05:00

Houston, TX (2009 ) - Looking for things to do in Houston with the kids on the cheap? Parks, Parks, Parks. Houston has a lot of great parks that are fun for everybody. On the Northwest side of town Bane Park is a little hidden beauty. http://www.hcp4.net/parks/bane/index.htm

Driving by all you see are ball fields, but turn into the parking lot, and you will see an entrance to a large playground with bathrooms next to it. After you enter you see that this park is bigger and better than you imagined. There is a pond with catch and release fishing. A sidewalk great for strolling or jogging all around the pond. Benches and picnic tables throughout. They even have a sand volleyball pit.

Downsides: they have a rockwall for climbing, but it is in direct sun with absolutely no shade anywhere near it. It gets very hot. There is also a "splash pad" which is really just a cirlce of 6 fountains coming through a concrete slab (no padding). We have been there twice and twice the water has not worked properly, which to a four year old is devastating.

Goodsides: it has several picnic tables and a bathroom so you can make a day of it. There is a lot of playground equipment. The walking path is a great size to have a four year old walk by themself all the way around and get a little worn out if they run. The pond is entertaining for my 9 year old. We don't fish, but we take bread and watch the minnows fight over the crumbs. Our last visit we were delighted to see a rather large fish jump into the mix. Someone said it was a bass. I don't know fish but I am guessing it was perch. There are also turtles in the pond which are always a treat to see.

For us this park is a close drive just a touch north of 290 on West Little York. With the good and the bad, we still recommend this park as a great place for summer fun.

Nottingham Park

2009-06-07T06:43:00.003-05:00

Houston, TX (2009 ) - Living in Houston on a budget has made our look of Houston and the surrounding area colored. A Stay-at-Home Mom with a 4 year old and a 9 year old, it is hard to find things that engage both children that won't break the bank. But Staying at home all day everyday with two kids is just not an option. So ta-da, I will be writing about our excursions, on the cheap.

We traveled 20 minutes from Northwest Houston to West Houston to Nottingham Park. http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/nottingham.aspx . This was a great experience. We went on a Friday at about 11 am. There was one day care there, but it did not feel over crowded. This park had a splash pad that occupied the 4 year old and a large playground that occupied the 9 year old. They also had shaded benches for Mom to sit and still be able to see both the splash pad and the playground. The park also has bathrooms:) We were there an hour, but my kids easily could have stayed longer.

Lunchtime we decided to take the quick 5 minute trip to the Memorial City Mall, food court. Everybody gets what they want without spending a huge amount. The food court also hosts a beautiful carousel with rides only a $1 / child / ride. Next to the food court is a small video arcade. The arcade is a tough choice. There are some games for $0.50, but most are quite a bit more. I budget my kids to $2.00 / child which goes really fast. My 4 year old enjoys driving games for $0.50 and the 9 year old played games of chance and earned tickets. He was able to turn in the tickets for 2 pieces of candy. I thought it was crummy, but my son was happy.

We then walked down to the "castle." http://www.memorialcitymall.com/entertainment.html You must be under 48" tall to play on the castle which is great for the 4 year old, but the 9 year old is too tall. We still enjoyed the time. The 4 year old climbed, slid, played and made friends. The 9 year old got Mom's ear all to himself. He talked and talked.

We then headed home. The entire day cost about $20. Family fun on the cheap is a huge victory when it includes age appropriate, kid friendly activities. This was a good day.

Georgetown, Texas

2009-06-06T05:06:00.006-05:00

Georgetown, TX (2009 ) - We were on our way to a wedding in Salado, Texas, but couldn't find a hotel in Salado with availablility at the right price. Now remember we live in Texas, everything is a drive, and drives take time. We don't generally measure in miles. We measure in time. We found a La Quinta Hotel 30 minutes from the wedding location in Georgetown. This was a reasonable drive time for us.

Here is what we did to enjoy a fun, quick trip on the cheap:

We decided to leave early Saturday and only stay one night in a hotel. We traveled from Houston to Georgetown in just 3 hours. Along the way, we stopped in Elgin, Texas, for some famous BBQ for lunch which extended our travel time.

We were on our way to a wedding so we when we got to Georgetown we had to make a quick change and head to Salado. If we could have meandered in Georgetown, we would have enjoyed a craft show in the town square. Georgetown hosts Market Days every 2nd Saturday of the month and usually has timely themes. Fun for Mom, check it out at the Downtown Georgetown Association, http://www.dgagtx.org/.

Salado was a quick trip of only 30 minutes. The wedding was at a quaint bed & breakfast with wonderful gardens and small ponds. The Stone Creek Settlement, http://www.stonecreeksettlement.com/ , was a beautiful location for an outdoor wedding. We decided to go back to the hotel, but my sister with her small children stopped in Salado and spent time at the creek near Pace Park, http://www.saladotx.gov/pacepark.htm . They had a great experience and raved about an adventure involving a boy, a fish and NO fishing pole.

Our one night in the hotel we enjoyed swimming in the pool. The pool at the La Quinta Georgetown is very small. For small children there is only one set of corner steps to stand on, but there is a hot tub that is not too deep. We were fortunate to have it to ourselves and enjoyed our time. We kept the evening cheap and stayed in the room for pizza and movies (whatever was on cable).

We took advantage of the hotel's breakfast and then set out for San Gabriel Park, http://parks.georgetown.org/san-gabriel-park/ . This is a very nice park with picnic tables, play grounds and a great view of the San Gabriel River. The kids found a tiny creek bed that they really enjoyed climbing around and exploring. Lucky for Mom & Dad there was a picnic table beside the creek for us to watch the kids. Lucky for my littlest one there was a park bathroom in the parking area.

We decided to splurge on lunch though we could have made things cheaper by bringing a picnic. Anyway, we went to the town square. It was a Sunday and the entire square was closed except for one diner: The County Seat. Take your patience and your appetite. It was the only restaurant open on the square so quite a wait. But the food was good and the service was fair. I always keep a couple of MatchBox Cars in my purse for those times the kids need a little patience to occupy their time.

After lunch we visited the Blue Hole, http://parks.georgetown.org/blue-hole/. Parking was hard, but the walk was worth it. The blue hole is a swimming hole in the San Gabriel River. There was plenty of low water area for small children to explore and get plenty wet. There were deeper areas for older children and exploring with Mama and papoose. There were even some people rock jumping. If you go to the website, look in the trees for the cliff. There is even a bathroom. We had a great time. TIP: the river bed is very slippery. Water shoes would be helpful.

We then packed up and headed back to Houston. We had a very peaceful drive home as the munchkins snoozed the time away.

It was a quick trip. It was a fun trip. I recommend Georgetown, Texas for a family get-away.

Good Bye & Thank You, Grandma Memaw

2009-05-11T07:24:00.003-05:00

My last grandparent passed away last week. At first it was just another funeral. I am at an age now that I attend more funerals than weddings. I have sorrow for each family member who passes. I wish somehow my children could know them like I knew them when I was a child, but the circle of life never stops turning.

My Grandma Memaw was a vibrant woman who taught me more than I realized. Sitting in the pew, listening to the story of Memaw's life, it hit me. She was the bright spot in my childhood, an oasis. I spent years angry with my parents for not being what I thought parents should be. My childhood was not horrible, but it was not happy. Lots of drama; closets became great places to hide and to escape into wonderful worlds of fancy. Anyway, my parents were useless in helping me find the joy in my childhood, but then I went to Memaw's funeral.

Memaw lived in the Valley, MacAllen, Texas valley, when we were growing up. Mom would ship us off to Memaw's when she had had enough. We would stay weeks in the Valley loving every minute. Memaw had a tiny house, but it was packed full of treasures, momentos and souveneirs and knick knacks. Everything had a story, and Memaw never waivered in telling every story and some stories over and over.

It was a simpler time so we were free to run barefoot through the neighborhood, climb trees, get dirty and just have fun. We enjoyed decorating bikes and riding them in the Fourth of July parade. It never failed to be pickin' time when we were there. Pickin' time for all the oranges and grapefruits, Memaw grew in her backyard. Memaw also believed everybody should learn a musical instrument whether they played it for life or just learned it as a child. She had a piano that each of us got a turn to play. She was patient (very patient on the piano) and kind and full of laughter.

Everytime we visited the valley; Memaw would make sure one day we got to go to South Padre Island to build sand castles and enjoy an ice cream cone. When we went to the beach, it was never just a Grandma with her Grandkids. It was a parade. Memaw invited everybody; family, friends, neighbors, "The more the merrier." Meal time at Memaw's was always a party. She invited everybody; family, friends, neighbors, kids we had just met playing in the yard, "The more the merrier." And then there was dipping time. Dipping, a medicinal treatment for cats to help with fleas, ticks and other things, was a stinky, I mean it had an odor, job. Memaw did it with gusto. She didn't just dip her cats. She made a vat of the stuff in the backyard and dipped her cats and the neighbors cats and any stray cat any of the kids, us and the neighbor kids, could catch. "The more the merrier."

"The more the merrier," Memaw said. It was a phrase that floated around me; hugged me. I heard other people say it, but it just wasn't the same. When Memaw said it, you knew she meant it. At Memaw's house you weren't just welcome; you were wanted. I love Memaw for that. For a child from a broken home with a turbulant childhood, she was an oasis that taught love, laughter and the true meaning of "the more the merrier." Thank you, Memaw. I will miss you.

Preschoolers Faith, Fun and Activity

2009-05-07T10:34:00.001-05:00

Teaching Preschoolers faith can be fun. The key is for the teacher to have fun. If you have fun, they will have fun. They may call you silly, but they will remember silly.

Today we discuss Activities. Preschoolers are explorers and they use all their 5 senses to get to know their world. Activities allow Preschoolers to explore their faith with their 5 senses. Activities are what they sound like Preschoolers getting active. The more the Preschooler is allowed to be part of the story the more relevant and memoriable the story will be.

Activities can be as simple as holding a poster. For example, if you have a series of lessons like Creation, you can create a simple poster to represent each lesson. This is a progressive activity. Volunteers hold a poster while you tell the story. For creation, the first day of creation is only one poster and only one volunteer. By the seventh day, the seventh lesson, you have seven posters and seven volunteers holding posters. It offers an easy review, a memorable visual and lets your Preschoolers touch the story/poster, be part of the story. Throw in a song or rhyme to add sounds, interactivity and memory, your kids will love it. I found a Creation song on ebibleteacher.com by Sharon Broome (http://www.ebibleteacher.com/children/songs.htm#Creation_Songs )that we sang each week. I placed my hand over the appropriate volunteer and poster as we sang.

Activities can be an obstacle course. You tell the story in circle time and then follow it up by having the kids walk through the story or part of the story. For the great Exodus, have the kids walk in a group around the room, but them at one point make them stop. They have to stop because of the Red Sea (a blanket preferably blue over some chairs). Then let Moses (you) part the Red Sea (remove the blanket) and let the kids walk through the sea (between a couple of chairs). For Noah, have the kids walk in pairs pretending to be a favorite animal and then walk them all behind a line of chairs (the ark) to make a crowded group.

Activities can be games. Be careful when planning games. These are Preschoolers. Everybody needs to have a turn and everybody wins. Preschool Church is a place for peace, love, sharing and taking turns; not hard lessons about life not being fair. There are gentler ways to teach Preschoolers about winning and losing, but that's a talk for another day.

A game that works great for many lessons is Red Light / Green Light. Kids are lined up on one side of the room and the teacher is on the other side of the room. You can tell kids to take two steps forward if what you say is true, but if what you say is false, they have to stay still or maybe take a step backwards. This is a great way to review the story. If you are talking about the journey to the promised land, you can have red and green signs. Kids walk forward when you hold up the green sign and stop when the red sign is up. Pharoah said the people could go (Green Sign), but they came to the Red Sea (Red Sign). Moses parted the sea (green sign), but the people didn't know what to do next (red sign). Moses found the promised land (green sign) but the people were afraid to go in (red sign). Forty years God provided for his people in the dessert (green sign) and then they were allowed in the promised land. Kids should be to the teacher by now.

It is hard to offer a specific resource for activities. They come from all sorts of places. Games come from Bible stories, books, teacher's guides and websites. Games are games you played as a kid. Games are games my kids play at home, at church, at school, at Boy Scouts, etc. A couple of websites that might help you get started include Children's Ministry Magazine http://www.childrensministry.com/ and Children's Ministry Inspiration Vault http://childrensministryvault.com/ministry-lessons-ideas-training/ .

Patience and flexibility are important when working with Preschoolers. Preschoolers are incredibly honest and bold. They will tell you what works and what doesn't. Teaching Preschoolers can be fun as long as you have fun. Remember your childhood. Relive your childhood a little. AND HAVE FUN!

Preschoolers Faith, Fun and Role Playing

2009-05-06T09:35:00.002-05:00

Teaching Preschoolers faith can be fun. The key is for the teacher to have fun. If you have fun, they will have fun. They may call you silly, but they will remember silly. Keys to helping Preschoolers remember Bible stories is interactivity and including all 5 senses in your lesson plan. Exploring their world and their faith is important in their development at this age. Including touch, taste, smell, sound and visuals can be difficult each week. Planning a craft and a role play helps a great deal. Yesterday, we talked about crafts. Today we discuss role playing.

