Early Memories and Birthday Traditions -- Chapter 2 in My Life Story

I'm a bit stumped on how to write chapter two in my life story, since chapter one was such an intense story.  At Mommy's Piggy Tales we are writing 15 parts to our story, and this chapter is supposed to be preschool or kindergarten years.  There is no one outstanding event in those years for me, or a cohesive theme of smaller events, so I decided to post some of my earliest memories and some of the birthdays I enjoyed.  

In my last chapter, I referred to my brave and loving mother, and many of you praised her in your comments.  Thank you so much for doing that.  I neglected to share that she passed away last year right before I had my first child, which is why my childhood stories I heard from her are all the more precious.  I won't take time here, but if you would like to read a few other posts I wrote about Sue Benzing, please click on the "My Mom" label I have at the end of this post.  I couldn't continue writing without putting my memories in their current context (does that make sense?).

You may not believe me, but one of my earliest memories is being in a crib, which is pretty darn early, because I got my first little sister Anna before I turned two, and I moved into a big girl bed so she could have the crib.  I remember when Anna was born we went to visit my mom in the hospital.  The memories are very vague, but I recall being in the elevator going to see her.  My mom told me that when my brother Nathan and I were waiting for our baby to be born, my parents would say "it will be Anna or Nicholas", so when we left with Anna, we cried, wondering where Nicholas was.  We thought we'd get both of them, I guess!  

The next big event in my life was breaking my collarbone.  I was sharing a room with my brother so Anna could have the nursery, and sleeping in a big girl twin bed.  I remember that room so clearly!  It had 1-2-3 curtains (which I'm certain my mom sewed) and gingham wallpaper and a hard wood floor (which is good for toys!).  I fell out of my bed in the middle of the night (I was not quite two), and cried, of course, but calmed down and went back to sleep.  The next day, my mother was dressing me, and I would cry when she moved my arm!  Turns out my collarbone was broken!  I guess that's what happens when babies fall out of their beds onto hard wood floors, haha!

When I was two, I got a riding toy in the shape of a shoe.  Our driveway was at an incline (street at the top, garage at the bottom), so we would take our trikes, big wheels, or shoe, as it were, to the top of the driveway and would fly down the hill.  The shoe did not have pedals, but it didn't need them!  I could just pick up my feet and WHEEEEEEE!  We must have spent hours a day running up and riding down.  Same concept as sledding.

I sucked my thumb until I was four, and people often asked me what flavor it was.  I thought it was SUCH a dumb question, but I came up with a response so they would leave me alone, and I would answer "chocolate".  Similarly, I now tell people Susie's thumb tastes like strawberry when they say "does it taste good?"  Side note -- my teeth stayed straight. . . so I have a hard time worrying about Susie sucking her thumb.

My mom made us a special birthday cake every year.  I do not remember very many birthday presents, but I do remember what kind of cake we had.  She made a yummy whipped cream frosting for a round 2 layer cake that looked thick and a mile tall to a small child.  Sometimes the cake had a number candle, sometimes it had gumdrops decorating the top (or around the sides), I think it once had a plastic train for my brother's birthday, but the cake itself was the same shape and kind.  And birthday parties meant my mom's whole family came over, and pretty much hyper play time was the order of the day.  This first picture is of my 2nd birthday.  Someone had given me gum, and I was quite enjoying the gum, but not sure how to blow out my candles with gum in my mouth!  In a (soundless) home video, you see a hand reach out for me to put the gum in.  HAHA!  Classic!

Here is another birthday picture, this time, my third.  You can see my sister Anna in the background being held up by her big brother!  So funny!  The other kids are my cousins Robbie and Rachel.  I love how we (the big kids -- hee hee) are so dressed up, while poor baby Anna is already in her jammas!  For whatever reason, I remember quite a few birthday celebrations taking place after church at our house.  This cake was especially decorated with gumdroppy fruit slice candies!  


