Won't You Be My Neighbor

The other day I was contemplating how few non-Christians I know. With a recent challenge to pray for lost friends and acqaintances at our church I actually struggled a bit thinking of people to pray for. It came down to some distant relatives who I know need to find a relationship with Christ but other than that I couldn't think of anyone I see in my daily circle that I could pray for. (Side note: I think it is important that God laid my relatives on my heart and they need prayer just as much as anyone else. I was just questioning why I have so few lost people in my daily life to reach out to.)

Then it hit me while I was sitting at home hanging out with Tian looking out the window. (Yeah sometimes I feel like that little nosey old lady who is always looking out her window at what others are doing.......but hey entertaining a toddler all day long can get old.) A voice that has been stirring in my heart for awhile speaks again....."You have plenty of lost people around you everyday that you could reach out to." The handicapped man who lives all alone, the pregnant teenage girl living with her family, the dad who lost his wife in a car accident and is raising a 1 year old, the young family with 2 toddlers, the elderly couple who love to sit outside and enjoy nature. There are plenty of people out there that you see everyday and need to know me - Your neighbors.

And the stirring in my heart is right. These people are lost and need a light in their lives and just maybe that could be me. And the stirring gets me excited. But it quickly is diminished by feelings of fear and doubt as to how it could ever happen. How would I ever build relationships with these people. Yes I can do the occasional hi how are you talk but something more than that? Do I just go up and knock on their door and invite myself in or invite them to church? I quickly realize it needs to be a little deeper than that. And lately I have been finding out how it can be..........through the fearlessness of a toddler.

Everytime Tian and I go outside Tian quickly gets bored with our yard and decides it's time to go explore somewhere else. Does he have any hesitations about the new surroundings he is going in or the new people he is going to meet. No. He is excited to go and share with them in whatever they are doing. So this usually means I am there tagging along and it is amazing how an energetic, happy toddler can make anyone smile.

I need to be more like that toddler. Happy, excited and enthusied at the possiblity of going to visit and spend some time with my neighbors and share in their lives. Yes I need to get out from behind the window and begin to share in the lives of my neighbors.

So to leave the challenge in the words of a Fred Rogers and because songs always stick with me...........

Won't You Be My Neighbor
It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine
Could you be mine

It's a neighborly day in this beauty wood
A neighborly day for a beauty
Would you be mine
Could you be mine

I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you

So, let's make the most of this beautiful day
Since we're together we might as well say
Would you be mine, could you be mine
Won't you be my neighbor
Won't you please, won't you please
Please won't you be my neighbor

Tian's Top 10 favorite toddler apps

After a month of using the new family IPAD (thanks to Uncle Adam) I thought I would take a moment and share some of our favorite toddler apps we have found for Tian. I am always searching the web for other moms' suggestions on toddler apps and thought I would share some of ours for the benefit of other moms. Most of the apps we tried for free then bought the full versions as we saw how much he enjoyed them.

10. City Vehicles - Free trial version or purchase the full app. What little boy doesn't like trucks and cars honking and driving on a road?

9. Color Drops - Free app for coloring on a blank screen or coloring pages to choose from. Great for doodling toddlers.

8. Piano Cats - Free app with cats as the keys on the piano that meow the pitches of the notes. Most likely one of Tian's favorites since these cats will actually let him touch them and respond back to his screams.

7. Explore the Animal Kingdom - Free app with animal pictures and animal noises.

6. I Hear Ewe - Free app with animal picture graphics and animal noises as well as some vehicle graphics and vehicle noises.

5. Tempo the Tiger (Baby Genuis) - Free trial version or purchase the full version. Has a great echo feature where you can talk to Tempo and he repeats what you say. Tian thinks this is hilarious.

4. Peekaboo Wild - App must be purchased. Different and unique animals than any of the other Peekaboo apps.

3. There's a Lion in my Backyard - Free trial version or purchase the full version. Another app to search for animals with great animal sounds and fun graphics.

2. Peekaboo Forest - App must Be purchased. Really beautiful animal artwork by Charley Harper. Great music and animal sounds as well.

1. Peekaboo Barn - Free trial version or purchase the full version. Great animal noises and animal graphics and definetly Tian's most played app.

