Trick Or Treat

Well.. you all know how I was debating about what to do about today. After much thought, I guess I came up with a compromise. We did send Christopher to school today after much explanation about what today was about and that he was dressing up to pretend to be someone else (Bob the Builder - Construction Worker). It's okay to pretend.. no harm in that. When he's older we can get into more detail over why we are not "celebrating" Halloween.

As far as the rest of it goes, we will be handing out candy if anyone comes to our door which he is totally excited about. We're not going to go around because a) I'm still not feeling good and Steve is working late and b) he doesn't eat chocolate or candy (don't know where that comes from since I love chocolate). So there's really no point of him bringing home a huge bag of candy that his mom and dad will wind up eating (and regretting every pound).

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Have you ever had a day when you just needed a friend? Yesterday was one of those days for me. Just feeling under the weather and I just wanted someone to pray for me and lift my family up in prayer. As I was getting dressed in the morning, I asked the Lord to please put me on someone's heart today and have them call me. You ever feel like you just need a sign from God? God is awesome... I didn't get one call... I got three calls. Totally unprovoked, from random friends who just called to check in on me. Just another testimony to God's goodness. He doesn't forget his children and always provides just what we need when we need it.

A special thank you to those three special people (you know who you are) who took the time to call me when the Lord put me on your heart.

xoxo

Yesterday

Yesterday.....

We did not have electricity, but we did have candles burning brightly throughout the house

We did not have an oven to cook in, but we had delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lots of snacks

We did not have heat to warm our home, but we all bundled up and cuddled together under lots of blankets to keep each other warm through the night

We did not have hot water, but we did have hot chocolate thanks to our gas stove

We did not have a TV, computer, or our main telephone, but we did have family time putting together puzzles, playing board games and singing around the piano

Steve & I are still sick and the timing of this snow storm (4.5 inches) couldn't have been worse, but we were all together, and although we didn't have all our daily luxuries, we had a great time...just with each other...

Thank you God for providing for us....even in the dark

Something to Smile About

Nothing brings a smile to your face faster than seeing a sign for $2.29 a gallon for Gas. We stumbled across that low price over the weekend.

Under the Weather

We are all under the weather. Steve has been fighting something for weeks (combination of sinus pressure, bad cough, etc.) He went to the doctor on Friday and is taking an antibiotic, but honestly, he feels it is making him feel worse, not better.

Chris had pink eye and a cold. Thankfully the pink eye is cleared up, just a lingering cold/cough.

I guess in the process of caring for everyone, I picked up an achy back and cough/sore throat. So, overall we are just a tired, sick group. Please keep us in prayer for speedy recoveries!

Five on Friday

Five Things My Parents Used to Say To Me That I Now Hear Myself Saying to My Child:

1) Just wait until your father gets home

2) Eat It! - You Don't Know What You're Missing

3) What do you mean you just .... (fill in the blank with whatever he just confessed to)

4) This hurts me more than it hurts you

5) You can't always get what you want in life

Doctor's Visit

It's been a busy day around here. Chris has been fighting a cold for about a week which is normal for this time of year, but yesterday he woke up with all kinds of "gunk" around his eye and they looked a little red. At first I didn't pay too much mind to it because it really just looked like he sneezed in his sleep and rubbed it around his face near his eyes. Well, today he woke up and his little eyes were practically glued shut so of course I hauled him off the doctor this morning. He really has no fear of the doctor which is great. The biggest problem I had with him there was in the "sick waiting room". Another kid was in there and brought a toy from home which was much cooler than the toys that the doctor's office had. So, naturally, all the kids wanted to play with that kids toy -- let's just say there was much crying going on in that waiting room.

Anyway, Chris has pink eye which is contagious so thankfully he didn't have preschool today (which is probably where he picked this up anyway). So, we have medication and he's running around as if nothing is wrong. I guess all is well. I'm just hoping by some miracle he'll take a nap today.

The Bully

I'm all over the place.. Childlike Faith one day.. and the Bully the next. I guess that's how life is.