One time on my birthday, I got to go to "Johnny's Toys" which was a local toy store in Cincinnati and pick out something from the birthday room.  I think I may have been 4 or 5, but I can't remember.  I do however, remember the TOWER of toys in that room, all wrapped in the same red and white striped wrapping paper.  What to choose?  You could only get one!  The shelves seemed to groan with red and white packages, and I blindly chose . . . a clown doll.  It was okay, but maybe not a girl's dream come true present!  

Gretchen age 5

However, there was one year when my dream DID come true!  What on earth could I have wanted more in 1984 than a . . . CABBAGE PATCH DOLL?  Oh me, oh my, we wanted wanted wanted those cute things.  My mom caught the fever with us because she thought they were adorable, too.  And hard to come by for a while there.  That's why, when we came upon a whole slew of them in a store right before Anna's birthday, Mom told us each to pick one out.  Anna would get hers for her birthday, and we'd have to wait until our birthdays came.  Anna picked a red-haired braided girl named Maude Marcella, and I found Catalina Jackie who was wearing a ruffly blue dress with a pink rosette.  Nathan chose a boy Cabbage Patch (Geoffrey something).  When May 15th came, and Anna had her birthday, there was ADORABLE red-headed Maude at her party, and I was soooooo jealous!  I had to wait until July 26th to get my turn!  The next day, Nathan hatched a plan (he was much like his A-team hero, Hannibal).  He and I would rake the yard (it was freshly mowed) without being asked and then request our dolls early (his was super early, his birthday wasn't until January).  I don't know if the sight of 2 little kids trying to earn her favor caused my mom to cave, or if she was planning all along to let us have them early, but she agreed to let us open our precious dolls that day.  I can still remember exactly how it felt to hold a new doll for the first time after she was finally freed from her package (remember those early oddly shaped Cabbage Patch boxes?  The top was smaller than the bottom, so you had to open the doll from the bottom.).  Those Cabbage Patches were our hands-down FAVORITE toys for many years.  I am so sad that I do not have a picture of me with Catalina to share with you here. 


Those were my preschool years!  Not a great deal of happenings, but that is how life goes, quite often.  I remember a good number of golden days and fun at home with my parents and my siblings.

Summer Reading for ME!

The other day my husband asked me if I were going to read another Charles Dickens book this summer.  That has been my tradition for the last six summers or so, but I honestly hadn't thought about my own summer reading yet this year!  We've had 3 straight weeks of CRAZYNESS with travel, VBS and Josh's summer class, so I don't really feel like I've moved into summer mode yet.  I am, however, looking forward to a few pool days, and hopefully some afternoons of reading outside (I am not one to hate the heat. . . I wait all year for it!).

So I decided I would pick up The Olde Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, which I started last summer, but did not finish (as a new mother of a newborn, I kept falling asleep every time I went to read a few pages!!).  I jumped back into the story, and was surprised how much of the story I instantly remembered from reading it last summer.  I just love the female protagonist (which is rare in Dickens), and am already quite bound to her plight!

I picked out this book shopping in a bookstore right before Susie was born, and just LOVE holding a good paperback and reading it.  However, if you are interested, here is a link to a free online edition of the book.  I would personally suggest buying books from brick and mortar bookstores, but that's just me, old fashioned and sentimental. . . like the book I'm currently reading, I suppose. :) 

The Eaglet

Today I'd like to recommend a little book called The Eaglet by Jim Elliff which is a simple yet powerful story of the gospel. I was reminded of how much I loved this book this week during VBS, when the younger classes read it in their lesson time on the night they learned about Salvation.

A baby eaglet that lives in a nest above a deep gorge is told not to try to fly from the nest, but gives in to the temptation to try to fly and be independent anyway (which is a great analogy for Adam and Eve's sin in the garden). The eaglet is plunging to his death, unable to rescue himself, because his little wings are not nearly powerful enough to save himself. The eaglet cries out for help and the father eagle suddenly swoops down and saves the eaglet. What a beautiful story of salvation! It makes me so thankful for my great God who rescued me when I could not save myself!