Funk

So I have been in this funk recently where I have just been having a "whoa is me attitude" towards several things in life. I could have chalked it up to the pain medication after my foot surgery or I could have blamed it on the dark winter months but no I realized it was a little more than that. And today (like the sunshine breaking in the windows from outside) God has brought light into my heart to help me out of the funk.
So you may ask what did it involve.........

1. Me being willing to listen to Him.
2. Taking the initiative to do what He asked......start a prayer journal and journal of Thanksgiving.
3. Him taking away the funk and providing light through that yuckiness.

So if you are going through a funk check it out.........is it really the winter blues or that bean burritto you just ate? Or is there a little bit more of a heart issue that needs dealing with. Let God clear out the funk.

16 months

What a great 2 months we have had since the last blog I posted. Tian is now 16 months and over the last 2 months has done a lot. He celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas as a 1 year old and was a little more aware of things than last year when he was 3 months old. For Thanksgiving we got to spend the day with my parents at a Thanksgiving buffet and it was wonderful. There was no cooking or cleanup involved so we were able to just enjoy family and have a nice peaceful day:) And since I never posted a Thanksgiving blog I thought I would just take a moment and share my top 5 things I am thankful for this year.
5. Being able to stay at home with my son and share in his daily experiences and adventures.
4. Wonderful Family (Mouers and Hertleins) and the time we get to spend together throughout the year even on SKYPE:)
3. Loving and Supportive Husband who is a wonderful provider for our family, hardworker and great father.
2. Good health for myself and my family throughout the year.
1. Joy of my salvation and peace of knowing God is in control of my life.
We are truly blessed and I thank God everyday for all he has given me in my life - everday is a blessing.

Over the last 2 months we have also been going through a kitchen remodel and things are finally starting to look like a finished product as I write this. While it has been somewhat difficult not having a dishwasher, kitchen sink or stove we have made things work with a crockpot and microwave and have a had a little fun in the process. And while it has been somewhat difficult keeping a curious 1 year old from open walls, wet paint, nails, etc......it will be all worth it when the finished product is done and he has a new kitchen to explore:) Thanks to my husband for planning such a great kitchen design and working so hard on making it so nice for us! Cooking is going to be fun!

Tian and I started decorating for Christmas around Thanksgiving time so we have been enjoying Christmas for awhile. This year I bought a 4 foot white Christmas tree with felt, soft and non breakable ornaments so Tian could play with the tree. And it was a good thing because the first day we put it up he pulled the tree onto himself and was taking off the ornaments and throwing them. Since then it has calmed down some and now he just likes playing with the animal ornamets that are on the tree and pointing at them and making the sounds they make. What fun:) We also put up some window clings that he loves playing with and pretty much ALL baby proof decorations. We will have to wait a couple years to put the silver Christmas tree back up and some of the other decorations.

We also had a great time with our families over the Christmas weekend. We spent 2 days with my family the Hertleins and 2 days with the Mouers. Tian's favorite present from mama and dada seemed to be a small wooden train that he opened and played for a record 15 minutes straight saying choo choo over and over. His Christmas was also filled with many tractors thanks to the grandmas, a basketball hoop so he can start early, and lots of fun time playing with cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. What a wonderful 2 months and year we have had.

At 16 months Tian is understanding a lot and starting to communicate pretty well.

He continues to amaze me daily and is such a fun little boy.

Looking forward to 2012 and all the fun in store for us.
Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Decorations

This year I tried to make everything "baby friendly" around our house for Christmas. Here is what I came up with:

Decorations placed in the corner of the room behind furniture. No way for baby to get to.

Tian's Advent Calendar with movable nativity.

Toy Ornaments for Tian to play with and learn his animal sounds.

Tian's toy Christmas tree. Decorated only with toys Tian could play with.

