Parenthood

Emma hit 9 months Saturday, and it is going by so quickly!! She is really starting to look more like a kid than a baby...how sad! I had to take this picture since it was her first time in jeans. I thought they were too cute but were so grown up looking! Parenthood is such a wonderful journey with so many ups and downs! We are learning more about discipline, tantrums, spankings, and exploration every day! I read a book this summer, and Ben and I are now going through it together during our devotion time that I HIGHLY recommend to anyone with children...of any ages!! The book is Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. One of the most important ideas I took away the first time through was the idea of submission. We are to train our children to submit to us, so that ultimately they are learning to submit to God. I know discipline and spanking can be a controversial issue, but this book does a great job of pointing to scripture and the validity behind the rod. I could never say enough good about what the book taught me, and I am already learning more as I go through it a second time with Ben. It's so good to do it with him too so we can discuss our feelings and be sure we are on the same team with the same game plan as we raise Emma (and hopefully several more!). I am posting some quotes from the book that I thought were really good. And, believe it or not, there's a whole lot more I could quote...maybe I should be promoting this book for the author! : ) I know most of you reading this probably have similar theories/thoughts on discipline, but I loved this book because it gave so much insight into everything behind the discipline and helped me to more fully understand God's plan for us as we strive to lead Emma to the cross through our parenting, which is our ultimate goal as parents!


If you only try change behavior, you are missing the real issue--her heart.

When the experts tell you that you must find what works with each child, they are saying you must find the idols of the heart that will move this child.

What is important in correction is not venting your feelings, anger or hurt; it is, rather, understanding the nature of the struggle that your child is having. What is important is understanding the "why" of what has been done or said.

Your correction must hold the standard of righteousness as high as God holds it.

Discipline exposes your child's inability to love his sister from his heart, or genuinely prefer other before himself. Discipline leads to the the cross of Christ where sinful people are forgiven.

The heart determines the behavior. Learn, therefore, to work back from behavior to the heart.

Your authority represents God's authority.

When you have give a directive that he has heard and is within his capacity to understand and he has not obeyed without challenge, without excuse or without delay, he needs a spanking. If you fail to spank, you fail to take God's word seriously...You are saying that you do not love your child enough to do the painful things that God has called you to.

To do this job of parenting well, it must be a primary task. It is your primary calling.

Refresh

Refreshing in so many ways...

these pictures are from the last
Refresh meeting I was able to be
at...Emma's friend Linnea is 3 days older than she, and it has been

so much fun watching them

play and learn together!

Kayleigh is the only "big girl"
most of the time, and she does

so well with the "babies"! She's
getting good practice for those

big sister days that are coming!!

Jonathan was snoozing happily,

and will be mobile with the rest

sooner than later! I truly am blessed by such wonderful friends and mothers in which I can share in this phase of life...our time together is so often the "saving grace" of the day!!

Visit With Aunt Mary and Uncle Rick

My sister has now had two eye surgeries in two weeks to "lift" her drooping eyelids which are a symptom of Kearns Sayre Syndrome. She was diagnosed with this after MUCH testing earlier this year, and we have all been anxiously awaiting this surgery. The first surgery went well with some light sensitivity and irritation to follow, then a broken sling...hence the second surgery. She has taken all in stride and is such a trooper! As you can see, she didn't let the "healing" issues stop her from playing with Emma and Will. They were playing peekaboo in the bottom picture; Emma was riding a horse they actually gave her to bring home (and Emma LOVES it!!); and Emma got dressed up in Will's tiger costume. You wouldn't think we were actually any help during our visit would you??? : ) We would love your prayers for continued healing and no further progression or symptoms of this "disease"!!

More Birthday Fun

Daddy and Emma at the first exhibit, the bears, during our trip to Riverbanks Zoo on his 29th birthday! We were in Columbia to help out after my sister's surgery. For some

reason, she was so insistent that we get out and do something fun for Ben's birthday even though she had just had eye surgery 5 days earlier and the light was killing her eyes. She always has been one to put others first.

This is the little monkey that captivated Emma more than any other animal at the zoo...maybe because it was as hyper and busy as she is!! : )

We had a great time looking at all the animals and even fed some goats! Emma and Will LOVED the animals...of course, Will has a much greater appreciation and much more expression.

I didn't actually feed the giraffe, but I did squeeze in the crowd to take pics
of the giraffe as other people paid an outrageous fee for a couple pieces of
lettuce. It was so cool to be so close to it though, and I might be dumb enough to fork out the bucks to feed the giraffe when I have a child old enough to appreciate and remember the experience!

Speaking of giraffes, Will rode one on his first ever carousel
experience. He was so eager to get on and tried to run right on

without paying; too bad it didn't work that way!

And, of course, the family photo for Daddy's birthday and Emma's first "alert" zoo trip! Despite Mary Matheson's misery, she insisted we go out to dinner and for ice cream to celebrate that evening as well...a wonderful day and birthday! We just wished she wouldn't have had irritated eyes so she could've enjoyed it as much as we did! Hopefully, we can get the other pictures on our website soon... www.benandelizabethhowell.com

Birthday Bliss

Ben brought home flowers, picked up some dinner, and the three of us went to Ebenezer Park to picnic the evening of my birthday...it was a beautiful, peaceful evening! We are always happy near water! Quite a wonderful first birthday as a mom (you have to look for the positives in the birthdays now that the numbers are getting higher--28!!) : ) You can see how badly we need rain around here...in the picture of the lake, the shoreline is normally almost up to the break in the dirt. It's sooooo low, and we don't ever see much rain in the forecast, only record highs!