My friend Caffy Whitney (wife of Don Whitney, who has written many books on spiritual disciplines) is an excellent artist, and she the artwork for The Eaglet. You can click here to download the entire book, or just the illustrations, if you wanted to use them to "tell" the story yourself. I just love it when you find a good resource for FREE! Of course, if you want to buy this book, you certainly can, it is incredibly inexpensive! Here is the link for ordering information.

I am linking up to Feed Me Books Friday over at Adventures of Motherhood, so check it out for other children's book recommendations!

My name is Gretchen Brooke -- Chapter one in my life story

This is chapter one in my life story, which I'm linking up at Mommy's Piggy Tales, where we're writing 15 parts to our story.

As I began to think about how to write this first chapter of my life, I was overcome with sadness thinking about my mom. Looking at the tiny pictures of frail, newborn Gretchen makes my heart long for and hurt for my mother. I was a baby my parents waited and waited and prayed for, and yet when I finally came, there was sorrow mixed with the joy. Let me tell you what happened.



My mom and dad prayed for a child for 7 years of their marriage, and the Lord answered their prayers by giving them my brother, through adoption. When he was only 9 months old, my mom found out she was pregnant with me! Here is a picture of her pregnant with me and posed with my brother Nathan and Aunt Pat. From what mom told me, her first pregnancy was fairly easy, though coffee made her a bit nauseous (I know because it made me sick with Susie, and Mom told me how she once had to turn away from a coffee commercial!). I arrived exactly a month before my due date, after 30-some hours of labor (in the midst of Pete Rose's hitting streak in 1978, my dad has told me). The pages and pages of paper documenting Mom's contractions my dad referred to as "wallpaper for the baby's room" because there were so many! Finally, the doctor did a c-section, and I was born, 6 lbs, 2 ounces (amazingly, my daughter Susie was 6 lbs 2.7 ounces!!).

I'm not sure how quickly my condition was discovered, but pretty soon they could see I was born with a congenital heart defect -- a narrowing and lengthening of the aortic valve, and I was struggling for life. At 4 days, I underwent open heart surgery -- a clipping and mending of the valve, something that is almost never done anymore. As a child my mom told me stories about the tiny baby I was, fighting for life. The nurses called me "spider monkey" because I was long and skinny -- and spirited. They had to tie down my hands so I didn't pull the needles out of my head, and I would kick and kick and kick the one leg that was free -- dressed only in a diaper and one sock. Oh, I am so thankful I have these memories of Mom telling me these stories! How frightened my poor mother must have been! I can only imagine the fear related to watching your tiny baby go through something that drastic. On this day last year, my sister in law went through something similar as her newborn had exploratory brain surgery. I spent the day clutching my newborn Susie and praying through my tears, my mind fathoming how Kari could be feeling for her child to have such a surgery. That was my taste of my mom's experience -- not the same, I know, but even that close was incredibly intense!

I chose one of my favorite pictures of my mom holding me to post on here. Because of the situation surrounding my birth, there are very few pictures of me as a newborn, and even fewer of my mom with me. But this picture is dated 8-1-1978, which would have been the day after my surgery. Mom is feeding me a bottle, but I know she was a dedicated nurser, so I imagine this was breastmilk that she had pumped (though I'm not sure). How glad she must have been to be able to hold her new baby! She herself would have been recovering from her surgery (I know how that felt!), and probably dealing with the hormones and the real emotions as well.

Though I can't quite relate with the depth of her experience, I can relate with some of how she felt -- she was 31 when she had me, and I was about to turn 31 when I had Sus. She had been married for over 8 years, and I celebrated my 8th anniversary in the hospital with a newborn in my arms. She had prayed for a child, and I did the same, for many years. I know how much my mother cherished her children, and I feel the exact same way about my wee girl.

