Frye Fam Happenings

Titus: I'm having a birthday party, want to come? Justus: Yeah! Titus: I'm going to make some cake. Justus: Cake?! yuck, cake freaks me out. I want to eat healthy food. Titus: ???? Justus: I only like healthy food, not junk food. Titus: Well, we have carrot sticks! (me: rolling my eyes at how unrealistic this scenario is) ------------------------------------------- Eli: We're gonna fly on an airplane?! Mimi (on the phone): Yep! Justus, Titus, Eli, Josiah, Mommy, Grandbob, and Mimi are all going to fly on an airplane! Eli: How 'bout that?! ---------------------------------------------- Titus: meow, meow, meow, meow (for about 30 minutes straight...That kid can turn into a cat and not turn back into a little boy for ANYTHING!! He will meow when I talk to him, lick his plate when I serve lunch, and not answer me when I'm calling him to see where in the world in the house he has gone to. It kind of drives me crazy, but he's a pretty cute kitty :) ) -----------------...

~A little treat for good eaters~

We went to the park today :) It was a much needed reprieve from our time spent in the house lately! We have been home wayyyy too much for all of our sanity. We needed sunlight, we needed a change of scenery, and quite frankly, we needed a break from being in close quarters with each other!! :) We climbed, we sat, we played basketball, we slid, we rode on the swings, we walked, and we ate lunch! Then we came home for a nice.long.nap!! :) I love park days!

Chapter 14, "Firing the Arrow" What in the world is this chapter about? I'll jump right in with the quote for this week as it is the summary of this chapter, in my opinion: " (Psalm 127:4) 'Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.' We don't aim to hold on to our arrows all the way to the target. They're not push-pins, they're meant to fly. Our job is to shape and prepare the arrows so when they are released, they fly straight and true on their own ." (p. 222) Wow, I just love that. This whole book is really about preparing boys to BECOME MEN, but this chapter deals with specifics. How do we prepare our sons for the privileges and amazing responsibilities they will face when they are no longer under our wing? The Young's offer incredible thoughts and advice. My favorite from this chapter was an idea to have a special celebration when your son reaches the age you consider him to be on the UP side of matu...

When people hear that our 8/9/10...12 month old is not yet sleeping through the night, they often drop their jaw to the floor in astonishment. "WHAT?! Your 10 month old isn't sleeping through the night yet? WHY?! Oh my goodness, you poor thing." (etc.) This is one of those times I find myself saying, "We just do things a little differently!" so I thought I'd post about it :) Let's start with this: I don't have big babies at birth. Our two biggest were 7 lbs. 4 oz...whoppers I tell you :) That is to say I never had the experience that some of my friends with gigantic babies have...a baby who "sleeps through the night" from night #1. (Although, can I just say that doesn't even make sense to me. Wouldn't a big baby need to eat MORE to fill their large bellies? Also, I never even gave my babies a chance to sleep through the night, because I was always advised they needed to be woken at least for some stimulation....ANYWAY, my kids, my d...

~Going for a walk~

I had to apologize to my kids today...and then I had to pray and ask the Lord to forgive me. It was awful. But also sweet and awesome at the same time. I have been working in the yard like a dog lately. Derek has been as well, but when I do my stuff during the day, I am on my own with the kids. (insert unsolicited advice here: Don't try to do tough yardwork when you are in charge of four small children. Wait until the weekend.) (meet my small yet obvious problem if you know me very well: obsessive personality. Once I set my mind on something, I have a hard time quitting!) Today I was laying a row of bricks to outline a flower bed, and on top of my frustration with trying to get the bricks in a straight line and level with the ground, my kids were driving me NUTS. The arguments amongst the three of them, the disobedience, the little ears that were ignoring my yelling from the flower bed...(ahem, my lazy parenting) I yelled, I got up to discipline, I sighed, I got up to help someone,...

A few MOPS meetings ago, one of our speakers gave us a couple handouts about speaking to our children about purity, physical privacy, respect for our bodies, remembering that our bodies are temples, and of course, sex! She also gave us a gigantic packet called, "Talking to Your Kids about Sex." Throughout the past year, I have learned that children are finding out about all kinds of aspects of sexuality at much earlier ages. I am not typically a worrier, but I have to confess that I have many fears in this area...talking to my kids about sex, explaining the need to remain sexually pure, the privacy issues I need to teach them about starting NOW, etc. I worry that I will not do or say enough to protect my sons. I worry that I will not convict them enough or that I will say something to push them away (possibly to rebellion.) (I have a lot of faith in my influence, don't I?! :) ) Chapter 13, "Love and War," discusses this topic as it relates to young children all ...

~Breakfast at the Frye's~

Ah, yes "KP Isn't Women's Work." I am a living witness of this truth. My wonderful husband does more cleaning in our kitchen than I do. I am so grateful for him, and I can't wait until our sons can take over that duty for him :) (Don't worry, I am training them already!!) So how do we distinguish biblically between what women "should" do and what men "should" do as far as housework is concerned? (or more appropriately based on our topic, what should our boys be getting trained in?) In the Bible, men are seen doing the sewing, cooking, and taking care of children. (not that they were the ones in charge of these things, per se...but they certainly participated, and at times, took on the roles alone!) Obviously, there are things women can do more easily if the husband is at work and the wife is at home with the children all day. The point, though, is to see that some of the roles we typically view as "women's work" is not necess...

~Not an empty seat in the house~