Chris encountered his first bully. A little boy a little younger than him and about half of his size. This was the most mean spirited kid I had seen in a long time. It wasn't at school that he meet this child, but at church of all places. Yesterday at Bible Study, I dropped Chris off like I normally did and as soon as Chris walked into the class, this kid started taunting him verbally and calling him names. Where in the world did this come from??? Then, when Chris went to play with some puzzles, this kid walked over to him and raised his fists and started to "pretend" swing at him. Let's just say the kid is lucky he did not strike my son. I was so shocked at this scene playing out in front of me I didn't know what to do. Chris just kept telling this boy to please stop. He was calm, cool and collected. Was he annoyed at this kid.. absolutely. The teachers were just standing around (his regular teacher wasn't there so it was the first encounter the other teacher had). One of the assistant teachers told the new teacher that this kid is like this every week, this just happened to be Chris' week to be picked on apparently.

So, I put Chris in a chair far away from the bully and told him that if this kid bothers him, to try to ignore him but if that does not work, to let the teacher know. He is just being mean and Jesus doesn't like that kind of behavior. If he gets hit, tell the teacher. I really struggled with even letting him stay in that class, but I knew my little guy was going to have to deal with these types of kids at some point and better he get it over with and learn how to deal with it. I can't shelter him forever from these social encounters.

I must say I was very pleased to find the bully sitting in time out when I picked Chris up. Chris was all smiles about how much fun he had. I'm glad this bully didn't get the best of him. Trust me... if there's anymore nonsense from this kid, I will have a talk with his parent if the teachers do not.

Childlike Faith

Today I was reminded of how precious the faith of a child is. Every Tuesday morning, Chris & I go to a Bible Study at my cousin Liz's church. Chris & Liz's son, David, attend the same 4 year old class while we attend a class (we are studying The Psalms of the Ascent by Beth Moore).

Anyway, I mentioned to Chris that David wasn't going to be at the class today because he was sick. So, without hesitation, Christopher said, "Mom... We need to pray for him". So, Chris led a simple prayer asking God to touch his body and make him better. After his heartfelt Amen, he opened his eyes and said, "Now David will feel better. God is strong and can make us feel better." He knew in his heart that because he asked Jesus to heal his friend, that he would be faithful and do it. No questions asked.. no doubt in his voice.

I don't know about you, but I am striving for more of that faith in my own life. Very precious.

Time Out

Oh boy... little guy informed me that he was put in time out in nursery school twice on Friday. That's a total of 3 times in one week. The teacher didn't say anything to me (maybe she's waiting until Parent Teacher Conferences this Friday). The offense was grabbing toys from other kids during the free play time and not listening to the teacher's instructions.

It's hard when you are not there to see what's happening and relying on a 4 year old's description of what's happening. Although he's hit this rough patch, I must say I am very proud of the fact that he is at least admitting it to me. He could easily just tell me that everything was fine and I would be none the wiser (until Parent Teacher Conference).

Part of me wanted to laugh though thinking back on my childhood. My poor brother and my cousins Rich & John would ALWAYS get in trouble every Sunday morning in Children's Church. There was not a Sunday that went by that they didn't get in trouble for talking, getting out of their seats, playing with someone's chair, grabbing a musical instrument, looking at someone the wrong way or basically just for breathing. My mom was confonted each week by the Director (Sister Stewart for those Bethlehem people that read this blog). It was always the same thing. My mom would talk to Steve but, at the end of the day, he was a little boy... (a Somma boy = LOTS OF ENERGY) and it would take a serious act of God to force him to sit still for that long of a period.

Anyway, I guess I can only keep telling little guy what is expected of him while he is at school and pray that his behavior will fall in line with that soon!

Give Me A Break

Yesterday, one of the kids in Chris' preschool showed up wearing a huge t-shirt that was hanging off his arms and went way past his knees. It wasn't the size of the shirt that bothered me, it was what was printed on it:

"I've been to more countries than Sarah Palin". Really...do you really need to broadcast your political views on a 4 year old child who has no clue as to who Sarah Palin is??

End of the Week.. Finally!