My parents chose the name Gretchen Brooke for me (and my last name was Benzing -- amazingly enough, my pediatric cardiologist was named George Benzing! We were distant relatives). If I were a boy, I would have been Nicholas (they kept that name on deck for the next 3 girls as well, but never got the chance to use it!). Gretchen was chosen because I have an ancestor in Germany whose name was Margretta, and Gretchen is a form of that name. I think my mom must have just liked it. Brooke was after a dear friend of my mother's, Brooke Riddle. She had taught in public school with Mom, and was a godly Christian woman who knew how to open her home and make everyone feel right at home. Mom made sure I knew why I was named after Brooke -- she did have an extraordinary gift for hospitality. . . and still does to this day! I always loved Brooke Riddle, and loved my name as well.

The last picture I'm sharing is of the day I finally came home from the hospital. I'm laying my Aunt Sandy's lap, and my Aunt Kay is sitting on the couch next to her, holding my cousin Rachel. I just love the way Mom is crouching by the couch talking to Sandy about me. It reminds me of those early days with Sus, and sitting on the couch with my sister Abby, enjoying the tiny newborn in every possible aspect!

I received excellent care at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and continued to have good reports from Dr. Benzing throughout my life. My heart defect never slowed me down participating in sports in childhood, or in my adult life, carrying a baby to term and going through labor. What a mighty God we serve who can not only heal a frail tiny baby, but strengthen the hearts of their parents to trust in Him as they helplessly stand by and watch. I saw this last year with my nephew Sawyer, and know it was true for my parents as well.

Road Trips and Audio Books

If you, like me, think of a summer-time road trip as the perfect opportunity to listen to audio books, then this post is for you! I fell in love with "books on tape" (which I STILL accidentally call audio books all the time!), one summer in college when I would listen to whatever I could find at the library during my commutes to my summer job. At that time, I most enjoyed non-fiction audio books read by the author (still my favorite way to hear a biography), and now I have also found that I equally enjoy fiction read by a performer.

Last week, I ended up driving alone during part of our trek (we had 2 vehicles -- long story), and I was ever so glad that a co-worker had given me The Book of the Dun Cow to listen to as I drove! I haven't quiet finished the 7+ hour CD set, but this classic tale is just phenomenal! I would hardily endorse this book as a good family-time read aloud for older children, or, get the audio book for your family road trip! In case you aren't familiar with this 1970's Book of the Year award winner, I'll give you a bit of the storyline. The book is set during a time when God had the animals rule the earth, and kept Wyrm (who is a Satan-like figure) in bondage in the depths of it. The animals can speak and they are unknowingly Wyrm's keepers. The animals live together in farm-like settings, and the rooster is the leader of each coop. The animals are very real-to-life in their day-to-day activities and character traits. For example, the hero of the book, Chauntecleer, is prideful, somewhat snobbish and vain, and somewhat comical (like a rooster), but is also a truly good leader who sacrifices himself to protect the animals in and around his coop. Wyrm is able to influence another coop up-river from Chauntecleer, and the story builds to a dramatic good-versus-evil struggle to the end. The story is loosely based on one of the Canterbury Tales, and does an excellent job painting God as sovereign over His creation. I'm just loving it.

Here are a few other audio books I have enjoyed in the past:

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke -- a good choice if you are driving coast to coast or flying around the world. This baby is 32 hours long but absolutely totally and positively worth it. This link will let you download this book for just $7.49!! Wow! I paid the full price for the CDs back in the day.

2. John Newton from Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken -- wonderful biography that brought me to tears at certain points. Because the author deals honestly with Newton's sinful pre-conversion lifestyle, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one for the whole family. Perhaps older teens and adults.

3. Classics of the Christian Faith narrated by Max McClean -- this box set is a collection of historical works including Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, Jonathan Edward's famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and others. Because each individual work is shorter, I would recommend this for a shorter road trip. What a great way to read these important works that can otherwise be a bit tedious even for adults (a favorite for me is Martin Luther's "Here I Stand" speech -- I've listened to it over and over).

4. 1776 by David McCullough -- I listened to this one the same year as I visited Fort Ticonderoga in New York. Did I mention I love audio books where the author reads his own work? David McCullough has such a gift for writing AND reading his history books.