Role Playing sounds intimidating for Preschoolers since they can't read a script and their behavior can be unpredictable. But there are a number of ways to role play and include Preschoolers: Puppets, Walk Throughs, and Activities.

Preschoolers love Puppets. Puppets are cute, dramatic and usually funny. Puppets can do and say things that you, or the kids, cannot. Puppets are not as intimidating as a big grown up. There is not much interactivity, but Puppets offer visuals and sound. Preschoolers can interact by talking with puppets, but be careful not to lose control of the group. If Preschoolers are allowed to interact with puppets, you will need an adult to help with crowd control in the audience.

There are several websites on the web with Puppet scripts, but think about your Preschoolers. Most scripts need to be adapted. Scripts should be short and topics simple. Situations need to be Preschool appropriate. For example, right and wrong lessons should focus on topics like taking turns and sharing rather than if you should watch a scary movie at a friends house. Preschoolers are not likely to watch scarey movies in their own house much less a friends. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite Puppet Script websites: Fishers of Kids http://www.fishersofkids.com/ , Puppet Resources http://www.puppetresources.com/ , and Puppets for Jesus http://www.puppetsforjesus.com/ .

Walk Throughs are like mini-plays, but preschoolers cannot read a script and their behavior can be unpredictable. When you are preparing for story time to tell the Bible story, if it is appropriate, try to plan a mini-play of the story especially if you have more than one character in your story. For example, the story of Lot and Abraham. You ask for two volunteers. You, the teacher are going to tell the story, but you are using the volunteers kind of like props. They are your actors and you will be directing them through the story. For Abraham and Lot, tell your volunteers to face each other and hold hands out. Tell them you are going to bless them with stuff and that you want them to hold the stuff with their arms. You tell the story. Abraham and Lot were blessed with lots of livestock (pile stuffed animals on their arms), blessed with lots of family and workers (pile dolls), and blessed with tents and riches (pile a suitcase, pillows, whatever). Once the kids have too much to hold and are dropping things then tell them that they are going to have to separate because the have too much stuff. But ask them who is going to pick first? Who gets to decide who will go where? Tell the kids to let go of hands and let the stuff fall to the floor. Then tell them that Abraham (place your hand on one child) was very kind and let Lot (place your hand on the other child) pick first. Tell your "Abraham" to tell "Lot" to pick first. Then go to "Lot" and tell him to pick up some stuff and then gently guide "Lot" to one end of the stage or room. Then tell "Abraham" to pick up some stuff and gently guide him to the other end of the stage or room. Reinforce that they did not fight and that God blessed Abraham for his kindness. Your kids are part of the story, and they don't need to recite anything.

You don't need websites to create Walk Throughs. Simply read your Bible Story. Many Sunday School Teacher's guides have suggestions, but if you can tell a story, you can walk your preschoolers through a story too. Think of your Preschoolers as a prop like a doll or puppet. While you tell the story, you guide them. Mary and Joseph traveled a long way to Bethlehem. Two volunteers can be guided to walk around the room while you tell the story.

Another way to tell the Christmas story to include more Preschoolers: You might hang a star over a dolls bed and then make three paths with masking tape on the floor all ending under the star. One path has a toy horse or donkey and two volunteers (Mary and Joseph) ride/take the toy to Bethlehem. One path has three gift bags at the beginning. Three volunteers are the wise men carrying the gifts to Jesus. One path has a couple of toy sheep. A couple of volunteers are the shepherds who go to see Jesus. Ask for volunteers to go to the start of each path. They must stay there until you tell them to come to the star. You tell the story. While you tell the story, direct the kids. "Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem. Volunteers walk to the star." While they walk, add other story details. "An Angel told the shepherds the good news. Shepherds walk to the star." Give more story details while they walk. You get the idea.

Another fun way to get Preschoolers involved in the story is Activities. Activites can be a lot of things from simply holding a poster to an obstacle course to a game. Tomorrow I will give some fun examples to create Activity in your Preschool Sunday School Lesson Plan.

Preschool Faith, Fun and Crafts

2009-05-05T08:50:00.007-05:00

Teaching children faith can be fun. There are a lot of philosphies out there but the one you need to own for yourself is that "If you have fun, then the kids will have fun." If you don't like what you are doing, the kids will know it and discipline will creep up as an issue. Have fun. I find fun in interactive lessons and have discovered that Preschoolers love interactivity.

Preschoolers need to explore their world including their faith. Ever watch a child put something in their mouth to learn about its taste? Ever watch a child bang something on the floor to discover its sound? If you can include all 5 senses in your lesson, your preschoolers will love your lesson. Including touch, taste, smell, visual and sound in every lesson can be hard. I enjoy crafts and role playing and have found these to be very helpful in creating interactive lessons that allow the kids to use all their senses.

Crafts go a long way to including the child in the story and allowing them to explore with their 5 senses. Crafts offer lots of touch and visuals to support Bible stories. Almost every preschooler loves crayons and glue. LOTS OF GLUE. Kids love coloring rainbows for God's promise not to ever flood the world again. They love making Angels for Christmas and many other stories. You can even include sound in crafts by creating noise makers to "make a joyful noise" for Jesus.

My favorite websites for craft ideas is DLTK, http://www.dltk-kids.com/ and Danielle's Place http://www.daniellesplace.com/index.html . They also offer other teaching ideas, tips and tricks all geared for Preschoolers.

Role Playing sounds intimidating for Preschoolers since they can't read a script and their behavior can be unpredictable. But there are a number of ways to role play and include Preschoolers: Puppets, Walk Throughs, and Activities. More about that tomorrow.

Summer Time, Daily Treats

2009-05-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Summer sun and fun is coming as well as the ever present children crying "I'm bored." Well, beat the migraine of whiney kids and motivate those little soldiers by letting them know about the fun planned for the summer. Kids can easily entertain themselves. A great motivator for that is knowing that they are going to be rewarded for playing nicely and sharing with a trip tomorrow or the next day. I like to plan a summer calendar, so I can tell my kids that in two weeks, one week or tomorrow is the BIG day.

Our calendar is filling up. We have three weeks booked with BIG Things: a day camp, an overnight camp and a vacation. We have loosely scheduled one FIELD trip for each summer month: the Children's Museum, the Zoo and the Oil Ranch. Now it is time to look at Daily Treats.

Daily Treats cannot cost a lot of money since they are daily. So we start with a loose schedule. The morning is stuff around the house (cleaning, video games, building train tracks or Lego's, whatever), about 10 am is an activity which will be discussed later, about 12 pm is lunch, about 1 pm is quiet time / nap time / reading time, about 3 pm is park time and then 5 pm is dinner and normal evening stuff. It is summer so I am not strict about the schedule. Lots of things depend on the kids and how they are doing. If they are particularly interested in what they are playing, we may not do a morning activity and focus on the fun we are having. If they are being particularly bad, we may delay a FIELD trip day or skip an activity for appropriate time outs and groundings. It all just depends on you and the kids and what you think is appropriate for a reward or for a punishment.

Activities are not in stone, but it is good to have a bag of tricks to easily pick something out that fits the day and the mood. Daily treats (activities) include physical time, mind time and go time.

Physical Time - Everybody knows how important exercise. Physical time is easy with kids. Kids love to swim, ride bikes and run. We try to go to the swimming pool 2 - 3 times a week which takes up a number of morning activity time. We also like to ride bikes to neighborhood parks which easily takes up 2 - 3 afternoon activities. Running can be done in the backyard, in the cul-de-sac playing with neighbors or at the school park. I like to keep a stash of water guns in the backyard to promote running. Except for an annual pool tag fee, all these activities are free.
Mind Time - You will have rain days or in Houston we have days where the temperature and humidity are just too high for outside play. For Mind Time, I like to have something interactive for the kids to build or to experiment. Play dough is a cool one. You can buy it to have on hand or make an experiment out if it by letting the kids make their own (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Play-Dough ). The computer has all sorts of kitchen science experiments available (baking soda and vinegar are favorites as well as Menthos and soda). A couple of sites I like are Science is Fun (http://www.scifun.org/homeexpts/homeexpts.html ) and Mad About Jesus Laboratories (http://www.madaboutjesus.net/index.html ). Mind Time also includes crafts like finger painting or painting a planter or t-shirt, planting something like a potato to watch it grow, building a bird house or a pine cone bird feeder, or creating musical instruments with stuff around the house. My older son is a Cub Scout and I have found the Cub Scout manuals a great resource for constructive and creative things to do. This year my son needs to work on his Craftsman Badge. I think we will make a leather wallet (supplies at the local hobby store) and I saw some interesting kids crafts for camping on the Oriental Trading Website (http://www.orientaltrading.com/ ). There are just tons of things you can do at home with stuff around the house. Just keep a list of websites readily available and a few generic supplies readily available. Generic supplies include paper, scissors, glue, tape, markers, paint, bubbles, balloons, and baking soda. Paper airplane day is always fun too.
Go Time - I have two boys and boys need to move. They are busy and need constructive activities that allow them to be loud and to move. Parks, malls and tourist spots help with cheap and fun ways to fill the days. Parks - We are fortunate that we have a large county park near our house where we can ride bikes, picnic and play on the playground or in a field with Frisbee or football or kites or whatever. There are a number of parks that we can drive to and enjoy (http://www.co.harris.tx.us/parks/park.asp ). Many are not good for bikes so check ahead, but almost all have good picnic spots and bathrooms. Malls - Again, we live in the Greater Houston Area and shopping malls can be a fun daily activity that can easily be combined with an errand for Mom (need new shoes or a purse?). Our favorite mall is Memorial City (http://www.memorialcitymall.com/home.html ). It is a treat for the kids to pick their own lunch in the food court, we run our errand and the kids get rewarded for good behavior with a ride on the carousel, coins for the arcade, time on the castle playground for preschoolers, and/or ice cream. Tourist Spots - These could easily be put under Field Trips, but because they are economical, they can be enjoyed more often and thus have been placed under Daily Treats. Tourist Spots include the Houston Arboretum (http://www.houstonarboretum.org/ ), San Jacinto Monument (http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/ ), Sea Wolf Park Galveston (http://www.galveston.com/seawolfpark/ ), and Sea Center Texas Lake Jackson ( http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/seacenter/) There a bit of a drive, but a good day for the kids.

The key to keeping the kids happy and Mom happy daily is to have a bag of tricks to pull from. Your bag of tricks does not have to cost a lot of money and can easily utilize things from around the house, but on those days that the kids need a little more room to stretch their legs, it is good to have a list of cheap and easy places to go. Another website of interest when trying to figure out how to fill a day is Nina Loca, a Houstonite with a more comprehensive list of kid friendly restaurants and locations, http://www.ninaloca.com/ .

Our summer is full of fun and relaxation. No stress for Mom trying to figure out what to do with those wound up tots. We have a day camp, overnight camp and vacation to look forward too. We have a Zoo trip, Museum trip and Farm trip to look forward too. We have lots of days to relax and enjoy swimming, biking and numerous parks and picnics. We even have some rainy day things to do including paint and play dough. We will still have a few "down" days where we just hang out, but Mom is armed to battle the "I'm bored" shots with the "look what we have planned for...." and with the "if you are good, we will do a kitchen experiment (or craft or game or whatever)."

It's a rough schedule, but a fun and flexible one. Have a great summer!

Summer Time Field Trips

2009-05-02T08:08:00.001-05:00

Summer is coming with good news and bad news. The good news is you can put the alarm clock on permanent snooze; the bad news is the kids will be home and will probably wake you up anyway. I love the summer, but bored kids can quickly steal any peace and quiet. So get prepared, let those kids know that BIG things are coming, FUN field trips are planned and daily treats will reward them for good behavior and using their time wisely.

Yesterday, we talked about BIG things which included day camps, overnight camps and vacations. Today we discuss FIELD trips. The number of field trips we schedule depends greatly on the budget. Since we have scheduled the BIG things, we know what is left to cover FIELD trips and daily treats. I try to schedule at least one FIELD trip per month, perferably two and in a perfect world, one per week. FIELD trips include museums, entertainment complexes, pizza fun places, tourist spots and farms.

Museums - We live in Houston, Texas, which has a plethera of museums. For cost and kid friendly we like the Children's Museum (http://www.cmhouston.org/)%20and the Health Museum (http://thehealthmuseum.org/HomeDisplay.aspx ). Most musuems offer a "Free Family"; these musuems have FREE Thursday nights (check the websites for times). I like to do things during the day and do not care for the crowds on Free Nights. I try to budget time and money to go during the weekday. I also like to treat my kids to lunch out and eat at the museum (Health Museum does not have a food court). However, if money is tight, there are a number of parks and picnic spots near the museums. We get our re-entry stamp or sticker and then go picnic and come back to finish our day.

