First Steps

Housewarming

We had some friends over for a housewarming on Oct 26, 2009. Our Pastor came and had a very special dedication ceremony and blessing of the house. We want our home to be use by God to raise Godly seed, win the lost, care for the broken, and to be a place of refuge from the world.
Unless the Lord builds the house

they labor in vain that build it.

Psalm 127:1 Our Pastor in the living room.




Dave made his famous wings. Hanging in the dining room.

The guys in the back yard with Dakota.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking with Marissa and her sister Joanna at a local orchard. It was a bit chilly but we had a good time. It was the last day of the season to pick apples, and we

made it just in time. They close at 6 and we got there at 5:55.

Afterwards we went to their farm store and got an apple cider doughnut and some of their delicious mulled cider. Janelle had fun holding the apples and also learning the sign for apple. We watched the sun set on the first day of day light savings time at around 6:15, and I took a picture of the full moon. Looking forward to going back in the spring for blueberries and strawberries. It was a beautiful day.

Should you teach your baby to read?

I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) today and herd an interesting discussion on early childhood development. It started out talking about the famous Baby Einstein DVDs and books, and if they really did make kids smarter. The conversation then went on to talk about teaching children to read. The "expert' guest was stating that children can't possibly learn to distinguish written language until at least age 6 or 7. WHAT! He also said that even if they could discern written words at a young age, they wouldn't have any comprehension until they enter school age.

Well I'm glad they had Janet Doman on to set the record straight. I think that babies are very smart. They only need the opportunity to grow and develop. I was given How to teach your baby to read by a friend and have put a lot of the method into practice with Janelle. To me it make so much sense. We start talking to our children right at birth, but wait until they're 5 to give them the same information through a different pathway. I can remember knowing how to read and write when I started Kindergarden, and my mom didn't do anything special other than read to me. I think the earlier you teach a child to read or math or encyclopedic knowledge, or whatever you lay a foundation in the brain to receive and process information. It's not so important that your child can read by 1, but that their brain has been wired to receive info though many different pathways. Glenn Doman says that "function determines structure", in other words the what you give the brain to do will determine how the brain grows, and the brain will grow more rapidly in the first 6 years of life than any other time.

Its our responsibility to present Janelle to God to be used by Him for whatever He wants. I'm trying to lay a good foundation for him to work with. I need my brain to do EVERYTHING. That means God needs my brain to use me to serve my family, win the lost, pray, read, preach, EVERYTHING.



We are teaching Janelle to read using the Little Reader program. I'll post some videos of her soon.

Here are some videos of babies reading:)

Enjoy!

New Project

I started making Janelle a new hat. I found the pattern at crochetpatterncentral.com. Its a great site with lots of free patterns. I've posted the directions below. Here is a picture of what the hat will look like. I used an F hook (couldn't find my G), and ch 30 instead of 22.

I'll post pictures when mine is done.

Use Size G hook 1/2 oz of sport weight yarn

(To make the treble crochet (tr) do the following: YO twice, insert hook in next sc. YO and pull up a loop (4 loops on hook), (YO and draw through 2 loops on hook) 3 times. PUSH the tr to the right side on hat.)

Hat is made from one side to the other (not from the cuff up) It should end up with a 10.5" diameter before being stitched up the side.

Ch 18 (22 newborn) (This forms the height of the hat )

Row 1 (Right side): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2: Sc in first sc, (tr in next sc, sc in next st) across. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 3: Sc in each stitch across row.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for 32 (36) rows. End off leaving 12" tail of yarn Finishing: Gather top by weaving in and out of the sts. Pull top tightly. Fold hat in half and whip st side seam. Brim: Add yarn at bottom of hat and sc in each st around to form brim. Sc around for 3 rows. End off and weave in all yarn ends.

You can make this hat larger or smaller by using a longer or shorter chain to start, and making more or fewer rows.

POM POM Wrap yarn around fingers till it looks 'fat enough'. Then remove it wrap 2 strands of yarn in the middle, tie tightly in a double knot. Now snip thru the loops, it's usually is a bit ragged at this point, so hold it over the garbage and snip till it is fluffy and even :-) To make it even more fluffy, separate the individual strands in the yarn.

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday I celebrated my 4 year anniversary. I can't believe it's only been 4 years. It seems like a life time since I fell in love with my sweetheart. We have shared so many wonderful memories. We have a beautiful baby girl and we just recently bought our first house. We have grown so much these past years. Especially me. I was so immature when I got married. But Rhondale has been so patient with me. He is a wonderful man, and I admire him so much for his faithfulness to me and to God. I look forward to soooooo many more years of marriage, and I pray that God would continue to make me a help meet for him.