Here are a few audio books I have on deck, ready for the next road trip:

1. God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew -- excited to hear this biography!

2. The Cross and the Switch Blade by David Wilkerson -- this one looks good for a family to listen to together.

3. The Brother's Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- at 19 hours, I'll need a nice long trip to listen to this classic!

Do you have favorite audio books you think I should check out?

Vacation Week Hiatus

I'm taking a blog break this week as we travel to Ohio for Susie to celebrate with her birthday buddy Sawyer and to South Carolina for my cousin Caitlin's wedding. We're so excited to spend so much time with family.

In the mean time, please read these posts, that I've been re-reading and weeping over. What a good God we have!

The post I wrote when Susie was born.

The post I wrote asking for prayer for poor fragile Sawyer when he was born.

The post I wrote when Sawyer finally came home from the hospital!

We sang the song "Through the Precious Blood" this morning in church and I was reminded of God's faithfulness! Josh told me that in Hawaii, a 1st birthday is a really special celebration, carried over from years ago when the infant morality rate was so high. Reaching age one was remarkable and call for a big celebration. I want to use Susie's and Sawyer's one year birthday as a reminder of how precious life is and how good God is to give us another day and another year!

**** Update: the winners of my Andrew Case book giveaway were Kristie and Amanda. Amanda, I can find you at your blog, but Kristie, I don't know your last name or anything else! Come on back and leave me a comment with an e-mail address I can contact you at to get your address. Congrats, you guys!!

She'll have her cake and feed them, too

I've debated about this post. I've prayed about it. And I decided to go ahead and write it. It's 2 parts: the first is Susie's birthday cake recipe, and the second is Susie's birthday letter and present.

Part 1: "She'll have her cake"

Sue Benzing's Whipped Cream Frosting

4 T. Flour, 1 c. milk, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. margarine or butter, 1 t. vanilla

Whisk flour and milk and cook together until very thick. Cool in fridge till chilled. Whip sugar and butter together for 15 minutes scraping sides of bowl often. (Sugar mixture will be nearly white) Add flour mixture and vanilla to sugar mixture and mix well. Note: use this frosting while it is still fluffy, and then serve immediately or refrigerate your cake.

This note is from my mom, written in her own handwriting in my sister-in-law's cookbook:
~I got this recipe when I was in Jr. High at Woodward High School in Cincinnati. It became the traditional birthday frosting at our house. For Nate's first birthday I used this frosting tinted yellow to frost a little bear cake. He licked the beaters for the first time!!

And tonight I let Susie lick the beater. Her whole arm was sticky, and she kept saying "mmmm".

Homemade Strawberry Cake

Adapted from Paula Deen’s Hummingbird Cake

Nonstick vegetable spray
All-purpose flour, for pans
3 cups self-rising flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.
- Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Divide batter between prepared pans, filling about halfway up. There will be leftover batter, which I used to make 9 cupcakes. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.
- Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

Part 2: "And feed them, too." Here is the letter I wrote for Susie's birthday gift:

To my beloved daughter Susan Faye on her first birthday:

For your birthday, I searched and searched and thought and thought about what to give you for your present. I wanted to get you a Teddy Bear, but you don’t like fur too much right now! I thought about getting you some toy blocks, or pretty hair bows, but that didn’t seem special enough. But I knew what God wanted me to give you for your birthday when I got a letter in the mail about the children in Africa who don’t have enough food. You saw the pictures of the babies in on the letter and said “Baby! Baby!” You love babies. I wanted to give you something for the poor babies for your birthday, so we gave money to help feed them. I chose to do this because I know that toys are fun, but really not important – and people are important. You are very blessed – you get to have yummy birthday cake for your tummy, and those poor babies do not have any food for their tummies. You have a special new birthday dress to wear, and those poor children have scarcely any clothing.

My prayer for you is that you will grow up to be a girl with a heart full of compassion for the poor and weak, and hands that reach out far and wide to bring grace and peace and healing to those who are hurting.

“Great God, May my Susie be inclined to pour herself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted.