M is for Music

I always knew that when the time came for me to become a mom I would stay at home with my baby.even though I loved my job! I had grown up with my mom staying home with me and remember all the special times we had together. And my husband shares the same memories of his mom staying home with him and the special moments they shared. So when the time came we both agreed this is what we wanted and I was excited. Just like my teaching job, I would get to plan lessons everyday for me and my baby:) But those first months being with baby donft require a lot of lesson planning. Just nursing, holding, doing laundry and sleeping seemed to be the daily activities. I can still remember the day I was sitting and nursing and looked out the window to see the school bus going by and tearing up a bit thinking about how I missed my job. But most of all missing the op-portunity to use the gifts and talents God had given me towards music and teaching. Then one day I ran into a friend who told me about a music class she was taking her infant to and invited us to come. After joining the class for a month and seeing how much my son enjoyed the interaction and how much I enjoyed seeing moms and babies light up with music, an idea popped into my head. (Or rather I heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speak into my heart.) \This is some-thing you could do.. How I thought? I would need instruments, a location and would I be able to teach some-thing like this with my son? It seemed like a lot of work, money and uncertainty. Maybe I would just con-tinue taking my son to this class. But I decided to pray about the idea and see what Godfs plan was and sure enough He had it all figured out. Anne Marie said the idea would be great to offer at the Efree Church as a ministry outreach to moms and ba-bies. I found a friend who used to teach infant music class that wanted to get rid of all her instruments and I was able to purchase them from her. And my son turned out to be an excel-lent assistant in the class. And now after having done the class twice, I can see what a blessing from God it has been. Not only have I been able to share my love for music and teaching in a new way (with moms and babies) - but I have been able to build relationships with other moms sharing in the same experiences with me, have my son enjoy the company of other babies and use this class as a ministry to the community also. I really believe God truly wants to bless us and bring joy to our lives in every circumstance when we are open to what He has for us. So I would encourage you to be open to what God may be calling you to at this time in your life. Allow Him to show you where you can use the gifts and tal-ents He has given you.maybe in a unique way you never expected at this time of your life.

12 things I could have done without in Tian's 1st year

Ever since I posted my blog 12 things I couldn't have done without in Tian's 1st year I have wanted to post this blog relaying the 12 things I could have done without. I know when you have a new baby on the way as a first time mom you have no idea what you need to have on hand so sometimes you think you need to get everything to be ready. However looking back I wish I would have heard from some other moms a little more before purchasing certain things. So here are my thoughts and I know everyone might not agree with me and in fact some moms might have loved some of these products. That is fine. These particular items just happened to be a waste for Tian Elliot Mouer:)

So here goes the top 12 things I could have done without.......

12. Food plates - Tian seems to do best eating everything out of bowls now or just on his high chair tray. So at least for now the toddler food plates have not been in use.

11. SwaddleMe Sleeper - Tian was never happy in one of these and so the 2 we got were never used.

10. Too many pacifiers - While we thought it was a good idea to have lots of different pacifiers on hand to find the right one for Tian it turned out maybe we went a little TOO overbored. I would recommend just having a couple to try and see which your baby likes best then getting just enough of that kind. And since Tian only liked the pacifier his first 6 months of life it might be a good idea not to stock up on 6+ ones too early.

9. Best Bottom Diapers - We cloth diapered and decided to try a variety of diapers to see which worked the best. These were not good at all and consistently leaked and did not seem to fit Tian right either.

8. Tots Bots Diapers - Another diaper we found that did not fit Tian good and were disappointed with.

7. Seat protector mat to put under carseat - After purchasing one we found out from a certified car seat installer that these were really not safe to use.

6. Fleece pajamas - Our little one was quite the heat magnet. We found that he was not comfortable at all in fleece sleepers and would actually wake up sweating in these. Cotton, zip up pajamas were the best for him.

5. Baby Food Grinder - Thought this would be a good purchase after seeing friends use it with their little one but found it to be more of a pain than anything. Found it much easier to just cut up pieces of finger food for Tian when it was time for him to eat table food.

4. BJorn Carrier - Tian hated being confined in this. Although he loved being in Mama and Dada's arms the carrier was too confining for him. Did not even get one use out of this but at least we bought it used and maybe the next kid will take a liking to it?

3. Infant Sunglasses - Can anybody get their baby to keep these on?

2. Full Size High Chair - While we didn't purchase one of these I just wanted to share that I am glad we didn't. Instead we got a fisher price seat that hooks onto one of our dining room chairs and it has worked great. It is portable, easy to clean (the whole seat fits in the dishwasher) and it was cheap! Great space-saver and a lot simplier than a full-size chair.

1. Winter coat for an infant - Purchased a puffy winter coat for Tian's first winter and only wore it once on him to get a picture in. Realized he wasn't suppossed to be in his carseat in a winter coat and used a carseat cover instead which I would recommend getting! Don't bother with the winter coat.