I have never been so glad to see a week end. It's been emotional to say the least. Dad is now home resting and tomorrow he will ride up to Ruth's house where he will stay for a little while to recover from surgery. Thank you all again for your love and prayers. I know he will be back on his feet and reading my blog soon.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Five On Friday

Five Things We Observed in NYC Last Weekend:

1) The Stores which had big banners 15 years ago advertising that they were "Going Out Of Business" are still open and still "Going Out of Business"

2) Having a Papa John's or Domino's in NYC just seems ridiculous!! Why go for the chain pizza when you are living in Pizza Heaven??

3) A restaurant you ate in 4 years ago and LOVED may now have new owners and a new chef. We learned that the hard way.

4) The "smells" of the city are still the same. You can use your imagination here....

5) The streets of NYC are crowded any time of the year.. winter, spring, summer and fall. It does not matter.

PS - We did have a celebrity sighting. Colin Farrell crossed the street right in front of us while we were at a red light.

Update on my Dad

Hi Everyone and thank you so much for all the love and prayers you are showering on my family today. Dad is in the recovery room. His surgery started a little late and lasted 2 1/2 hours. Ruth hasn't been allowed in to see him yet, but from what she has been told, everything went well. We hope to have some more information later. He is going to be in ICU tonight and will likely be released from the hospital sometime tomorrow late afternoon, should everything continue to go well.

In all likelihood, Dad will be allowed to travel to my sister's home on Saturday where he can further recover under her watch for a while. He won't be allowed to drive for at least 2 weeks.

That's about all I have as far as information for now. Thanks again, and please continue to pray for us all.

Special Prayer

Hi everyone... I was going to post something early tomorrow, but a change in time made me post this tonight. My father is having surgery at 7:00 am tomorrow morning (it was originally scheduled for 12:00 pm) to remove some plaque in an artery in his neck. The artery is about 90% blocked right now. Our family would greatly your prayers. We are believing for a fast and full recovery!

Thanks!!

Halloween

UGH... I hate Halloween. I hate that every store you walk into has skulls, evil looking monsters, fake cobwebs and various other demonic looking paraphernalia. I really don't like exposing Christopher to that stuff and it just seems to be everywhere...even the grocery store!

This is the first year I've had to really deal with Halloween. I've been very torn about how to handle it with Chris. He dressed up his first Halloween (he was 11 months old) and went out with his cousins (he was in a stroller) and has no recollection of this. Then, the next three years, I didn't dress him up or take him out. Last year he handed out candy to some neighbors who came by and he loved answering the door bell when it rang. That was good enough for him and just fine by me. A couple of times there were some younger teenagers "tweens" who came to the door in some scary outfits and I had to hide Christopher behind me so he wouldn't get freaked out by seeing them.

So, this year he is in preschool, a Christian preschool and, much to my disappointment, they are having a halloween parade. The plan is for the teachers to explain the difference between "pretending" (dress up) and reality. No scary costumes are allowed, no masks, no guns, etc. Still, I wonder if I should even send him to school that day. Am I opening a can of worms?

My former pastor preached a very good sermon about Halloween a few years ago. It's an evil celebration that certainly does not glorify God in any way, shape or form. Yes, I dressed up and participated in Halloween as a child, and suffered no ill-affects from it, but as my pastor pointed out, this is one of the most holy days on the satanic worshippers calendar. It seemed more innocent back then, even though it is probably just as evil. I don't want to shield Christopher in a bubble, but I'd like to teach him about Halloween from the Christian perspective.

I know many of you have struggled with this over the years as well. How do you handle Halloween with your kids?? I'm open to any and all advice. If you'd like to leave a comment you can do so by clicking on the anonymous button after writing a note in the comment box or you can email me privately at bmmalave@aol.com.