Entertainment Complexes - These include laser tag, put put golf, go-carts, and inflatable jump places. These can get really pricey fast so I might go to one over the entire summer. However, living in Houston, the weather gets stifling hot and inflatable jump places are a great way for indoor and energetic fun for both my school aged child and preschooler. You have probably heard about these places for parties, but check out their websites, they usually have day time, open play times too and some even have "matinee" prices for going early. We like Pump it Up (http://www.pumpitupparty.com/ ) and Monkey Bizness (http://www.monkeybizness.com/ )

Pizza Fun Places - What kids does not like pizza? Even my four year old, who does not actually like pizza, knows he is supposed to and will jump up for pizza. Pizza Fun Places include CiCi's Pizza (www.cicipizza.com), Chuck E Cheese (www.chuckecheese.com ) and IT'Z Pizza. (www.itzusa.com ). Depending on budget, is the one I pick. CiCi's is a pizza buffet so something for everyone, and they have a small game room that needs quarters. The quarters can add up fast so this does not take up much of the day. Chuck E Cheese can take up half a day. Never go without a coupon, they offer them on the internet and though the coupon does not help much with cost of food, it does help get more tokens so your kids can play and play. IT'Z Pizza is a buffet with much better variety of foods, but the games can get real expensive. My kids love this place, but it's a YIKES expensive place to go. They do have offer specials, so every now and then I will cruise their website for the deal of the week.
Tourist Spots - These are super fun and usually educational. In Houston they include the Zoo (http://www.houstonzoo.org/), the Space Center (http://www.spacecenter.org/), and the Aquarium (www.aquariumrestaurants.com ). These can quickly become YIKES expensive, but again, check the websites for specials, coupons and "matinee" prices. And think about the cost of taking your family to the movies. When I figured out it cost the same to take my family of four to the movies as it cost to take my kids to the Space Center, we went to the Space Center. Of course, I was hugely surprised by the cost of food. Kid friendly food, but no kid friendly prices. Lunch ate my lunch. Next time, we will get our re-entry stamp and go picnic in the back of the minivan.
Farms - Around Houston there are several farms designed for family fun and education. They used to be economical but as their popularity grows, so do their prices. Check their websites and be prepared. Around Houston there is the George R Ranch ( http://www.georgeranch.org/ ) which is more geared for older kids and the Oil Ranch ( http://www.oilranch.com/ )which has stuff for both preschoolers and older kids.

Living in the Greater Houston Area, there are a ton of tourist things to do. We enjoy our city, and have more tourist spots to highlight, but the economy of the next few put them on my "Daily" lists.

Our summer schedule is filling up. We have three weeks filled with a day camp, overnight camp and a vacation. We have scheduled some highlights for the other weeks with Field Trips to the Children's Museum, the Zoo and the Oil Ranch. Next is daily activities which we will discuss tomorrow.

Summer Time, BIG Things

2009-05-01T08:13:00.004-05:00

SUMMER TIME IS COMING! A joy and a dredge if you are a stay-at-home mommy. I am looking forward to no alarm clocks and flexible, or no, schedules. I am looking forward to sunny days and star lit nights and time with my family. I am also dreading time with my family and mosquito filled nights and sun burns. So what's a Mom to do? Get prepared.

First things first, you need to set-up a schedule and map out the calendar. Three months at home can get really long and potentially hazardous to your house if the kids are not constructively occupied. It also helps with the "I'am bored," when you can tell the kids that next week you are going to go to ...whereever. Our calendar consists of the BIG things, FIELD trips and then the DAILY things.

I like to start by planning the BIG things. BIG things are just what they sound like, BIG. They take time, planning and resources and include day camps, overnight camps, and vacations. Planning the big things first also helps me know how much I have to spend, if any, on FIELD trips and DAILY things.

Day Camp - Budget friendly, I always sign the kids up for at least one Vacation Bible School (day camp). They are usually free except for the cost of the t-shirt. This year we will be attending the Copperfield Baptist "Boomerang Express" VBS (http://www.ccpowerkids.org/events ). Next I look at what extracurricular activities the kids are involved in. There is some kind of camp for just about anything that interests your kids. My son is a Cub Scout (Boy Scouts of America). We went to the District Day Camp last year and loved it. They also had a sibling program so my other child could participate too. It didn't work out for us this year, but it is economical and very fun.

Overnight Camp - My oldest child is still in elementary school so this is a tough one. When he was in Kindergarten, Grandma's house for a week was overnight "camp." Now that he is older we have more options. Again, look at the Boy Scouts of America. They have several camps that were not cheap but nothing near the cost of other camps. We haven't been, and they don't fit our schedule this year. However, I will keep it in mind for next year. We are going to go to church camp. This is again a budget friendly event and many churches offer scholarships if you ask. We will be attending Copperfield Baptist Preteen Camp (http://www.ccpowerkids.org/events ).

Vacations - Vacations take up a lot of time and money. Last year we did what everybody else did and had a "Stay-cation" which for us looked much like years before. Anyway, this year we have decided to rent a beach house. The up front cost gave me a small heart attack, but then I looked at the entertainment and food and beverage value. Cooking our own meals will definately make it more affordable. Being on the beach will definately help the entertainment budget. To help the cost, we are not getting a beach house directly on the front row, we are getting one that is a row or two behind. You can see the beach but you have to walk to it via a sidewalk between other houses. We haven't booked yet, but we are also looking at townhomes and duplexes on the beach which appear to be more economical as well. I don't recommend waiting this late to book. Being the first of May, the list of available properties is quickly dwindling for the time we want to go in July or early August.

So our calendar has one BIG thing per month: day camp in June, overnight camp in July and a vacation in August. Tomorrow we will discuss "FIELD" trips. Field trips are great ways to break up the week, have fun and to use as motivators. Your kids have to behave to be able to go on the Field trip. More about that tomorrow.

Happy Easter Poem

2009-04-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

I learn best by teaching. For about 10 years now I have volunteered to teach Preschoolers in the Christian faith. This year I was asked to offer the Easter Message on Easter morning for Preschoolers in large group (Preschool Worship Service).

This was really tough. The Easter message, though it has a glorious ending, can be lost to Preschoolers as they are distracted by the sadness and fear of someone dying particularly since the death is quite painful. So how to teach the message and help the kids see the glory. Music. I love music. Can't sing a lick but boy howdy, do I try.

I searched and searched for a good Easter song for preschoolers. I really didn't find one, but I did notice that most of the songs I came across were poems written to the beat of familiar preschool songs like "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "London Bridges."

A gift from God, I had a revelation and wrote my own Easter Poem set to the same beat, cadence, as "Pop Goes the Weasel."

So that was the journey and here is the result. An Easter Poem/Song to the tune of "Pop! Goes the Weasel!).

The Tomb is Empty
by Danika LaBrant (copywright 2009)

Into Jerusalem, came the king
Riding on a donkey
Palm leaves they laid to welcome him in
Joy! Yelled the children.

Angry leaders showed they were scared
When they arrested Jesus
A crown of thorns they placed on his head
The King! Jesus was.

On the cross, Jesus did die
In the tomb they hid him
On the third day they heard a loud
Crack! Now the tomb is empty

The way to heaven is open to us
Jesus showed the way
Rejoice my friends and join in the fun
Hooray! The King is risen!

It is also an action song so it really gets the preschoolers engaged and happy. Here it is again with some suggested actions.

The Tomb is Empty
by Danika LaBrant (copywright 2009)

Into Jerusalem, came the king (walk fingers across your arm)
Riding on a donkey (fists in front, fingers to the floor, and bounce up and down at the knee)
Palm leaves they laid to welcome him in (bend forward and motion like you are laying something down)
Joy! Yelled the children. (swing arms up until both hands are in the in the air)

Angry leaders showed they were scared (hands on your hips for angry and then cover your mouth like you are surprised for scared)
When they arrested Jesus (touch wrists together)
A crown of thorns they placed on his head ( make a circle with your hands and lay the circle on your head)
The King! Jesus was. (swing arms up until both hands are in the in the air)

On the cross, Jesus did die (fingers in a cross)
In the tomb they hid him (one hand in a fist, the other hand flat and perpandicular to the floor, hide the fist behind the flat hand)
On the third day they heard a loud (three fingers up and then bring hands together and motion like you are tearing a sheet)
Crack! Now the tomb is empty (swing arms up until both hands are in the in the air)

The way to heaven is open to us (arms stretched out on either side)
Jesus showed the way (wave one hand from your shoulder and back out until it is stretched out like you are showing the way)
Rejoice my friends and join in the fun (bend arms and swing them like you are dancing)
Hooray! The King is risen! (swing arms up until both hands are in the in the air)

Hope you enjoy this little ditty as much as we did.

Race or Age

2009-03-22T17:33:00.004-05:00

Is it a matter of Race or Age? I have two beautiful sons. One is a 9 year old Caucasian and the other is a 4 year old African American. We are quite accustom to looks, comments and questions.
We have just come to the end of Spring Break. We enjoyed Spring Break with picnics in the park, sand castles on the beach, sleepovers with friends and a trip to the Space Center. This week it seemed no matter where we went someone would say something about how cute the 4 year old is. As a proud Mama, I was ever so happy to say, "Thank You," and give my 4 year old an extra hug and a kiss. By the end of the week my 9 year old was feeling a little left out and started asking me if I thought he was cute too. Of course, I do. I gave him an extra hug and a kiss too.

As my 9 year old started asking each time somebody said something to the 4 year old, I started noticing that every kind word was coming from African Americans. I started to wonder why. Was this some sort of cultural validation for my son? Or was he just really cute?

I have an African American friend, and we were just visiting. She made a comment about how cute the 4 year old is getting. I agreed and then mentioned our experience. As we talked, she commented, "Well, admiring the looks of a pre-teen is a little creepy coming from an adult stranger." She was right. If a strange adult had made some comment about how attractive my 9 year old was, I might be a little concerned about their motives, but commenting on a cute baby, well, that is just expected.

Now I slap myself. I love both my sons, and I forget their obvious difference. I am accustom to lots of looks and stares; comments and questions. I was searching for the racial difference, the cultural explanation, beating myself up thinking I had missed something important for his little ego as an African American Male. I was the one making it a racial thing and nobody else.

What was it? I believe it had nothing to do with his race, and everything to do with his age. He is a happy, out-going 4 year old with lots and lots of energy. He is cute. It is culturally acceptable in all races to admire a cute baby, but it is a little creepy to admire a pre-teen in the same way.

Relief, I am not a bad Mom just a little over-sensitive.

I love my boys, and both of them are very cute.

An Expert in Hope

2009-03-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

Are you an Expert? Are you someone who has a specialized skill acquired through training or experience? I am not an expert. I am one of those people who knows a little about a lot of things, but doesn't know a lot about anything. I want to be an expert in something, but what?

My husband had cancer. My sister had cancer. Thankfully, they survived and are cancer free. I thought my experience as a care taker would make me an expert on care taker issues, but it did not. I tried volunteering with a cancer support group, but learned quickly that issues are very different from family to family, care taker to care taker. Much like cancer does not discriminate and makes its attack very personal, so do the challenges faced by care takers. I am not an expert and do not feel qualified to help.

I have volunteered, taken classes, read books, watched movies, etc. to try and find my field of expertise. All I have found is that I am not an expert. I have been married 10+ years. I am not an expert in marriage. I have two boys. I am not an expert in parenting. I am a woman with many years experience being a woman, but I am not an expert on women's issues. So what does this all mean?

In my head, I hear a song which makes me smile. The song is by Barlow Girl and is called "Superstar." The song sings "I want to be a star, but is that all I am really here for. If I am not a star, will it be o.k.? Will I still be someone?" "God, you will have to say who I really am, because I cannot live in this perfect dream land. But I heard your plans are better." YEAH! There is hope! I may not be an expert or a superstar, but God has a plan for me.

Turning to the Bible and finding more hope, Jeremiah 29:11, "'For I know my plans for you,' says the Lord, 'plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and hope.'" It does not say I will be a superstar or an expert. But if I could be an expert in anything in the world, I think children and the Bible would be near the top of the list. Of course, I have other interests like cancer patient care, foster care, domestic adoption, the educational system, the health care system, children's ministry, stay at home moms by choice, and much more. I know a little about a lot of things.

I may not be an expert or a superstar, but how cool is it that God has a plan just for me and nobody else. I think I will claim Jeremiah 29:11 and receive that future and hope designed by God for me. You may not be an expert but you can claim Jeremiah 29:11 for yourself. My prayer for you and for me: Dear Lord, make me an example of your plan, an example of hope. I thank you for creating a plan for me and my future. May God's will be done. In Jesus Name I pray, AMEN.

Foster Care UnFair (3)

2009-02-28T08:00:00.003-06:00

Rosie O'Donnel has a new movie coming out about Foster Care. This is a tough subject, but it is a reality. The State of Texas has a Foster Program. They have a Foster to Adopt Program and, of course, they have an Adoption Program.

In the State of Texas the number one goal of Child Protective Services (CPS) is reunification. In placement of a child, the first choice is the biological parents. Second choice is the biological extended family. Third choice is anyone who can demonstrate a healthy, long term relationship with the child (perhaps a neighbor, babysitter, teacher, minister....). The last choice is waiting adoptive parents. Thus the Foster Care system exists to facilitate the reunification of families by offering help to parents and their children.

