Leading Our Kids Toward Jesus

A friend texted me thank you for writing her daughter an affirming note at church last week, saying she is trying to get better at that herself. I wrote back: "Lol because I am working on the same thing! That's why it was fresh on my mind to write them to the girls! I almost never affirm ours for doing the right things and always focus on the wrong!!! I made a little progress with it last week but have a long way to go still to remember to do it. We'll have to encourage and remind each other to improve!" I.am.so.bad.at.this. I'm better when I'm around other people (one of my friends says we parent better when we are around other healthy parents and I wholeheartedly agree- we pick up on their language, actions and approach and tend to repeat it) but do not prioritize this highly enough when I'm not. I want to work on this, and am so thankful my friend noticed that I'm trying and now can hold me accountable!

Ever since I learned how dangerous coats in car seats are, I've wanted our son to have a car seat poncho. I got quotes on them from some out of town friends for upwards of $50, so when I saw a cute winter blanket on sale at Target for $3, I decided to take matters into my own hands...:) I bought said small blanket, cut a slit in it that was the right size for a baby head, and began using it that same day as a car seat poncho. It was adorable, though amateur-ish at best, and probably not likely to last a long time, but accomplished its purpose for the time being. One of the friends I admire most joined us for a small family birthday celebration recently, and when she walked in, her son was wearing a very cool, perfectly made poncho. Clearly she can sew and I cannot :). I raved and raved over it and laughed for quite a while at the contrast between it and my own homemade poncho. You can imagine my surprise when my son then at that same party opened up a poncho she made just for