More City Pictures

We enjoyed this trip with my father-in-law, Domingo, and sister-in-law, Shirley. Can you believe the Fulton Fish Market is now a Gap? Doesn't seem right. We did all the "touristy" things including buying a $3.00 pretzel which was not very tasty (we ended up giving the pretzel to a homeless person) and snapping pictures while in Times Square as if we never saw it before. Of course, driving around NYC with Florida license plates puts a target on you. I felt like putting up a sign that said "Hey.. we are from here.. we are one of "youse" Please don't honk.. we know where we are going and how to get there"

Fun in the City

On Saturday afternoon, we made an unexpected trip into Manhattan. Our original plan was to take Chris on the Staten Island Ferry. By the time we got through the traffic on the Holland Tunnel, it was almost dusk and it was chilly! We could only imagine how cold it would be on the boat and there was no place to park. So, we headed over to the South Street Seaport and had fun just walking around watching all the weirdos...oops I mean street performers do their thing. Chris had a birds eye view from Steve's shoulders. He was taking it all in and was loving the two huge ships that are docked there. We watched the sunset above Brooklyn and people watched for a while.

Chris loves the city and cried when he knew it was time to leave. It's so much fun to see the city from a child's eye. I've been to the seaport a thousand times, but never with a child.

Here are some pictures

Lydia Rose Somma

Here is a picture of Stephen & Sara's baby girl.

Five On Friday

Top 5 Confessions Heard Around The House This Week:

1) Christopher to Mom -- "I ate ALL the popcorn"

2) "I grabbed the toy from the kid"

3) "After the teacher blew the whistle, I didn't line up with everyone.. I kept playing instead"

4) "I DID hear you tell me to clean up... I can do it later"

5) "I really like the library Mom" (at least that's a good one!)

Crazy Calendar

A few months ago, I purchased this adorable calendar in hopes it would teach Christopher the months of the year and the days of the week. It has some great magnets for special events and it also helps him learn the meaning of time. Having a visual is really helpful for this. I'm such a schedule fanatic that I guess it's only natural I pass this on to him.

He loves his calendar and he has been asking for months when December is coming. He has two purposes for wanting December to come quickly. One, he knows we are driving to Florida for Christmas and, maybe more importantly, he knows he will be turning 5 the day after Christmas. So, too huge events for him.

The other day I walked into the kitchen to find him standing on a chair (which dragged over from the kitchen), leaning over the counter. Apparantley, he had decided to make some "adjustments" to our schedule. I'm not sure if you can make out all the little buttons, but he's added Flag Day, The Fourth of July, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, The Last Day of School and Cinco de Mayo to our calendar for October! I haven't had the heart to change it back to our actual calendar yet.

Lydia Rose

Steve & Sara have named their baby girl, Lydia Rose Somma. I still am awaiting photos so will share them as soon as I receive them. As you can imagine, with the time difference (they are in Seattle) and having 4 other children to tend to, communication is a little tough so that's why there is so much delay.

On a separate note, please keep us in prayer as we are discussing some options regarding the sale of our home (or lack thereof) in Florida.

It's A Girl !!

Just a quick post to let you know that my brother, Stephen, and his wife, Sara, had a baby girl last night at around 7:00 pm (Pacific time). Both baby and Sara are doing well. Pictures and details as to name, weight, etc. to follow hopefully today!

Pictures

Five On Friday

Five Things I Have Recently Realized:

1) It's time to pull out the winter clothes -- oh wait.. we lived in Florida for 4 years... what winter clothes????

2) Socks disappear in the laundry... where do they go??

3) One of the benefits of living in a townhouse is that you don't have to rake leaves in the Fall, shovel snow in the Winter or mow the lawn in the Spring and Summer. NICE!!

4) Climbing stairs a gazillion times a day does count for exercise.

5) It's better to leave dirty dishes in your sink and spend quality time with visitors and friends then to tackle it while they are there. The dishes aren't going anywhere -- they will be there when they leave.

Good Times

Having a great time with Ruth, but it's going too fast. Today was very exciting because Chris finally ate cereal... with milk! Chris is a very picky eater and for the longest time breakfast was pancakes, a waffle or, more recently, yogurt. Then last week he started experimenting with dry Cheerios and Rice Krispies and today, he added the milk to his little bowl. This may not seem like a big deal to many, but to this mom who has been praying for her little boy's food selections to expand, it's a huge deal. I just continue to thank God for hearing all prayers.. big and small.

I'll post some pictures of my visit with Ruth soon.