In a perfect world this is a great system placing children in homes and not institutions. In a perfect world, foster care is a great solution to a short term problem. In reality, foster care is being extended too long and giving parents who have no intention of reunifying too much power to prevent children from being available for adoption.

Biological parents, fit or unfit, are given every chance to reclaim custody of their child. The State offers services such as job training, food stamps, and much more to help biological parents fulfill their requirements to reclaim their child. All the biological parents have to do is demonstrate a desire for reunification and their child will never be available for adoption. To demonstrate a desire the parent only needs to show up once every now and then. If they show up once, they can delay the court hearing to terminate their parental rights another year. Biological parents are never required to finish their services and they can effectively keep their child in foster care until they age out at age 18, and that is the major down side to the program.

It is true that sometimes a series of bad decisions and/or series of unfortunate events, a parent needs help getting out of hole and it may take a couple of years. That is where the State's program works. Unfortunately, there are a number of people who have dug a hole that they have no intention of getting out of. They have found comfort and appreciate the familiarity of their difficulty and will never be able to parent their children. This is where the State program fails. If a parent lives snuggled deep into their addiction or tragedy, there needs to be a way to identify that parent and have a schedule to get their child off the foster care register and onto the adoption waiting list. There needs to be a deadline for these parent's to complete their services. They need to be required to finish their program. It is completely unfair to the child to be left in Foster Care for 5, 10, 15, 18 years.

I have no answers but the more people that are aware of the issues, the more minds pondering the issues, perhaps the next ingenious idea on how to fix or at least improve Foster Care will come sooner than later.

Rosie O'Donnel's new movie is called "America" and will be shown on Lifetime on Feb. 28 at 9 pm, March 1 at 8 pm and March 3 at 8 pm (et/pt). The movie is based on the book "America" by E.R. Frank. For more about the movie and book go to Lifetime: http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/america

Foster Care UnFair (2)

2009-02-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

Rosie O'Donnel has many faults but her passion for kids and advocacy for kids' issues is commendable. She doesn't just talk a bunch of talk. She isn't just a self promoter using orphanages to get her face in the news. She takes kids into her own home. She may not be perfect, but who of us is? She is doing something to make this world a better place.

Why promote Rosie O'Donnel now? She has a new movie coming out about Foster Care. This is a tough subject, but it is a reality. Rosie's new movie is called "America" and will be shown on Lifetime on Feb. 28 at 9 pm, March 1 at 8 pm and March 3 at 8 pm (et/pt). The movie is based on the book "America" by E.R. Frank. For more about the movie and book go to Lifetime: http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/america

I haven't seen the movie and probably won't since I don't have cable (economics, I don't need cable. I need to pay the electricity.) Anyway, I haven't seen the movie but the issue is of great interest to me. We fostered to adopt our son. It was a heart wrenching process with no promises or guarantees. The 18 months that our child was classified a foster child was difficult. Paperwork, meetings, and court dates on top of normal life was consuming, but we were lucky. The biological parents voluntarily signed over their rights and our son was made available for adoption. What a relief! We can focus on normal life and not worry about insurance issues, court approval for vacations, certification of babysitters, etc.

Foster Parents are remarkable people. When you agree to foster, you agree to potentially care for a child for as little as a day or for as long as 18 years (in the State of Texas). You don't know for sure what health issues, finanical issues and emotional issues the foster child will bring into your home. Foster Parents are remarkable people, but not all of them go into it with admirable intentions. Many are in it for the money. Kids in a tough spot are being exploited for a tiny pay check from the State.

Case Workers are remarkable people. Case Workers can have up to 50 cases at a time. 50 cases means 50 chilren. In Texas Case Workers are required to physically see all 50 kids every month (note they are not required to see the Foster Parents). Every month Case Workers are required to write a progress report on all 50 kids. In addition to checking up on all these kids, Case Workers are required to be in court every time one of their cases comes up; depending on the case every child could potentially have a court date every quarter. That could potentially be 200 court appearances in a year. Do you think the courts take into account the Case Worker when they schedule their dates? Do they try to get all the Case Worker's cases on the same day or even the same week?

Hypothetically, a Case Worker with 50 cases has 50 meetings, writes 50 reports and appears in court approximatly 17 times every single month. Don't forget they have other administrative duties. When a child is identified as in need of services, someone has to evaluate the family, living and personal issues of that child and not only determine a course of action but put it in writing and meet with other people and facilitate implementation. Once a child is placed in foster care there are other duties to evaluate the family, living and personal issue of that child. Needless to say the turn over job rate for Case Worker's is high.

The State Foster Care Program is a great idea but a difficult reality. The State does offer money to help Foster Parents care for the children. The State does make available specialiezed services to help parents regain custody, to help get children specialized services for individual needs and to help foster parents. But there are so many rules, so much paper work, so few workers. As a previous Foster Parent, the program appears to be a balloon about to burst. Then what happens to the children?

I have no answers but the more people that are aware of the issues, the more minds pondering the issues, perhaps the next ingenious idea on how to fix or at least improve Foster Care will come sooner than later.

Foster Care UnFair

2009-02-26T08:16:00.003-06:00

Rosie O'Donnel is not one of my favorite people. Frankly, I usually turn the channel when I realize it is her. However, I love Good Morning America (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA), and Chris Quomo was interviewing her. I like Mr. Quomo so I listened. I am so glad that I did. I am going to have to find a way to see her new movie. (I don't have cable, satellite or whatever).

Foster Care is a great idea, but a difficult reality. The statistics quoted by Mr. Quomo included 30,000 children every year age out of foster care. Aging out means that the State has deemed the child an adult and will no longer support them through foster care. Foster parents will not receive any finanical help to support the new "adult" and the new "adult" will no longer be eligible for state funded programs such as job training and educational assistants.

Of course, there are ways the "adult" can aquire additional assistants for job training or education, but they have to have the desire and where withall to get it. Of course, how can they care about the hoops they must hop through when their more immediate concern is, "Where am I going to live? Where is my next meal coming from? How will I get money to pay for clothes and shoes?" And don't forget that these new adults are often kids who have just turned 18 years old. At 18, friends and fun are vital ingredients for happiness. At 18, you are willing to do just about anything to maintain your friends and have some fun.

I could go on and on about this, but Rosie's brief talk about the hardships of Foster Care is the focus. There are a lot of people doing great work to make the best of a broken system. Case Workers are over worked and under appreciated. Foster Parents with all good intentions have limitations in financial resources, health care and skills to help children with a huge variety of emotional needs. Foster kids, what can you say? There are so many different types of kids, different situations, different needs and wants. Kids who are great but fall through the cracks. Kids who are not so great who just need someone to care to turn them around. Kids who need an intervention to scare them into something great.

The interview and endorsement by Chris Quomo of Rosie O'Donnel's new movie pricked interest and heart strings. This is a tough subject, but it is a reality. Rosie's new movie is called "America" and will be shown on Lifetime on Feb. 28 at 9 pm, March 1 at 8 pm and March 3 at 8 pm (et/pt). The movie is based on the book "America" by E.R. Frank. For more about the movie and book go to Lifetime: http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/america

Why do I care about this subject? We fostered to adopt one of our sons. The 18 months that he was classified a foster child were heart wrenching. I am greatly disappointed how the program is administered, but I am extremely thankful for the result in our family. We are one of the lucky ones. How many more are not so lucky?

My Baby is Not a Baby Anymore

2009-02-06T10:57:00.003-06:00

It was night time. Each of us had gone through the routine of washing off the day's grime, freshening our mouths and slipping into comfy pajamas. It was a quiet night, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I, Mom, had gotten everybody: homework done, fed, washed and into bed at a reasonable hour. I even had time to read stories to my precious babies.

I went to my final stop on the reading tour, my oldest baby's room. As soon as I walked through the door, I was bowled over by a stench I cannot describe. My oldest baby's face of surprise to my reaction to the smell led me to wonder if he smelled it. I asked him, "What is that smell?!?" In the innocence of a baby, he looked at me and asked, "What smell?" I could hardly believe my ears, or my nose for that matter.

I began the hunt for 'that smell.' Periodically, asking my son the usual questions, "Have you been eating food in here again?" "Is your laundry in the hamper?" "Is your stomach upset?" My son could not believe I was so insistant that there was a smell and had no idea what it could be.

I finally gave up and sat on the bed next to him. Leaning over to kiss him, I got a whiff of 'that smell.' I asked him, "what have you been doing?" "Nothing," he reported, "Just chasing my brother, playing swords and seeing how high I could jump. I can almost reach above the door frame to my room. Wanna see?" He lifted his arm to show me how high he can reach and then I got a really good whiff of 'that smell.'

My baby is not a baby anymore. He is nine years old and definately ready for deoderant. As I grappled with that I began to wonder, what is next? My baby is not a baby anymore. He needs deoderant. Soon other changes will happen. I am a girl Mom who was raised with girly sisters. I don't know anything about growing up a boy. I suspect he will start to get hair in strange places. I know his voice will change, but that still shouldn't happen for a few years. My baby is still losing baby teeth. He can't be old enough for all this. But my baby is losing his baby teeth, and the adult teeth are coming in just fine. He may only be nine (9), but he is growing up.

So, what's a Mom to do? Research, of course. Boys are wonderful and their changes are pretty much what you think they will be. If you want some confirmation, reassurance or more information, here are a few websites to check out:

Kid's Health for Kids: http://kidshealth.org/kid/grow/body_stuff/boys_puberty.html
Teen Growth.com: http://www.teengrowth.com/index.cfm?action=info_article&ID_article=1348
KidsRead.com (book reviews): http://aol.kidsreads.com/features/010201-growing.asp

Growing up boys is different than growing up girls. Each have their own challenges and rewards. I love my babies. I love my sons. I love my baby boy who is not a baby anymore.

Mom-Me: the Substitute Teacher

2009-01-29T01:20:00.004-06:00

I think I have found the perfect paid, out of the home job, for this stay at home Mom-Me. I am a Substitute Teacher. I am not with my kids, but I am still working with kids. This has two bonus features. I am not with my kids; every Mom-Me needs a break from the never ending call for "MOM." Bonus number two: I really appreciate my kids after working with some of these kids. I won't say they are bad, but I will say there are some kids that are a real challenge. I guess you could even say there is a third bonus, but it is a stretch. After spending time with some real challenges, I have stricter instruction with my kids at home.

Every Mom-Me needs a break from their kids. As a stay at home Mom-Me, you are never off the job. When loving, working husband comes home, he does not jump in and let Mom-Me take a break or have some private time. No matter how hard Mom-Me's week has been, she is always on duty for the midnight, "MOM-ME, I have to go potty," or the "MOM-ME, I had a nightmare," or the "MOM-ME, I don't feel good." When you stay home, you hear MOM-ME all day long. I do try to have an hour or two where I tell the kids if you are not going to nap you are still going to be quiet and during quiet time, you do not call Mom-Me unless something is broken or bleeding. Of course then every 10 minutes I hear, "Is quiet time over yet? Is it over now? Is it over now? Is it over now? etc." Mom-Me needs a break.

Working with challenging kids, I really appreciate my kids. I want them to be perfect, of course. I have been stressed that my first son is not an athlete and straight 'A' student. I have been stressed that my second son is stubborn and has quite a temper. A lot of times I feel like a Policeman, Corrections Officer, Warden, Traffic Cop and/or Judge, constantly on my kids for this and that. I know my kids are not perfect. I know that I am not perfect. Working with other kids, my kids are right on track for their age, and since they are my kids, I get to hug them and kiss them a lot which really helps alleviate some of the tension when we are having a bad day. Especially with the four year old, when it is a head butt day, since he is my son, I can stop everything and just say, "Mom-Me is having a tough day, can I get a hug?" This usually de-escalates whatever and brings out a smile.

Working with challenging kids, I am stricter with my kids. We have tried to teach them to respect authority and not talk back, but I often find myself arguing with them. I don't mean too, but I want my kids to know they are allowed an opinion and that they can defend themselves. Unfortunately, I have a hard time separating self-defense and personal opinion from disrespectful, argumentative and talking back. Anyway, on one of my substitute jobs I had a little boy pinch and bite me and call me every cuss word in the book. I have had several children tell me that since I am a substitute they don't have to listen to me. I have had many children who refused to do their school work or even stay in their chairs. I have even had children leave the room without permission. On those days, I am a much stricter Mom-Me that does not allow for any back talk, and there are no warnings. You do what you are told, or there will be consequences.

I do enjoy Substitute Teaching. I enjoy meeting all these new smiling faces which there are more smiling faces than not. I enjoy seeing what they are learning. I love walking into a class where they are writing a story. Kids have amazing imaginations. I have renewed faith in honesty. As an adult it is easy to become cynical and untrusting, but kids, in general, are brutally honest. I love the moments when they are really listening especially when they come up with good questions. I love it when at the end of the day one of the kids gives me a compliment like a kindergartner once said, "you're not scary."

I enjoy meeting the other teachers and hearing what they have to say about our educational system. I enjoy meeting the other teachers and being renewed that their are people who love every age and stage of children and are excellent teachers.