I'm Back

After a long hiatus from Blogville, I'm back.

Obedience Song

Spring has sprung

Janelle and I have had lots of fun the past few days out in the sunshine. We've gone on several nature walks and have learned about trees, flowers, grass, rabbits, squirrels and colors. We sat in the grass and felt how itchy it makes you feel, and we got to smell different types of flowers. We especially liked the dandelions because they were everywhere. We heard the bees buzzing, the birds singing, and the lawnmowers. She really enjoyed touching the leaves on the trees, (although she did try to eat them). As an added bonus she was ready for nap time after each of our expeditions. :) But best of all, I had the pleasure of teaching her that God created all of these things for His pleasure. Rev 4:11 says Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Next time we'll take the camera to document our findings.

Learning Mandarin

pronunciation: yieh su
This is the formal translation for Jesus

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

Mocha Moments

Motherhood. What comes to mind when you here this word. Is it a picture of a woman bound many years of her life caring for children who are oblivious to her sacrifice of time, energy and emotion? Or is it demonstrated by the woman with the impeccably clean home and children with perfect manners who would impress the toughest of Marine Drill Sargents with their disciplined behavior? While I do think we should keep our homes clean and teach our children good manners, I don't think that these things epitomise Motherhood. Motherhood carries with it something deeper than just "taking care of children". It implies a sense of obligation, not only to God, but to the child(ren) as well. We are obligated as mothers to raise our children in such a way that when they are old they will not depart from it. I think this type of raising requires more of us than just taking them to church and teaching them some Bible stories. I think we have to be, and when I say be I mean live, the way we want them to go. Jesus demonstrated this when He told His disciples, "I am the way...." (John 14:6). Mothers are one of the first Bibles children will ever read. What "words" are they reading? I am realizing more everyday how much being a mother requires of me, and how short I fall. But His grace is sufficient for me, and His strength is made perfect in my weakness. The greater thing is to know that children are invaluable, and that there are few greater undertakings then to train a child. I believe that God will honor my attitude, and give me the light I need for this awesome journey. For His Glory Alone. Take some sips with me and share your thoughts.

Learning French

I thought that I would post what we're learning in French. Maybe it will help me remember what I've learned.

Hello = Salut
Goodbye = Au revoir
Good Morning = Bon jour
Good Evening = Bon soir
Yes- Oui "wee"
No- Non
I love you - Je Taime

My name is Deborah - Je m'appelle Deborah

That's all for now.

Boat Orchid

The flower of a Cymbidium Clarisse Austin 'Best Pink' cultivar of boat orchid, one of the most popular and desirable orchids in the world.

I thought this was so pretty. I just wanted to share it.

What an awesome God we serve.

New Pictures

I can't believe she's already 5 months old.

Good Find

I found this rocking chair at Goodwill for $2.99.
I'm going to reupholster it (one day).

Janelle really likes it.

How to set a table

I decided to keep some of Janelle's Hope Chest items here on my blog so that as she grows I can check to make sure I'm teaching her the things she ought to know. Also it won't be a collection of papers that I'll end up moving around and loosing. And here I'll always be able to find what I'm looking for.
One of the things I think she should know is how to set a proper place setting. I'm 28 and I'm still not sure which side of the plate to put the fork on. So I found some instructions on ehow.com. I'll have to have a little dinner party so that we can practice.

Dinnerware
Step 1 Dinner plates are placed directly in front of the seat, about two inches from the table's edge.
Step 2 Salad plates are placed to the left, above the fork.
Step 3 Bread plates vary. If there is a salad course, they are placed on the right, above the knife (to the left of the glassware), higher than the salad plate. If there is no salad course, the bread plate goes to the left above the fork.
Step 4 If serving a soup course, the soup bowl is placed directly on top of the dinner plate.
Step 5 Clear dishes after each appropriate course. If several dinner courses are served, replace dinner plates as necessary.


Flatware
Step 1 For a formal place setting only the appropriate silverware should be used, never any excess. Utensils are lined up about 1/2 of an inch away from the plate and lined up evenly at the bottom.
Step 2 Forks are placed on the left side of the plate. Knives (with the cutting edge facing inward) and spoons to the right of the plate. Butter knives are placed directly on top of the bread plate.
Step 3 Silverware should be placed on the table in the order it will be used, so the furthest from the plate will be used first. For example, salad forks are placed on the outside of the dinner forks.
Step 4 Dessert silverware is placed sideways about 1/2 of an inch above the plate, toward the center of the table. The spoon is placed first, closer to the plate with the spoon-end on the left. The fork is placed above the spoon, facing in the opposite direction with the fork-end to the right--so that if the guest were to pull the handles of the silverware down around the plate upon dessert service, the fork would still be on the left and the spoon on the right.