Make her count the garments of salvation as sufficient clothing valued by her as more precious and worthy of care than the adornments of kings and queens.”

I cannot believe it has been a whole year since I first saw your face. Time has gone so fast and Daddy and I have been so very happy to watch you grow. We have enjoyed you -- this precious gift God has lent us. We know that you are not ours to keep – we joyfully give you back to God.

Love, Mama and Daddy

I saved the pictures that came in the letter of the hungry babies so Susie can see them again as she gets older. The organization I sent money to was World Vision. Click here to read about how you can help with the food crisis in Africa, where right now your donation is multiplied times 7!!

I hope the title of this post doesn't sound trite, but this is the approach I took to her birthday -- enjoying and celebrating the blessing of my daughter, while also taking thought to what truly counts. . . in the long run.

Susie's Birthday Book

When I read a biography of Elizabeth Prentiss (author and hymn-writer in the 19th century), I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she wrote not only books for adults, but also for children. Even more pleasing, in my mind, was that her first popular children's work was a book called Little Susy's Six Birthdays. Oh! I thought, I'd certainly like to read that!!

Well, good news for me, I found it free online! Now, you won't get the pleasing cloth bound cover, which is precious indeed, but the online version does contain many of the original illustrations. I printed off the online book and spiral bound it to give to MY Susie to keep as a birthday memory book! My thinking was that I would put in pictures from her birthday each year and have her party guests sign their names by the chapter that corresponds with that year's birthday. And then, each year, we can read the chapters leading up to the birthday she is having, and read a NEW chapter ON her birthday.

This book is just so sweet and cute! I was nearly giggling aloud when I read how she portrayed the children -- it really was a delight. Here is the introduction:

TO THE CHILDREN WHO READ THIS BOOK

MY DEAR LITTLE FRIENDS:

This book was written on purpose for you. While I was writing it, I often said to myself, I hope this will please Mally and Willie! I wonder how Sarah and Louisa will like it? Then I thought that I would read what I had written, to a few children, to see what they would say. Because if it failed to interest them, I should be ashamed to have it printed and sent to other children. So I read it to several. Some of them were quite large children, larger than any of you; and other others were small. One of them was nine years old, and one seven, and one six, and one five; and when I saw them smile, as if they were pleased, I was very glad, indeed. And when one of them said she hoped I would print as many as two, one for her and one for her cousin, I felt still more delighted, and thought I would have one for everybody's cousin. A great many little Johnnies and Geordies; many little Nellies and Hatties, will read about Susy's birthdays. Wherein she was good, I hope you will all be like her; and then your birthdays will be happy ones. Sometimes little children don't live to spend six birthdays in this world. They go to heaven and spend them there; and they are better and happier days that any little Susy ever knew. But now I must bid you good-bye. Perhaps I shall write another story for you one of these days.

AUNT SUSAN

I'm so excited to have found this book to use as a special birthday book!! I'm wondering if any of you have birthday book traditions in your family? And in honor of Susie's birthday, don't forget to go here to enter my giveaway of Andrew Case's excellent book of prayers for parents. I'm also linking up to Feed Me Books Friday, so check out more book recommendations there!

Susie's birthday bib and more

I've been working on a couple of projects for my little birthday girl, and here are some pictures. I'm linking up to Get Your Craft On at "Today's Creative Blog".

Bib and #1 onesie. The background is a vintage strawberry tablecloth someone gave me as a wedding gift. I thought it would be perfect to use for a springy first birthday party. I accidentally bought the "no-sew" iron on stuff, and at first I was bummed, because I couldn't sew the 1 on the bib. It's been handy, though. . . made the onesie very quick. Just hope it holds up in wash (it said it would!).

Here is the most recent (and incomplete) project. It started out to be a high-chair banner (going to make one for my nephew, too, and I thought it'd be cute for them to have banners with their names on them on their little side-by-side high chairs when they eat cake. HowEVER, I lazily made my triangle pattern as long as the 1/3 yard fabric I had so I wouldn't have to cut one side of it. So the triangles are huge. Perhaps they can be wall banners. . . like behind their high chairs. Here's a few photos of how I did (am doing) it.