I am a Substitute Teacher, and I like it. The hours are fair, the pay is o.k. and I have the same holidays as my kids. The extra bonuses: I appreciate my kids, I am more consistant/stricter with my kids and I get a break from my kids. It's a good gig.

Mom-Me: Back to Work, Trial and Error

2009-01-20T08:57:00.001-06:00

For three years I have been a Mom who works inside the home. Economic yuck yuck and now I am a Mom trying to find work outside the home.

I have tried blogging and a t-shirt store front. It is quite impossible to maintain a single train of thought when the kids are at home. I have definately put in part time hours and gotten less than part time results. The only person I have actually made a sale to is myself.

I have tried contract services in Marketing. I did find one client, but to make sure I got the job I really priced low. The money I am making is not enough to pay for lunch, but at least it is more than the cost of materials.

I tried submitting writings and designs for contests and through on-line services that connect independents to buyers. I didn't win any contract jobs, but I did win one writing contest. I won a $50 gift certificate to the Disney Store. My kids loved it.

I have now registered as a substitute teacher for our local school district. This one might work. I have only sub'ed twice and both days were pretty fun. The good thing is I am actually using my degree. I am also doing some of the things I did as a volunteer, but this time I get paid. We will not make our fortune as a Substitute Teacher, but the hours are good and I have the same holidays as my children. I do have to have a babysitter, but only for an hour. I still have time to cook breakfast in the morning and get my kids to school, and I am home in plenty of time to get dinner ready for my loving husband.

I keep telling myself that I love being a Mom and a Wife. I am trying to not be offended by the insinuation that a Mom working inside the home is not working. I MAY NOT BE GETTING PAID, BUT I AM WORKING! I am holding on to hope that this latest endeavor will be enough.

I do love my kids, and I do want to be home for them. But reality is what it is. I have to get paid for my work.

Mom-Me: Back to Work, the Gripe

2009-01-18T17:15:00.006-06:00

My husband and I have done a pretty good job riding the waves of economics so that Mom-Me could stay home with the kids for these past three years, but lately it has been harder than hard. When you have to set-up payment plans for your utilities, it is time to make big changes. My husband says it is time for Mom-Me to go back to work. I mentioned it to my sister that my husband told me to go back to work, and she said that I had a nice ride. She said I should be thankful for the time off and go back to work.

Now as Mom-Me I am wondering when did I get time off? When did I stop working? I know I stopped getting paid for my work about three years ago, but I don't recall ever stopping work. I do admit that there was a time that I protested against my work due to lack of appreciation, but I never did an all stop. I still managed the household income and expenses, the child care, the food services and the laundry services. I never stopped being the in-house nurse, teacher, psychologist, and entertainment director. I never stopped the tap dance of trying to fullfill my commitments as daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, school volunteer, church volunteer, youth group volunteer, friend, wife, and Mom. I simply stopped housekeeping, file clerk, and administrative assistant to make a point, and my point was made by the end of a week.

We have all heard the estimated value of Mom-Me and that no household could ever afford to hire professionals to fulfill all her roles. My husband has watched those reports and so have my children. All of which have said, "Good job, Mom-Me." But now it is time to get back to work.

So I am going back to work. Do I get to pursue my career? No. I have those kids to think about. If I pursued the career I truly want, I would have to sacrifice some nights and weekends and may miss some important Mom-Me dates like games and award ceremonies. Do I get to pursue a job at least on the career path of my choice? No. If I pursue a job on the career path, then I would have to work full time year round. I suppose I should mention that my loving husband told me I had to go back to work, but to find a job that would not require child care and that would make sure I am home on time to have a hot dinner ready when he gets home from his career job of choice. So I am supposed to find a full time job with part time hours.

I love being a Mom and a Wife, but this lack of appreciation really stinks. I am looking for work outside the home that might actually pay me. I am trying to find something that will not make us put our kids in child care. I am trying to accept that even though I will be working outside the home, I will still be required to get all my work done inside the home. Oh yeah, I haven't been working for the past three year. I am supposed to be thankful for the time off, the extended vacation and get back to work.

Maybe I should try an all stop and see if I get the message across that a Mom working inside the home is WORK.

Angel in the Closet

2009-01-14T12:31:00.001-06:00

Like most children, Cecilee had an active imagination. In a volatile family she found refuge in a fantasy world in her bedroom closet. In her closet was a perfect world full of beautiful landscapes and people who were kind and generous. There too lived her best friend, Angel. Angel was not just kind, but she could sing like the nightingale.

The fights that regularly broke out in Cecilee’s home were normally between her Father and her older sister. This week had been especially turbulent ending with her sister running away from home. Cecilee had hoped with the fuel gone, the fire would not light, but her Father seemed to be even more explosive. This night when he erupted, Cecilee felt the heat from his flame squarely on her cheek. She tried to run into Angel’s world, but when she got to the door, she realized the beautiful landscapes had been scorched and a dragon now blocked the entrance. Panicked, not knowing what to do; Cecilee heard a lyrical voice telling her to run. She turned and ran out of the house. She kept running until she was miles away and could no longer run. When she stopped to rest, she felt the cold of the night air. She slumped down next to a wall and tried to draw her bare feet under her to warm them. What now?

Cecilee’s mind was numb like the rest of her. As she searched her head for some plan for her future, she heard music faintly drifting along the winter breeze. With no other thought to direct her, Cecilee decided to follow the music. She followed the sound to a school playground and up into a wooden fort. Again she slumped against a wall and curled up into a ball. Exhausted she began to drift to sleep. As she drifted between sleep and consciousness, Cecilee saw her world change from the dark night to Angel’s beautiful world. The warmth of Angel’s world was inviting and warm, and Cecilee rested.

As the sun began to rise, Cecilee felt a nudge waking her. No plans had come to her in the night, but feeling strangely warm, she decided to go home. Tip toeing through the front door, fearful of the flames, she cautiously looked around. The house appeared normal, but then she heard music drifting through the air. She followed the sound into the dining room. There she saw Angel sitting at the table with her Father. They were talking, eating breakfast and upon seeing Cecilee, they said, “Good Morning” and invited her to sit and to eat.

After that night the fuel that ignited the fire seemed to disappear, and the flames just didn’t seem to spark anymore. The beautiful landscapes of Cecilee’s closet spilled out and covered the rest of her home. Her best friend Angel didn’t live in the closet anymore; she lived in her sister.

“Angel in the Closet” by Danika LaBrant, 2008 - Short Listed for the WOW Winter 2008 Flash Fiction Writing contest, http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/

Embracing the Middle Child

2009-01-14T12:25:00.004-06:00

The first child, everything is new. The last child, you embrace the last chance for these experiences. The middle child, it is easy to just go through the motions.

Your middle child wants to be the center of your attention, but they may never tell you. It is up to you to open the door of communication. You may have to knock several times before the door is opened. Once the door is open, do not ask Yes/No questions. Stimulate conversation by asking about hobbies, friends, favorite movies, music, if they could go anywhere, do anything, if they had super powers…. And then listen.

To help you remember to have these moments, set up a routine perhaps at bed time where you sit one-on-one and talk and listen to each child. Ten minutes (30 minutes for all three children) will build trust and comfort which will be needed as your children grow and face more difficult issues. Talking, listening does not cost a thing, but the rewards are priceless.

Credit: Winner, Disney Family’s on-going “Comment Mania Contest”, http://family.go.com/comment-contest/ (November 2007)

Step Ten: Celebration

2009-01-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Celebration! It seems redundant after the last entry. Finalization was a huge celebration. Every year we get to celebrate our son’s birthday is a huge celebration, but every December I still remember that court date when I hugged the biological mother. Every August I still remember that court date when we signed the finalization papers to finally adopt our son.

Such a mixed blessing, I celebrate the joy of our son, but I feel sorrow for the biological parents. I love my son as if he were my own. I cannot imagine him being taken away from me. I cannot image voluntarily giving him away. What a tremendously selfless act to acknowledge your weaknesses and sign away your parental rights. I saw the pain in their eyes. They didn’t want to let go, but they knew it was best for the baby. We can’t thank them enough for allowing us to adopt their son.

So we celebrate. We acknowledge the sacrifice that was made, but we celebrate the love. We celebrate an answer to prayer. We celebrate this valued addition to our family. We celebrate life and family and love and all that good stuff.

Foster to Adopt (aka Special Needs Adoption) is a tough road with many twists and turns but when you cross that finish line, the joy is indescribable. I highly recommend you taking a ride.

Step Nine: Finalization

2009-01-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

In the State of Texas once a child is made available for adoption and then placed in a home for adoption, there is a six (6) month waiting period before finalization of the adoption can be made. This six (6) month waiting period is not waived even if you have fostered this child from 10 days old. So we had to wait. We had to wait six (6) months to assure compatibility and that the child was in a healthy and loving environment. We had to wait longer as our Case Worker got ill and suffered a family loss. We had to wait as the Judge went on vacation. We had to wait as the Case Worker and the Judge caught up when they got back to work. In all we waited eight (8) months. Now that does not seem like a long time, but then it felt like an eternity.

Finalization is a court date. You and your spouse and any other children in your family get to stand in front of the judge and swear to love this child and sign a bunch of stuff that says your are now financially responsible for this child. We loved it. We took pictures. Our older son enjoyed it too. He got to go up behind the Judges desk and bang the gavel and get his picture taken. Our whole family was their, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. All were there to officially welcome the latest addition to the family the moment he was official.

It was an exciting day. We wanted to celebrate by going to the Downtown Aquarium for a good meal and then to play games and see the sights. The kids made it through the meal but then they both fell asleep. The party ended early and we headed home with our two beautiful, 100% ours, boys.

Step Eight: Hold Your Breath

2009-01-07T03:21:00.001-06:00

Step Seven of our adoption experience was November 24, 2008. Then we had computer problems, the kids came home from school, the holidays and other stuff got in the way. So here we are again to finish the series... Step Eight: Hold Your Breath

Both biological parents started their plans to work towards reunification. Both biological parents faced some tremendous hurdles to complete their plans. As they worked towards reunification, we held our breath. So how much of your heart do you give away to a child that may be ripped from your home? Holding that child, I could not hold back my heart. He was beautiful. He was tiny. He had some health concerns. He needed me and not just part of me. I gave him my whole heart.

Six months we held our breath. We listened to reports on the biological parent’s progress. We participated in monthly reviews of our home, our parenting, our child by the Case Workers to assure the child was cared for and that we were good people. We filled out all the paper work on our child’s developmental progress, medical concerns, medications, babysitters, etc. We attended court dates to update the Judge overseeing the case.

We held our breath as our Case Worker reported her torment over the biological father. He had written her letters pleading for custody. She was very moved by his desire to father his son. It was hard for me to hear. I wanted to believe that the biological parents had abandoned this child and were off doing their own thing, but that was not true. They both showed loved for their child and the biological father had demonstrated that love to the Case Worker. My husband and I had to choke down some heart ache and ask what was best for the child. We certainly loved him, but were we what was best for the child? Maybe his biological father did not have the resources we did, but that did not make him a bad father. What was best for the child? At our December court date that question was answered for us.

At our December court date we unexpectedly met both the biological mother and father at the Court House. We had been to court before and had not seen them, so we were a bit surprised. Supposedly the identity of the foster parents is confidential for the protection of the child and the foster parents, so we didn’t introduce ourselves. I had arrived with my usual “Brag Book” of pictures. My “Brag Book” contained pictures carefully chosen to not reveal where we lived or anything about our family, but pictures that did show how healthy and happy the baby was.

Court was recessed to allow the lawyers to review with both biological parents the book of pictures. Then we were informed that the biological parents both voluntarily waived their rights as parents to make our son available for adoption. The rest of the court time is a blur. I remember being in a room with some legal people telling me stuff and signing something, I think. What I remember most is bumping into the biological mom in the hallway. She very shyly looked at me and asked if I was going to be the one to adopt her son. I said, “Yes.” I really didn’t know what to say, but I was holding the “Brag Book” and asked if she wanted any pictures. That broke the ice, she took some pictures and exchanged pleasantries about what a beautiful baby he is. Then she hugged me. I started to cry and tried to tell her that he would know how much she loved him. I can’t imagine how hard that moment must have been for her. All I can do is thank her. I never saw or heard from her again.

Termination, we had it! Termination terminates the parental rights of the biological parents and makes the child available for adoption. Termination is of the biggest mile stones on the path of Foster to Adopt. We had hoped and prayed for “Termination.” This is a joyous term for me, but at the moment I hugged the biological mom, I realized what a horrible word it was for her. There are no words to describe the emotions of sorrow and guilt and joy. I felt sorrow for her loss. I felt guilty for taking her child, but I felt great joy in gaining full custody of this child.

We are in the home stretch. Step Nine: Finalization and Step Ten: Celebration.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T10:04:00.000-06:00

The year of ’08 is done
We are sad to say good bye to all the fun
We look forward to the year of ‘09
Can’t wait to see what fun we will have this time.

Best wishes to you and yours
For you, we pray blessings and good health pours
With joy and not tears
We wish you a Happy New Year!