Stemware
Step 1 Water glasses should be placed on the right, directly above the knife.
Step 2 Wine glasses (and any additional beverage glasses) are placed to the right of the water glass.
Step 3 Coffee cups and saucers are placed on the table to the right of the knife and spoon.

About Table Settings

Elaborate rules of etiquette govern formal table settings. Most people do not know these rules anymore. Some people may never attend a function with a formal table setting, but if you collect china you will be interested to know how all the pieces of antique china were used.If you do plan to attend a formal dinner, use this primer as a way to learn (or brush up on) your formal table etiquette.

Significance
The most important rule that governs a formal table setting is to place everything so that the whole effect is visually pleasing. The formality signifies a certain gentility and civility but has a functional purpose, too. Setting formal place settings allows guests and their host to enjoy the meal and appreciate its complexity.Formal dining etiquette dictates that the spaces between place settings are even and about two feet apart to allow both for room and for pleasant conversation between the guests. According to Emily Post, the centerpiece has to be in the exact middle of the table. The middle crease of the tablecloth should line up with the center of the table and be perfectly straight. The formal table should be lit with candles.

The Facts
The forks go to the left of the place with the salad fork placed closest to the plate. Next, the meat fork and the fish fork. The order of the utensils can be deduced if you know the order in which they will be used. The utensils closest to the plate are for the first course. The ones furthest from the plate are for the last course. The knives go to the right of the plate with the meat knife nearest the plate and the fish knife next to it. To the right of the knives are the spoons, beginning with the soup spoon. Dessert utensils are not placed on the table until the dessert is served.

Features
There are several different kinds of glasses set on a formal table. Water glasses belong above and slightly to the right of the knives. The wine glasses go to the right of the water glass. The bread plate sits above the forks parallel to the glasses. A butter knife sits on top of the bread plate with its handle parallel to the edge of the table facing to the right.Several other items complete the table setting. A place card goes above the plate on the tablecloth to tell each guest where to sit. Cloth napkins, neatly folded in squares, sit in the middle of the plates. A set of salt and pepper shakers are placed on a formal table for every two guests.

Function
There used to be a proper division of labor for who should serve which food. If a husband and wife were the hosts, the man served the meat and vegetables while the woman served the other courses. Everything from the main savory part of the meal had to be cleared off the table before the dessert would be served. The very last thing served was the coffee. Very fancy meals ended with finger bowls filled with water to get any food residue off of the guests' fingers.

Benefits
Knowing the geography of a formally set table is not only important when you are the host of a fancy event. It is also key to participating as a guest at this kind of meal. Now you can attend without wondering which fork to use for your salad. It should allow you to enjoy your evening savoring the good conversation and the excellent food.

Auntie Marissa Comes For Lunch

Marissa came over for lunch today. We call her Auntie because her and her husband Dave are Janelle's Godparents. It is such a blessing to have such good, Godly friends. We had a great time of fellowship and food. Marissa made these awesome sandwiches, brought some chips and these cute little apricot drinks and I provided some fruit. These sandwiches were so good I decided to post the recipe so you can try them on your own. The make up is as follows:
Pumpernickel bread
Herbed Mayo
Cucumber sliced very thin
Thinly sliced turkey breast
Water Crest
That's it. Put it all together and you have one of the best sandwiches you will ever eat. After lunch we compared my baby pictures with Janelle. She looks like me in some but not all of the pictures. Rhondale is still winning in the "who does Janelle look like" contest. But that's fine with me. I happen to think Rhondale is rather cute. After that we went for a walk in the park. It was very nice out today. Sunny and 60. Janelle had a good time as Marissa and I took turns carry her. She is definitely getting heavy. We came back to the house and Auntie said good-bye. We'll see her tomorrow at church for Good Friday service. But what a great day.

