We have a visitor.
It is a very unwelcome visitor.
Our beautiful Bearded Dragon, Vadar, had a growth.
We think that it is Yellow fungus, and on researching this nasty visitor, (google, anyone?) our outlook for the little guy was not too good.
However.....
We searched some more, and found an alternative, and after speaking to our vet, she said it was worth a try!
The good thing is, that Vadar seems healthy and happy at the moment, so no sickness or lethargy and he is eating VERY well!!
It's a good job that he likes his baths, because he will be having plenty of them in the next few weeks!!
It just made me think though. Haribo was heartbroken when we told him, (it's TECHNICALLY his pet) and what crossed my mind was my mum's mentality. My mother will not have a pet, because you get too attached and then it dies, and you get brokenhearted. And seeing his little face, and the concern he has for his animal, I could, for a split second, see what she means. No mama likes to see her child hurting.
However.....
As I look around at all the pets we have, and the animals we want long term, (our dream is a small holding, with chickens, a cow, some rabbits, etc), I would rather experience the temporary heartbreak and the years of joy, companionship and fun that pets bring, than never have one and avoid pain.
So, animals get sick. So do children. So they cost money. So do children. And spouses. and life. So they need training and clearing up after. So do children.
Are they the same? Of course not. But the reward of a loyal dog is worth the training time.
The companionship of a cat is worth the time and effort. The beauty and humor of a tortoise is priceless (and it will probably live longer that you!!) And a boy taking care of his sick dragon warms this mama's heart on a cold winter day :-)
I have been struggling lately.
Struggling to slow down and release my expectations and standards.
Our Little Bud is the one I'm struggling with.
Of our 4 children, he is the one I am most challenged by. He doesn't see the world as we do. He is showing a lot of signs of being on the Autistic spectrum, erring more toward the Asperger's side.
As he was our foster child first, we have notice a lot of changes since he first came to live with us, and were always told that Looked After Children display signs of Autism as part of their attachment issues.
As any mam knows though, a mama knows her child, and with the last psychological assessment telling us he had a secure attachment, this just doesn't ring true. Little Bud has been with us almost 4 years now, and home educated for 4 months, and it is this close-up, 24 hr living that has brought it to the forefront.
It's hard to remember all this when trying to patiently think of an alternative way to explain a feeling that is obvious to everyone else, but he misses completely. Or trying to coax an ending out of a boy who does not know how to create, only copy.
Part of me wants a diagnosis, but I fear it would just be for my own justification. There is nothing they can do for him, and I have support at church, and he doesn't need another label on him.
He's perfect just the way he is, even if he does try my last nerve.....
School is back in at the Gee house.
We have already been at the negotiating table, as Haribo catches up in his maths book.
After we had a month off the books doing Christmas stuff in December, it is actually very nice to be back in some kind of schedule, and we have been spending the last week settling down back into writing and maths!!
We have had a trip to the library and re instituted our quiet reading time, and planned the term ahead.
Here in lay the negotiations.
Haribo has always struggled with his maths. At mainstream school, he was receiving extra help, but in all honesty, after so long struggling with something, I really feel he lost his confidence in his ability.
As a consequence, when we began homeschooling, he started at a lower level in his Maths than in his other subjects.
He has really moved forward in his confidence, but he is still behind.
So, we found a great incentive to motivate a 12 year old boy: Lego!!
We made the deal that if he could catch up to where he is on all the other subjects in 7 months, he can have a full Lego set.
For a boy who was born playing Lego, this was just what he needed to give him a new perspective on Maths!!!
What sort of things do you use to motivate your children?
Is it just me, or has Christmas just got more and more about "STUFF"???
As we approach this special day, every year seems to become a competition of who can spend the most amount of money on the most amount of stuff for the most amount of people and win!!
When did this happen???
I didn't grow up in a Christian house, so it was never really about Christ, unfortunately, when I was a kid, but we always spent time together, watching various films as a family, and just enjoying each other's company, with good food and a gratefulness for the things we did get!!