Ode to My Blog

2008-12-27T10:19:00.004-06:00

I had resisted starting a blog for a number of reasons: becoming public gives you very little room to hide, becoming public opens you up to public criticism, and becoming public reveals not only your strengths but magnifies your weaknesses. Since going public, I have discovered a sense of confidence and personal satisfaction that I had not counted on.

I love blogging. I have missed blogging. The attack on our computer,the loss of our external hard drive have been extremely difficult for me. So I am glad to say, I am back. Whether this blog ever gets read or not, I am going to persist.

I love blogging. I love research and I love writing so putting the two together is kind of fun. With blogging I have an outlet.

I love blogging. I am a wife to one strong man and mom to two adorable boys. As the only woman in a house of boys, I many times feel nobody is listening to me. Whether the blog is read or not, somehow by writing/typing it down, I feel like someone is listening.

I love blogging. I have been a home mom for three years. I do miss the daily dish you have with co-workers around the water cooler/coffee pot. A blog gives me a chance to put my two cents into the pool.

Our computer has been revived, so I am back. My kids are home for the winter break so for a little longer the posts will be random, but I have great hope for the future.

Thanks for dropping by. Read ya' Later.

Step Seven: Biology Matters

2008-11-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

We had a 10 day old baby boy placed in our home. He was labeled low legal risk and low special needs. Even so, the first goal of the State of Texas is to reunify the child with their biological family. Case Workers are required to do due diligence in searching for biological family. Both the biological mother and father expressed a desire to reclaim their child. Older biological siblings were found that were of an age to take custody. As far as we know, there was no extended family found other than the siblings.

So biology matters, it really matters when you take your child to the emergency room in the middle of the night. There is nothing more miserable than an infant with an uncontrollable fever. My personal fear is that my child will stop breathing, and our foster child gave us plenty of wheezing and scares to feed my fear. We went to the emergency room several times.

When you go to the emergency room, one of the first things they ask is family medical history. Other than the birth record, we know nothing about the family medical history. With the due diligence in locating the biological family, inquiries were made, but the biological family chose not to disclose. As a foster/adoptive parent you have nothing to help motivate the family to disclose. We tried to get a judge to require disclosure, but the best the judge could do was recommend disclosure. Thankfully, by the age of four our son had pretty much out grown the wheezing and the fevers.

So what are the biological family rights? Well, they apparently have the right to withhold family medical history. They also have at least a year to demonstrate efforts to reclaim their child. Since reunification is the ultimate goal, the State will develop a plan for the biological parents/family to fulfill. The plan includes classes and demonstration of financial responsibility as in maintaining a place to live and keeping a job. Plans vary from case to case. To keep a child in foster care and unavailable for adoption, the biological family only has to demonstrate a desire for reunification. They are never required to complete the plan. If they attend a class here and there, appear for a court date or two, they can drag the foster plan out until the child ages out at 18 years old.

In our case, both biological parents started their plans which brings us to the next step in the foster to adopt process, the hold your breath phase.

Step Six: Placement

2008-11-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

Placement is such a joyous time. The excitement of the placement of an adopted child is just as exciting as the birth of a new baby, but unfortunately, this joy has some strings attached. We had a 10 day old baby boy placed in our home. He was labeled low legal risk and low special needs. Even so, the first goal of the State of Texas is to reunify the child with their biological family. We had placement. We had joy. We held our breath.

Once you have placement you then start the paper work, the interviews and the court dates. Every thing a placed child does in your home has to be documented. There are forms for taking him to the doctor. There are forms to chart every bit of medicine including saline solution and baby aspirin. There are forms to fill out if you want to travel and stay overnight somewhere other than your home (weekend trips, vacations,…). There are forms to fill out if you want to leave your child with a babysitter or family member. You don’t just fill the forms out, you have to submit them and some require prior approval before you can go forward (trips and babysitters). If you intend to take the child out of state for a vacation, not only does it need to be submitted and approved, it has to go before a court judge.

I don’t understand the reports of children that are neglected in foster care. Every quarter we had a packet we had to fill out regarding the development of the baby. We submitted, and it was reviewed. We had people calling us when they saw in the packet that the baby was not doing whatever it was supposed to be doing (rolling over, feeding itself…). We had people in our home doing evaluations and tests with the baby to check his development. The child’s State assigned Case Worker was required to visit the child at least once a month to physically evaluate the child’s home environment, health and safety of the child, and evaluate the foster parents. Granted our Case Worker would get overloaded. Sometime we just had a quick phone interview of us, but the case worker did go to the baby’s day care for a physical evaluation of the health of the baby. In addition to forms and Case Worker interviews, there were quarterly court dates. Quarterly a judge reviewed all the paper work and had the Case Worker say under oath that they had physically seen the child and the child was in good care. The judge also looked at reunification and what the biological family was doing, but that is a story for another time.

We filled out forms, made ourselves, our home, our family available for interviews and evaluations, and we appeared in court. We documented. IMPORTANT TIP: don’t just document by filling out forms, TAKE PICTURES. Take lots of pictures and submit them. The judge will look at the pictures. The lawyers will look at the pictures. If the biological family is involved, they will look at the pictures. Pictures demonstrate a snap shot of health and happiness. As a foster parent, as a potential adoptive parent, you want to demonstrate that you will provide a healthy environment and happy, loving environment.

Placement is just one of many steps on this journey. Keep holding your breath, next biology matters.

Step Five: Picking You

2008-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

We were certified, we were networking and now we were being considered as a family to foster a child until they were available for adoption.

We said, “Yes,” to a number of children’s profiles. We were short listed and taken to a few “Four Ways” (see Step Four: Pick ME! For more information about “Four Ways.”). Eventually, we were selected as a home for a waiting child, well, in this case children. We were so excited. In the formal process, once you are selected, there is a number of meet and greets you have with the child or children. The first time you meet the child, you do not take them with you. This is just an introduction. The next time you meet the child, you get to take them with you but not overnight. You can take them out to dinner or to the park, but you do not take them home. Next, you take them home, but only for a night or two. Each step the Case Workers, you and the child are evaluating compatibility. If all goes well, the next step is to move the child into your home. This is a best case scenario and in the real world, not always possible.

We had been selected to take two boys of Hispanic decent. They were in foster care, but there was some urgency to have them placed in a home. We were supposed to skip all the meet and greets and just move them in. The week they were supposed to move in, we were notified that they were no longer available for placement. A family member had stepped up and was taking custody. It was a little fishy to us that we were skipping the meet and greets, but the move date had been postponed two weeks. Were they really available for placement or were we being used to motivate somebody? There was no way to know, so we tried to recover from this disappointment by dreaming that they were happy and safe.

Time passed and discouragement set in. We still received calls, but it broke my heart every time we were not selected. We always asked why we were not selected. The Case Worker didn’t like answering that question, but she was more inclined to discuss the family that was selected. I noticed in our conversations that in the family that was selected, the Mom did not work. I was a working Mom. My heart sank.

Then the call came. We still don’t know why they didn’t call me, but called my husband. I am glad that they did. With all the disappointment and my sinking heart, if I had heard the profile, I probably would have said, “no.” My husband was called and told we had an hour to decide if we wanted to be submitted. If we wanted to be submitted, we would need to go to the hospital right away for an interview. The excitement in my husband’s voice was amazing. I ditched my job, grabbed our other son and we took off for the hospital.

We expected to meet more Case Workers and other families and agencies. It was quiet and lonely in the waiting room. Thankfully, we had our five year old son with us to keep us busy. When we were taken back into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the nurse looked at me and said, “you must be the mom. Would you like to hold your child?” What could I do? I cried, my heart was in my throat. I held that child. I had to sit down. I was shaking. My husband just smiled at us. Our other son was far more interested in all the cool gadgets in the room and was not terribly interested in the baby. I pulled a little bitty hand out from under the blanket and then looked at all his precious toes. The baby never cried. He slept comfortably in my arms and was not concerned a bit of this strange person touching his fingers and toes. He was beautiful. He was perfect.

We placed the baby back in his crib and then were escorted to another room to talk with the Case Workers and Nurse. We thought it would be an interview to see if we were a good fit for the child. It did not take long to figure out that we were the only family for this child. We listened to the Case Worker tell us about the tragedy the mother had been through, the tragedy the father was in and the tragedy the baby had survived. We listened to the Nurse tell us about the complications with the birth, the limited medial history, the potential for long term effects. The baby was ten days old and had already been through so much. We listened to short term care and long term care. My husband and I had to take a time out. We had to step back from the emotion of the moment and discuss what it all meant. We both decided it meant we needed to take that child home.

Placement was here, but was it permanent? This was a question not easily answered.

Step Four: Pick ME!

2008-11-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

Finally, we were certified to foster. Our home was ready to greet a new child. What is next? Next is a very frustrating game that requires skills in networking and marketing.

At any given time in the City of Houston alone there are more than a 1,000 children available for adoption. You would think with such a high number, having a child placed in your home would be quick. It is not. Depending on how restricted you are in what type of child you will receive, you could wait 6 months or up to 5 years. Five years being for those who will only accept infant, Caucasian, girls. If you are willing to accept boys and/or girls, your wait is shorter. If you are willing to receive children of other races, the wait is shorter. If you are willing to accept sibling groups (2 or more brothers and/or sisters), your wait could be even shorter.

We were open to a boy or girl of any race and sibling groups of up to three. We were restricted on the number in the sibling group because of the size of our house. To foster in the State of Texas, there is a number of square feet of living space that you have to have per person in the household. Our house was certified for four children and we already had one, so a sibling group of 2 or three was it for us. We didn’t get a sibling group, so really a mute question.

In the State of Texas there are a lot of good intentions developed into the foster program. The first goal is to reunify children with their parents, guardians or at least someone of significance already in the child’s life. When that is not possible, the child is placed in foster care. There are a lot of agencies that work with the State to help place children in loving homes. When a child needs placement, a call goes out to all the agencies and State Case Workers with a brief profile of the child and the situation. The agencies then go through their waiting families and try to select the family best suited for that child. They call the family and give them the brief profile and a choice to be submitted. If the family agrees, their application is submitted to the State. Of all the families of all the agencies, the State tries to select the best (I think it is three) three families each from a different agency. This is the short list and a meeting will be held called a “Four Way” where each agency will give their case to the State why their family is the best family for this child. The State then awards placement. This, of course, is the best case scenario and not always possible.

A suggestion our agency made to help promote our family was to create a Family Life Book. Our Case Worker then would submit our Family Book along with our application to help the State decided to select us. In our book, we dedicated one page per family member plus a page about the family pet, a page about the community and a page about our church. I like graphic design and photography so I added plenty of pictures and graphic elements.

If there is any advice I can give a waiting family, it is pictures. Take lots of pictures, happy pictures in good lighting. If you have kids and want more kids, take pictures of your kids. If you don’t have kids but have a pet, take lots of pictures of your pet. If you don’t have kids or a pet, take pictures of your extended family. If you are alone in this world, take pictures of you at places you would like to take your future child too. Nothing makes you more real than you. Take a picture of you. Giving the State a real person through a photo helps them see that you are the real deal and ready for placement.

So we are waiting for placement, waiting for a child to be placed in our home. We were not getting any calls. We eventually discovered that many children are in an emergency placement situation, and there is not enough time to go through a formal process to select a family. We knew we were one of many families waiting so to help keep our name at the top of the call list, we decided to call every week. We also discovered that the State had open houses where agencies and State Case Workers come together to discuss new policies and procedures and children already in foster care in need of more permanent placement. The State’s objective is to keep each child on the front of everybody’s mind so nobody gets lost or left out. The agencies are able to review case studies and profiles. Since families come and go through the process, this meet and greet is a good opportunity to be reminded of an old case that is perfect for a new family.

Even though we are not an agency, my husband and I went to a few of these meetings. It was a good networking opportunity. We met many State representatives in Child Protective Services. Our theory was not just to look good on paper, but to look good in person. We hoped to not be just a name on a piece of paper, but when a child came up and our family was submitted, we hoped we had met that Case Worker and that they said, “Oh, I met this family. Let’s call them in.” There is no way for us to tell, but our phone began to ring.

Step Four: Prepare your Heart

2008-11-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Our journey to get certified to foster led us down a path we did not expect. The hardest most, heart wrenching, thought provoking part of the process was filling out the survey to determine what type of child we were able to foster and potentially adopt. Honesty and good intentions do not make you a good parent for all children. There are other things to consider.

While we were taking our certification classes, we had a packet of forms to fill out. In these forms there was a very long survey that really helped my husband and I talk about how extreme a special need we thought we could handle. When we thought of Special Needs, we thought of handicapped. A wheelchair or walker, no problem for us; we thought physical handicaps are no problem. We could learn sign language or adapt to the needs of the blind. The survey got detailed and asked questions that we had not thought about regarding feeding tubes and breathing machines and medications. We had to talk a lot.

Our hearts said we could care for any child with any need, but our minds made us do a reality check. Some of these medical needs would not be short term. Some of these needs would place this child in our home for life. A lifetime commitment was what we were making, but a lifetime caring for a child that would never be independent that would physically live with us for our entire life made us think. We wouldn’t just be making this commitment for ourselves. We would be making this commitment for the son we already had. Who would care for the child that grew into an adult when we were gone? Aside from all the doctors, the time, the money; we had to think about our extended family.