Early Learning At Home

I found this site with lots of info, tips, and activities for young children and babies. This mom is pretty organized and has lots of creative ideas for teaching little ones at home. I was at Dollar Tree the other day just getting ideas for some of the projects I could do with Janelle.

http://www.earlylearningathome.com/home

Planting Zinnias

I planted some Zinnias to put in Janelle's room in front of the window. I though it would be nice for her to have something living in her room. Not only are they beautiful flowers, they will provide many teaching opportunities like how God created them, gratitude and appreciation for the beautiful things He created, responsibility (watering and caring), science (how flowers grow), and since I got an assorted package they can help with teaching colors. They also produce oxygen to help keep the air clean and fresh. I bought a package of seeds from Wal-mart for $.99, and I planted them in a gallon water bottle that I cut in half. After they sprout I will transfer them to pots. I found this picture online to show what they look like. I hope mine turn out this beautiful.

A Hope Chest

Here is a post I found on making/building a hope chest. It is something I would like to do with Janelle.

Janelle

Here are some recent pictures.

Sitting up at 3 months

Her Baby dedication at church

Playing with her favorite toy

Decluttering my life

God recently exposed an area of my life that needs some work. I am a recovering pack rat and with the help of my loving husband I am decluttering my life. I was praying the other day that God would show me how to be a good mother and wife. I have been very frustrated about having all of these wonderful desires in my heart, and with great enthusiasm exclaiming before I before I go to bed "tomorrow is the day I change my life, I achieve all my hope and dreams, I accomplish the impossible", well maybe not quite. But I always have great aspirations for tomorrow only to lay my head on my pillow at night and say "what did I do today?" My heart has been so grieved as I watch my little girl's life passing by so quickly and fear I will lay my head on a pillow 20 years from now and sigh "Oh, all the things I wanted to teach her, wanted to show her, wanted to impart to her, all the ways I wanted to show my husband that I loved him, respected him, or was just thinking about him, all the people I wanted to reach out to, friends I wanted to connect with, and family that needed my love. But, what did I do today?" I start the day with a list of things to do, but I find myself sinking under it's heavy weight, powerless to accomplish the task at hand. I know my emotions are partly if not wholly to blame for my condition. I do the things that make me feel good at the time, and pay the price at the end of the day with disappointment and regret. Denny Kenaston in his message "The Three Mysterious influences in the Home", here, talks about how children absorb their environment. And how it is our responsibility as parents to create an environment that will foster children with heart towards God and their parents. We know that God is a God of order. Everything he created has purpose and proper place. Well I can't say the same for my home. And when your environment is cluttered so is your life. I'm not sure which one come first, a cluttered mind or a cluttered home, but they definitely lend themselves to each other, like a vicious cycle. Clutter drains your energy and blocks a healthy flow of progress. WELL I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!!!! I'm breaking this cycle and decluttering my home. I want to teach my daughter how to care for the things God has entrusted her with. And she will only learn from watching how mommy cares for her home, herself, and her belongings. I'm glad God has been gracious and showed this to me before months and years were wasted.
I will keep you updated with my progress. I know this is an attitude change for me, and it won't come by my simply throwing away some stuff. Pray that God would help me.
I know he cares.

Below is an article I found on how clutter affect your life.


Here are 10 ways excessive clutter can affect you and your life:


1. Family

Clutter causes irritability, resentment and stress that leads to temper tantrums, outbursts, and overall disharmony (especially, if people are having to deal with "other people's clutter". You may start to feel like you aren't a good parent or aren't a good example for your kids
Excessive clutter can cause depression, acting out, bad behavior in children due to their inability to focus caused by the clutter.

2. Relationships

Causes conflicts often due to chronic lateness
Can keep you from socializing because you don't have the energy or can't find clothes to go out. Keeps you from getting close to people because you don't entertain or want to have people visit you in your home

3. Loss of Self-Esteem

Causes you to feel like you aren't capable or are missing some basic skill that everyone else "seems" to have so you feel bad about yourself - the truth is you are not alone, many people have issues dealing with clutter

4. Emotionally

Excessive clutter often cause feelings of shame, guilt, anger and embarrassment that holds you back.
Clutter drains your energy - and you don't realize it till it's gone. Every item in your home has an energy to it. When items go a long time unused, unloved and uncared for, they become stuck, stagnant energy that actually physically drains you of your energy.

5. Physical Health & Stress

The stress caused by clutter is enormous. Every time you can't find something, or an argument flares up with a loved one, or you can't relax because you worry about all the things you need to do, but can't till you get the clutter cleared, your stress levels increase. Stress in turn, lowers your immunity and resistance and so you may have frequent, persistent colds.
Clutter can make it more difficult to eat healthy, cause headaches, fatigue, sinus problems and allergies and more.