Now that I have grown up ( a little....), I want to instill some of the same things in my children; spending time with those you love and a gratefulness for what they have, but also an appreciation for the greatest gift mankind was every given.
A way back to God.
This holiday is not about Stuff. Jesus was given meaningful presents by the Magi, and a small, thoughtful present is the most we have done this year. Instead, our focus will be along the lines of the American Thanksgiving. We give thanks for our family around us, who have thoughtfully given us presents. We are thankful for the special treats and food we can put on our table, and the means to do so. We are thankful for a roof over our heads and heating and lighting.
But most of all, on Christmas day, Santa falls by the wayside in the presence of the KING of kings and the Lord of lords, our most precious gift, Jesus Christ.
So there is no mad rush on Christmas Eve in our house, there are no £££££ signs in our children's eyes as they stare at a mountain of useless "STUFF" that will be forgotten by suppertime. There will be fun and laughter, thanksgiving and prayer, and Jesus.
Amen.
It never takes much for me to get out of balance.
I am an extremely faddy person. I get fixated on things and they become all i think about. then I want to try things myself, and praise God I have an accommodating husband!
I go mad and then..... 3 weeks later I'm done.
This happened with simple, green, clean living.
I saw some blogs, read some research and that was it, I was away.
I wanted to change everything at once, because when you know this stuff, you cant un-know it, can you!?
Well, you guessed it, a lot of my "simple living" ideas went out the window very quickly.
Then I felt guilt for not doing it!
The things we put ourselves through, eh!
So I've been praying, and I feel we have come to a place where I need to start taking a more relaxed approach.
A great tip I saw on another blog was work out what matters to YOU, not what you have seen others do.
It is important to us to homeschool our children. It is important to us to eat nourishing real food, but sometimes we like to eat takeout, and once in a while, that's fine too. It's important to us to limit the amount of chemicals in our house, and I want to reduce my sugar intake. but most of all, it's important to us to model a life with Jesus to our children, by living a life with Jesus in front of our children, mistakes and all.
So, I share with my kids what God is doing in my life, they see the changes that are taking place in me and DH, and we encourage them in their own walks.
THAT'S important to me.
NOT all the other stuff. Praise You God, for showing this stubborn woman a different way.
So how do we deal with consistent disobedience?
I am struggling with my beautiful, willful daughter at the moment.
We have been battling over internet usage, but we always come to the same place. We give a little, trying to build trust, and she gets caught sneaking.
We have tried taking all privileges away, we have pin-protected all devices that don't belong to her, we have tried allowing some access with parental monitoring, nothing works, she always seems to find a way around it.
I understand that this is a heart issue.
She is challenging our authority, and is deceived into thinking that she is pulling the wool over our eyes.
I must admit, as I write this, that I have been praying for the wrong things. I have been praying that I will parent her right, and that she will step into Jesus' plan for her life, when I should have been praying for Jesus to open her heart to His ways and that the Holy Spirit will reveal to her that her heart attitude to this is wrong. (she is born again and baptized)
Godly parenting is such a joy and a privilege, but it is also one of the most challenging, eye opening roles one can have, beaten only by Godly marriage, i think!
Prayers would be appreciated right now!!
No kids!!!!
Yesterday, hubby and I had the WHOLE day to ourselves!!!!
I know!!!!
A close friend of ours took the children out to the beach and the cinema for the day, and Papa and I were left wondering what to do with our time!!!
We decided to go out for a quiet lunch, to a pizza restaurant, and had some chilling time at home. We could eat when we wanted, we could go out if we wanted, it was lovely!!!!
However, when the children still weren't back at 8pm, I was starting to miss them!
I love having my hubby to myself, and I love the break from the constant calls of "Mum, tell him!!" "mum, can I...." "MUUUUUUUMMMMMM"
but.....
I wouldn't trade them for the world!
I love my loony, crazy, irritating, amazing, beautiful children, and are glad when they all come home again!!!