As we thought about our extended family, we thought about the impact of a mentally challenged child. Our first thoughts were of Down syndrome and cases like that. We knew families affected by Down syndrome, and they loved their kids and wouldn’t trade them for the world. We could handle it, but could our son? Could our extended family? Then as we went through the survey, the survey broadened our minds to the possibilities of what mental challenge meant. It reached far beyond Down syndrome.

What about children of abuse and neglect? The classes told us about odd habits that seem harmless, but may be signs of a long term mental challenge such as food hording. Some children don’t have a special blanket, doll or teddy bear; and some children don’t have any attachment to any toy of any kind. Some children have attachment disorders which means they will not bond with you. Therapy can help, but it may take years, or never, before the child will hold your hand or give you a hug. I am not a real touchy-feely person, but I hug my kids a lot. It would break my heart to not be able to hug and hold my kids. Could I handle a child who was incapable of hugging? It made me think.

For us with a small child already in our home and limited financial means, we decided we were best suited for a child of low legal risk and low rate of special needs. Our check list was getting checked off. Our focus moved from certification to aesthetics. We looked at our home. We wanted to make it ready and inviting to any child placed with us. Time to move to the next step.

Step Three: Certification

2008-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Along the Adoption Journey, especially if you go through Special Needs Adoption, many doors will open and then close. When the doors close, you open a window. As long as the winds of hope blow, your journey continues.

We had made the decision to adopt. We had decided that Special Needs Adoption was the path for us. We had an agency and case worker on our side. Now we set out to jump through all the hoops to be certified and eligible to foster to adopt. First things first, easier said than done. What did we need to do first? Not an easy question to answer, but we started making lists and then just started checking things off.

Every step of the way, our eyes were opened more and more. You think because you are an adult who has lived through some stuff; you have watched the news; you have read the papers; you have seen some movies; you have read some books; you think you know what to expect. As you go through the training classes, the trainers tell you the extremes, the worst case scenarios. They try to prepare you to accept, love and care for the most needy. They try to weed out the people just in it for the pay check. They try to weed out the people doing it as their civic, moral or charitable “duty” and not realizing what the potential for a really long term commitment this is. This is not just a commitment that could last a life time. It is a commitment that impacts you, your finances, your extended family and your community. Your schools, your church, the kids at the playground are all going to interact with you and any child you bring into your home.

My husband became irritated by some of the hoops we had to jump through. Time and time again we talked about the process not being designed for people like us. We like to think of ourselves as hard working, honest, and loving with best intentions. The process was designed for the worst case scenario. We don’t know, but we certainly hoped, that the process was designed to make people with the wrong motives think twice before taking a child into their homes. Of course, it does not always work, but here is a tip. If the class comes to the question and answer period and your first and only question is “when does the State start paying me?” then you are in it for the wrong reasons.

Things we had to do: take P.R.I.D.E. classes, get home up to code, collect references, complete a ton of paperwork including background check information and financial records, and get finger printed. There was more nitty gritty stuff. We got it done.

The hardest most heart wrenching, thought provoking part of the process, filling out the survey to determine what type of child we were able to foster and potentially adopt. Honesty and good intentions do not make you a good parent for all children. There are other things to consider; more about that tomorrow.

Step Two: Choosing an Agency

2008-11-18T09:41:00.000-06:00

As the winds of hope blew, we searched for an adoption agency to facilitate the program. There are a ton of ways to adopt and a ton of agencies who want to take your money, I mean help you with your adoption. We had decided the expense of an international or direct/baby adoption was beyond our means. We had discovered the Foster to Adopt program, more commonly known as “Special Needs” adoption, and decided this was the one for us.

I started making phone calls. Many agencies don’t actually have human beings answering their phones. The automated “menu” is often encrypted with terms a newbie to the adoption process doesn’t understand. I was going down the list, leaving messages, when unexpectedly I heard a live person’s voice. At first I didn’t respond to the friendly, “Homes of St. Mark, how can I help you?” The friendly voice came again, “Homes of St. Mark, may I help you?” I fumbled and then blurted, “I want to adopt, but I don’t know where to start.” The friendly voice then informed me of an open house and gave us an invitation to meet with live people. We accepted the invitation. Our door was open, and we were walking through.

At the open house we met with live people from the agency and live people in the same phase as us. We were shown pictures and given testimony of real children and real people becoming parents. We were informed of the processes, the expenses and given suggestions on how to get started and how to fund. We were even assigned a case worker that would hold our hand and help us through.

Our Case Worker was Our Case Worker, not the child’s. This beautiful, wonderful person talked to us, learned about us, counseled us and got us through the entire process from beginning to end. She helped us cross all our T’s and dot all our I’s for certification, she helped us get a child placed in our home, and she held our hands at the final court date that made our child legally ours. She was wonderful. She didn’t just hold our hands, she encouraged us, cried with us (well, she cried with me; my husband does not cry.) and rejoiced with us.

When everything was done, my husband and I both felt a bit of loss as we said good bye to our Case Worker. We touched base with her a few times, but we were moving on to raising our children. She was moving on to helping new families on their journey. Since then, she has left the agency to explore new ways of helping people. We have lost touch with her, but we will never forget her. We can never thank her enough for the part she played in helping us grow our family. We can never thank her enough.

Step One: Choosing a Process (part two)

2008-11-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, as we started a recount of the adoption process as we experienced it with our son, we saw several doors shut. When doors close, it is time to open a window.

As I contemplated what makes a family, beat myself up for not being satisfied with one beautiful bouncing baby boy, mourned the loss of a child that would never be born, cried over the expense of fertility treatments and adoption, fumed over the injustice of placing a price tag on a child’s life, my life went on.

I had just about reconciled all my emotions when I accidentally discovered Special Needs adoption. I was at McDonald’s watching my beautiful baby boy play on the inside playground when a woman with three beautiful girls came in. She noticed I was staring and was all too happy to tell me how her family grew. She told me about Special Needs adoption. She told me that the State would pay me to care for a child until the adoption was finalized and depending on our situation, the State may even pay for all our legal expenses and provide other benefits for the child. We have a winner! Special Needs, also known as foster to adopt, adoption was the one for us.

About Special Needs Adoption, in the State of Texas the primary goal of Child Protective Services is reunification. Of course, there is the reality that reunification is not always possible. To assure children are cared for during the process of determining whether or not reunification is possible, children at risk are put into foster care. As soon as a child is put into protective custody a number of assessments are made including legal risk and level of special needs. Legal risk is the likelihood that the child will be returned to their family. A low level, the child will most likely not go back to their parents/guardians. A high level, the child will go back to their parents/guardians. Special needs define the level of care a child will need from just food, shelter and clothing to round the clock medical care.

Foster Care Parents choose what level of legal risk and special needs they are able to care for. Since we already had a small child and limited financial means, we stayed low on both legal risk and special needs. Our journey had begun. The open window had allowed a wind of hope to blow open a door. All we needed now was an agency.

Step One: Choosing a Process (part one)

2008-11-15T14:36:00.001-06:00

In an earlier post on Oct. 14, 2008, called “Family by Choice” I talked about why we decided to adopt and briefly about the adoption. In honor of Adoption Month, we continue down a more detailed description of our journey to adopt.

Infertility is such a weird word. I had given birth to a son, so I was not infertile. My husband was the father of our son, so he wasn’t infertile. It was that crummy episode with cancer that the doctors had to take away my husband’s ability to father children. So now my husband is called infertile. What a weird word! If you split it up it is “in” “fertile” which should mean to be in, a part of, in the “in” crowd and fertility, able to reproduce. But it does not.

We did do the Fertility treatments. Since it was a surgical procedure that robbed us, we were given time for my husband to “bank.” Fertility treatments are not cheap or easy. I did the shots and discovered I had a mild allergy to the injections. The doctor did not think the welts on my leg were an issue. After a few failed attempts we had a consultation to discuss invetro fertilization. We were advised that it would be $10K per procedure and not to expect to get pregnant the first time. The odds of pregnancy were only 20%, and it took generally took two procedures for the body to adapt and be receptive. Well, that closed that door.

We did our research on domestic and international adoption. The expenses were high to say the least. We estimated between $10,000 - $20, 0000 plus. Many agencies said you could claim 100% of your expenses for a tax rebate up to $10,000 (actually, I don’t remember the exact numbers). The problem for us was coming up with the money in the first place. That closed that door.

When doors close, it is time to open a window. Tomorrow, the view through the window.

Faith, Mind or Heart

2008-11-14T10:59:00.001-06:00

Faith, I am a professed Christian. There are those that believe once a believer, always a believer. I too believe that, BUT the road is not always easy to see. Belief is sometimes hard to believe, and I question whether or not I believe in my heart or in my mind.

In less than a month, I will be 39 years old. I tell you that only to let you know that I have had time in my life to hit a few bumps, be diverted off track and make a few u-turns. I came to Christ as a child, but as a teenager I leaped off the road and tried to make my own path. After a number of near misses and one major crash, I finally found the road of faith and jumped in the Christ-mobile. As an adult, the road is not any smoother. My car, my belief, has been tested over and over. Where is God when bad things happen to good people?

I love to sing the song by Barlow Girls, “Never Alone.” I use to cry every time the song started, “I waited for you today, but you didn’t show.” For a number of years while I have climbed some pretty difficult mountains, I have wondered where is God? Like the song, I finally decided to “hold tight to what I know. (God) is here, and I am never alone.” Since this was a mental decision, not a feeling or passion from my heart, I wondered what is faith? Is faith an unexplainable passion that moves us one way or another through our heart or is it just a mental exercise to accept the most plausible belief system?

Faith is both, both heart and mind. In my heart, I know when God speaks to me and comforts me (Isaiah 41:10). In my mind, I know God has a plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11). I have studied the scriptures, listened to the scientific arguments, questioned both and made my decision both in my heart and in my mind. The Big Bang could not have happened if something/someone didn’t start it. Science can create life in a test tube but who made the materials used in that process? When you do something wrong, why do you feel guilt? God is there in your heart and in your mind. Whether you accept him or not, he accepts you.

I once knew the peace that goes beyond all understanding (Philippians 4:7), but bumps and bruises have made it difficult for me to believe. Since writing this blog and trying to create designs for my on-line store (shameless plug: http://www.zazzle.com/DesigningD* ), I have discovered my designs predominantly lean towards faith. I didn’t try to do designs of faith, but as I doodled and developed and got excited, I saw the image of the cross. My mind may be having troubles accepting my faith, but in my heart there are no questions.
Faith is both, both mind and heart. Jeremiah 29:13-14, says, “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, 14 I will be found by you,” It doesn’t say that the moment you seek me with all your heart you will instantly find God. It says seek and you will find. I am seeking and am finding just not in a big BANG. I am finding little by little and feeling the comfort, the peace and the understanding growing both in my heart and in my mind. Faith is both. Faith is heart, and faith is mind.

Day 5 of Liberation, I mean Correction

2008-11-13T08:44:00.000-06:00

Five days ago my husband and I decided to take the gaming system away from our son. This action is intended to be motivation to correct our son’s lack of responsibility in regards to his chores. We have a mixed response. Our son actually said, “This is a good week to be grounded from video games. I have had lots of time to catch up on things.” I asked him what he has caught up on, and I got a very normal kid answer, “stuff.”

Did our punishment/correction work? Yes, our son is very a tune to his duties. We have not reminded him over and over. Our son has been asking me if it is time to take out the trash. He has been asking me of the best way to get all the dishes in the dish washer. He still has not picked-up the toys in the living room, but he has a little brother who is the primary culprit to the mess in the living room.

We are pleased with the response. As a stay at home Mom, at first I was reluctant. If the kids are not busy with their toys then they are under my feet with the constant, “Mama, mama, mama, mama.” When I give and ask, “What?” Inevitably, they say, “Nothing.” And then start again, “Mama, mama….” Sorry, off point.

We are pleased with the response but perplexed on whether or not to give the system back. I have watched my son read more, draw more, play with his brother more, and he is faster to respond when I call him. I really like this child who is talkative and imaginative. If I give him back the system, will he again retreat to his room and bury his head in the games? We will lose his smiles, his laughs, his hugs to the gaming system?

Perplexed, I want to reward him for doing his chores so well, but I don’t want to lose him.

Correction or Liberation

2008-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Teaching responsibility appears to require super hero strength and endurance. In your parent pack of powers you will need to have multiple personalities including tutor, drill sergeant, lecturer and moralizer.

We have decided our son’s vision is impaired. Though he must walk by the trash can to enter or exit the kitchen, his peripheral vision cannot detect a high level of trash. If his sensors were alarmed by the level of trash, he would then be required to pull forth his super hero strength to remove said trash and then invoke agility and skill to place a new liner in the trash can. Rewards, reminders and rebuking are not strong enough weapons to correct the impaired vision.