6. Mental Health

Clutter decreases your ability to enjoy life. It causes stress, confusion, inability to focus, and often leads to depression. Sometimes clutter is initially caused by depression, but clutter also makes it nearly impossible to recover from depression. In my experience, once people start releasing their clutter, their energy comes back and the depression gets better, sometimes it goes away for good. Some people are extremely sensitive to their environments and just never realized what a difference it could make.
Even in people who don't have ADD, clutter causes ADD like symptoms.

7. Safety & Hygiene

In extreme clutter, people have a hard time walking without tripping or bumping into things. Often there are things hidden in the clutter that are very unsafe for children. I've seen some cases where a young child is pretty much confined to a playpen all the time because it just isn't safe to be out of the playpen.
Inability to clean cluttered areas can lead to extreme dust and even mold and mildew that exacerbates and even causes health problems in yourself and your children

8. Time

Simply having too much stuff eats up your time like crazy. Every thing you own requires some amount of care and organization. If you have too much stuff, it's much more difficult, time consuming, and expensive to get organized.
Having too much stuff often leads to procrastination and lateness which wastes your and other people's time and causes a whole host of other problems.
Not being able to find things is a huge time cost of clutter. For some people it wastes several hours every day.

9. Your Future

Holding on to clutter often grounds you in the past at the cost of your present life and your future.
Clutter distracts you from being able to think about your goals, projects, hobbies and get things done

10. Financial

Things have to have homes. Whether the home you provide for things is an extra room, a piece of furniture, or a container, you continue to pay for things long after you initially acquire them. Clutter directly costs money in the following ways:
Late fees for bills paid late
Credit card debt - often for unused stuff
Duplicates purchased because you can't find things
Some people move to larger home to accommodate the stuff
Renting storage facilities
Clutter affects people's careers. Studies have shown that people with cluttered desks and offices are less likely to be promoted. This of course affects how much money you can make.

Maybe you too can identify. Search your heart. If not pray for the rest of us.
Deborah

My Trip To Denny's

During the Super Bowl on Sunday Denny's announced that they would be serving FREE breakfast between 6am and 2pm on Tuesday Feb 3rd. Well the 3rd turned out to be cold and snowy. I had some errands to run so I decided I would eat my lunch at Denny's. What I saw when I pulled into the parking lot was astounding. People were actually standing out in the snow waiting to get their free meal. I could see if this were some 4 star restaurant or if the were giving away free cars, but it's Denny's, where the average meal cost from $7-$10. Well, I wasn't about to stand out in the snow with my 2 month old waiting for food. So I decided to come back after I had run my errands to see if the line had gone down. About an hour later I returned to see that there was no outside line. So I parked and went inside to find people on top of people. I stood there with this guy breathing his cigarette breath down my neck for about 30 seconds, and decided to leave again. As I left I pondered what happens psychologically when people hear that they can get something for free. I have to admit that I was drawn by the notion. But to stand in the snow for a $7 meal just didn't pan out in the "it was worth it" department of my brain. I wondered if these same people would stand in the snow if someone was passing out $7 cash. Being hungry by this point, I drove down the street to Wendy's where I ordered, paid for and received my food in less than 60 seconds, all for what I would have left as a tip at Denny's. What I learned from this experience is that free isn't always worth it.

What Grandma Called Me

My middle name is Naomi, and when I was little people would ask me what my name was and I would respond with Deber Omi Butler. My Grandmother to this day calls me Omi.

Introducing Omi

My name is Deborah Haywood. I'm 28 years old and I live in Central New Jersey with my husband of 3 years Rhondale, our new baby girl Janelle and our Brindle Boxer, Dakota. We are a one income family, with me at home seeking ways to bring glory to God in the chaotic adjustment of having a new baby, cooking, cleaning, breastfeeding, cloth diapering (in an apartment with no washer and dryer), dog walking and sleep deprivation. Some days I forget to eat, comb my hair and brush my teeth. But I am enjoying every minute. Being a wife and a mom are God's most precious gifts to me. Some days I feel that I fall short in my roles, but His grace is so sufficient. I hope one day to "have it all together", but right now I'm settling with getting to take a shower everyday. This too shall pass all to quickly, and I don't want to miss out on all the little opportunities God has placed in my path to grow in patience, diligence and servant hood. It is so easy sometime to blame my husband for not understanding all that I have to do. But really God wants me to come to Him with my burdened heart that is all to often overwhelmed. Like David I must ask Him to lead me to the Rock that is higher than I, Psalm 61:2.