Since all efforts have failed, we are now resorting to elimination of privileges. Our son is a normal boy with powerful ties to his gaming system. We have decided to attack his perpetual defensive maneuvers by severing the ties to the gaming system away. Quite satisfied that the removal of his system would invoke the appropriate motivation and modified behavior, we did not take into consideration the liberation he would feel by this correction.

Granted, it has only been two days, but our son does not appear to be affected by the correction. He has taken the liberation of his attachment to the gaming system to draw from his inner imagination. He is playing. He is playing with his brother. He is playing with his non-technical toys. He is creating stories in his head. He is, dare I say it, reading. He even dusted off an old sketch pad and in addition to doodles, created a comic strip with doodles and dialogue.

I am perplexed. I want my son to learn responsibility. I want him to take ownership of his job and do it to the best of his ability, but all we have done is liberate him from a crutch we were not aware existed. Granted, it has only been two days. I suspect over time the call of the crutch will claim him, and he will attempt to recover his gaming system. But if it doesn’t, if he decides he enjoys being a member of the real and alive rather than the digital, how will we ever motivate him to take out the trash?

Adoption Month, Foster Stats

2008-11-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

I am a strong believer in adoption. I have an adopted son, and since deciding to adopt, we have had friends, family and acquaintances tell us their adoption story. It is amazing how many people have been touched by this process, but the tragic side is the number of children who are not touched by adoption, who are left in foster care until they age out.

In doing some research I came across the Child Welfare Information Gateway, http://www.childwelfare.gov/index.cfm , a product of the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. They have lots of interesting information on their website and quite a bit to promote National Adoption Month.

Statistics always bring things home to me. I was staggered to read the “Report to Congress…Children in Foster Care: A Focus on Older Children.” In 2003 - 523,000 children were in Foster Care and 58% were age 9 and older. In Texas this age group would be called, “Hard to Place,’ and the report went on to support that title. Potential parents state their biggest concern in adopting a child 9 or older was of mental and physical disabilities. The stats said only 27% of children in Foster Care were diagnosed disabled. That means 73% are NOT disabled.

If you have considered adoption, but don’t want to do 2:00am feedings, teething and potty training, adopting an older child just might be the right fit for you and some beautiful child. AdoptUsKids, http://www.adoptuskids.org/ , is a great website with pictures of children waiting.

Sometimes a kid just needs a chance. Sometimes you are that chance.

Name, Blessing or Curse

2008-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am standing at the bus stop with my kids and a few others. To pass the time, I ask them, “If you could be nicknamed anything, what would it be?” The three older boys popped off their nicknames quickly. The boys said, “Sparky,” “Scrappy,” and “Spike.” If you knew theses boys, you would know how well these names really fit them.

My four year old then pipes in, “Doctor!” I am not sure he understands what a nickname is, but I am thrilled he came up with “Doctor.” The bus came, Sparky, Scrappy and Spike jumped on and Doctor started his usual Good Morning Wave at every bus and car that drove by. As I smiled to myself, I began to wonder what is in a name? Is a name a blessing or a curse?

I have a dear friend who is very concerned that people have lost track of the importance of names. In the beginning, names were references to who people were and what they did. If you expected something great from your child, you named them something that meant great. You then called them by that name, blessing them every time you said it. When the child grew into an adult, all those blessings would hopefully come into fruition and as an adult, they would be great.

Of course, the reverse was thought to be true too. Cruel nicknames being hurled at a child cursed that child every time that name was cast on them. How many times have we heard of school violence and the perpetrator say they were just getting pay back for all the bulling? Did those kids inadvertently curse the child being bullied? Did the curse come true when the bullied became the bully?

I have no answer, but it certainly gives me pause. My name? My name means “Morning Star.” If you ever see me in the morning, you will see that I am anything but a star. My husband is a morning star. I guess if he keeps casting that blessing on me, someday our lights will shine at the same time and our mornings will be very bright.

Screaming Child, Crying Mom

2008-11-06T08:00:00.004-06:00

We were at a birthday party and the birthday boy had a really cool toy that my son just loved. All was good while he was allowed to play with it, but when it came time to allow another child to play with the really cool tool, my son had a melt down of nuclear explosion proportion.

As Mom, at first I just looked at him completely dumbfounded. As every eye at the party stared at us, I regrouped and tried to comfort, redirect, and appease my screaming child. His screams only got louder, so I removed him from the party area to have a “time out.” This really made him mad. I decided I had to take him home. As I tried to leave the party, the birthday boy’s father stripped my son from my arms and took him over to the toy. I was horribly embarrassed, but I was comforted by the kind gesture. I had to fight back tears.

Those tears, why was I crying? Was I crying because I was embarrassed or disappointed? Was I crying because I felt as if I failed my son somehow? Was I crying to keep myself from being fuming mad at my child? Yes, Yes and Yes.

As an adoptive Mom, I try not to allow the fact he is adopted enter into my decisions to parent. I am the only Mom he knows, and I am trying to parent him just like I did with my biological son. But I can’t help it when all eyes look at us, I question every little decision I make. Why does it matter what they think? It matters because in this day and age, disciple is sometimes viewed as abuse. It matters because a big white woman speaking harshly or disciplining a small black child could be misconstrued.

So I am crying. I am crying, because I am a Mom. I want to act like a Mom, and I don’t want to be judged for being a Mom. Adopted or not, sometimes the child needs some disciple. He doesn’t wait until we get home to throw his screaming fit and neither should I when admonishing him.

Houston Area Adoption Agencies

2008-11-02T14:03:00.003-06:00

In my research to compile a list of agencies I came across TARE (Texas Adoption Resource Exchange) http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/default.asp at which is hosted by DFPS (Texas Department of Family and Protective Services). They have a more comprehensive list with more information about the agencies. Worth a look at http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/default.asp

Something to think about, even though you are the only parent your adopted child knows, it is very normal for an adopted child to want to learn about where they came from and why they were put up for adoption. The DFPS reports as of Oct. 2008, “In Texas, about 180 licensed child-placing agencies are currently in operation. Many of these agencies provide foster-care services and rarely place children for adoption. Of these 180 agencies, we estimate that only about 80 agencies actually place children for adoption. Of these 80 agencies, only 28 actively operate a voluntary adoption registry as mandated by Texas Family Code, Chapter 162, Subchapter E.” You can see them at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/vs/reqproc/volreg.shtm .

Homes of St. Mark, http://www.homesofstmark.org/
We used this agency. When we were doing our research, this was the only agency that I actually got to talk to a person. I left a message and a person actually called me back. All our Case Workers have moved on to other things so I cannot give references for the staff.

Other Agencies, I have not done research or credibility checks on these agencies. You can check their history of inspections and reports on the DFPS website at http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/child_care/search_texas_child_care/ppFacilitySearchResidential.asp . This is just a list to help you get started in the search for an agency to help you.…

AdopTexas, http://www.adoptexas.com/index-2.html
Adoption.com, http://www.adoption.com/ , this site is a little confusing. On the “About” page they have an address in Arizona, but on the “Home” page they have information about Texas adoption and Texas law. I don’t think it is an agency, but they do have a lot of information about adoption that is helpful.
Alternatives in Motion, http://www.aimadoptions.org/index.html
American Adoption, http://www.americanadoption.com/ – they claim to do adoptions in Houston, Texas but their main office is in Kansas and as far as I could tell on their website, they don’t even have an office in Texas. They did have some interesting links about Texas Law on Adoption. http://texas.adoption.americanadoptions.com/?PHPSESSID=c1a9e8c0d134d4f7b4f6811b4ec8effe
Caring Adoptions, http://www.caringadoptions.org/Index.asp
Catholic Charities (Galveston-Houston Area), http://www.catholiccharities.org/ - they have other Catholic Charity Agencies across Texas
Depelchin, http://www.depelchin.org/ - We didn’t use this agency, but we have been to their facilities for trainings. They have great training facilities and offer a number of services to help you before, during and after the adoption.
LDS Family Services (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), http://www.ldsfamilyservices.org/ – they have locations across the country and in Canada
New Life Pregnancy Center, http://www.newlifehelp.org/
Spaulding for Children, http://www.spauldingforchildren.org/?id=1 , another big Houston agency that is well respected.

November, National Adoption Month

2008-11-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

I believe adoption is a very good tool in helping children find safe and loving homes, in helping parents build the family they dream of and in creating a society with proof that love crosses boundaries. November is National Adoption Month. I recommend adoption. I have adopted a son.

There is a lot of good information out there about aboption. TARE (Texas Adoption Resource Exchange) is kicking off a new campaign called, "Why not me?" For more information, visit their website at http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/Why_Not_Me/default.asp

Why are you kissing him?

2008-10-31T08:00:00.003-05:00

Honestly, I forget that I am white and my son is African American. When we are out and about, I talk to him just like he is my son, go figure. I also have a tendency to hug and kiss on him like he is my son, go figure. Oddly enough, my son does not hesitate to talk to me like I am his Mother nor does he hesitate to hug and kiss me. I forget about our differences until some puzzled passer-by stares a little too long at my child. I forget about our differences, that others see all too clearly.

I have learned to take a deep breath and ask, “Can I help you?” I have learned that if I can hold my temper most people are simply curious. I have learned that if speak directly to them, they realize that they have been staring and usually politely retreat.

Things have changed, but to see the change live and in person is still a puzzle to some people. I do my best to help solve the puzzle, but there comes a point when you are a stranger and do not need to know. I do my best to help solve the puzzle and have had many pleasant conversations about fostering, adopting, and transracial families.

The Right Mom

2008-10-30T08:00:00.005-05:00

If you give birth to your child, the question of whether or not you are the right Mom for your child may never cross your mind. At 3:00am when you are trying to clean spit-up out of your hair while calming a crying child, you may question your ability to be Mom, but not whether you are the right Mom.

As an adoptive Mom I have questioned whether or not I was the right Mom for my child. As my son came into the terrible 2’s his temper was not just terrible. It was terrible, horrific, extreme, unbelievable and intense. I tried to just say, “He’s 2.” But something inside me wondered. As he approached 3 his tempers were constant. I was afraid to take him to the park for fear of him hurting another child. He was kicked out of Sunday School and out of a Mothers of Preschoolers group. I seriously questioned my ability to be his Mom. I questioned if I was the right Mom for him.

My adopted son is also of another race than me which seemed to compound my insecurities. I have heard slander and racists comments about me and my family, but I had always chalked that up to ignorance and the lack of a loving spirit. But as my son became increasingly more difficult to handle, was I the right Mom for him? I questioned if race really did matter and questioned whether or not I was the right Mom for him.

At his annual check, the Doctor did the usual checking height, weight and various other vital statistics, and then he started asking me developmental questions like, “Does he know his colors? Can he say his ABC’s? Can he jump? Color inside the lines?” and more. As we talked, I began to realize that there was something wrong and it had nothing to do with my ability or right to Mother him.

We were then referred for more testing and the results showed a speech and development delay. He then was accepted into speech therapy and a special education class devoted to meeting his needs. Within 6 months his tempers had become few and far between. By the end of the year, he was speaking not just words but sentences too. His difficulties had nothing to do with me.

Since he is adopted and of another race, I sometimes still wonder if I am the right Mom for him, but I cannot deny how much I love him. Through our difficult time, I did what any Mother would do. I searched, researched, asked questions and eventually did find the help he needed. With every hurdle he jumps, I am right there like any Mother cheering the victories, comforting the disappointments, helping with the hurts, encouraging him to keep on trying as well as directing, teaching, counseling when and where I can.

My son continues to improve and succeed. My son is now known for his hugs and laughter. I love this child. I am his Mother, and I am the right Mom.

Equality in Love

2008-10-28T08:00:00.003-05:00

“Do you recommend transracial adoption?” of course, I do. I adore both my sons. I do not see one as biological and one as adopted. They are both mine. I do not see one as Caucasian and one as African American. They both need food, clothing, shelter and love.

I refer to them as biological, Caucasian and adopted, African American only as a reference and credibility tool to allow readers to understand my point of view. I never call my sons at home the biological one or the adopted one. I never adapt the house rules, privileges and punishments based on their color or their birth story. My babies are my babies, and the differences you may see in how I interact with them is not because on race or blood line, but because my sons are five (5) years apart in age.

The only time I have truly noticed a difference between my Caucasian child and my African American child is in caring for their skin and hair. One has sensitive skin and needs special soaps and detergents. One’s skin burns easily but the other son’s skin scars easily. One has really thick and curly hair and needs special conditioners. The other’s hair is curly and wild and must be kept short to look neat.

Well, if I really think about it diet and desserts are different too. One is a meat eater and the other is leaning towards being a vegetarian. One loves ice cream and the other cake. Well, if I really think about it, I can think of a lot of things that are different between the two, but not based on color or blood, but based on the fact they are two different people with different tastes and interests.

Honestly, from those descriptions do you know which is for which child? You can absolutely love all your children in your transracial family. The issues and concerns you have will be the same ones every Mom or Dad has caring for their children. When you have siblings (transracial or not), you will have the same challenges as anyone else who has two children with two different personalities.

Transracial love is parental love. Regardless of color or blood line, you will love, laugh and cry with and for your children.