#1 -- choose your fabrics. These chose me. I had leftover gingham from the bib and that fruit fabric I fell in love with in Susie's first "Mod Bonnet".


#2 -- make your triangle pattern. This was very easy. Just make a right angle triangle with printer paper and a ruler -- whatever size you think works. Then use the pattern on the fold of the fabric. I SAY it is easy. . . but I would not have thought of it if I had not found something similar on a blog. I just do not think creatively like that. . . on my own.

#3 -- print off letters and cut them out. I made these bold and 500 size font. Again, I'd do it smaller if I did it over again.

#4 -- let the birthday baby play with the paper scraps. After all, she does not eat paper too much anymore.

#5 -- trace the letters onto the fabric w/iron on stuff. TRACE THEM FACE DOWN. . . or you get this:
The letters were pretty big, so I found it helpful to draw a straight side, and then tape down the stencil while I traced the rest, as shown with the "E":#6 -- cut out the letters and iron them onto the triangles. This was probably the fastest part. I was glad for the grid the gingham gave me for some of the letters, because I really wanted them to be straight.

#7 -- sew onto backs, trim with pinking shears, and attach bias tape. . . still to do. . . OR, if I decide to call it, I'll just attach them with clothespins. Which would be ok, just temporary, which is a bummer. Votes on what I should do? Any ideas for what is quickest?

Don't forget to enter my drawing for Andrew Case's book Setting Their Hope in God! Drawing ends Sunday, Susie's first birthday!

Dinner Time Reading

Do you have a time of devotions with your family? I am so grateful that my husband leads us in this way at dinner time. Now for us, dinner time is not every evening (because of work conflicts), so we sometimes have lunch time devotions or even breakfast devotions. When I was working full time, and racing home to spend 20 minutes with Josh at dinner before he raced out to work, we still tried to have a few evenings where we ate together and read and prayed. Sometimes we would simply read Scripture, but lately we've worked through reading books together. Here is what we have read, and I hope these are helpful suggestions to you:


1. Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware.
I wrote about this book when it first came out, and since then have had a child, and was blessed to have Dr. Ware sign and give a copy to Susie (see photo -- this is an older picture of Susie at the book signing). I thought we'd probably keep it on the shelf for a few more years, but Josh suggested we use it for our family devotion time, and I'm so glad he did! We've really enjoyed these short chapters -- it certainly isn't just for children! I know a family that used this book in their family devotion time, and their youngest child is in 7th grade, the oldest are in college. Dr. Ware has written it in a simple and pleasing style that a child can follow, with some really great examples to make "big truths" make sense to "young hearts", but this systematic theology is encouraging and instructive to parents as well.

2. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
We went through this book in our small group at church, and it just made sense to read it together in small segments. The book is broken down into reasonably small sections making a longer book like this work well for dinner time reading. The listeners were all adults (Susie did not listen much), but I think you could read this to a family with older children, as well. Certainly you might not expect them to understand everything, but it's good for them to see Mom and Dad listening and understanding. Or if you are empty-nesters or married without children, you might enjoy reading this book as a couple.

3. Setting Their Hope in God by Andrew Case
I don't think you'll find a better resource for praying for your children. Here is the beautiful prayer I read today (reworded for my own daughter):

"Heavenly Father,
As for me, my prayer is to You.
At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in Your saving faithfulness. And my prayer is this:
Deliver my daughter from sinking in the mire of sin;
Let her be delivered from the deep waters of vanity.
Let not the flood sweep over her, or the deep swallow her up, or the pit of despair close its mouth over her.
Answer me, Oh LORD, or Your steadfast love is good;
According to Your abundant mercy turn to her.
Draw near to her soul, redeem her;
Ransom her because of her frailty."

Wow. I paused after each statement and considered the weight of what I was praying. There is nothing more important than this sort of prayer for our children. I am giving away this book -- go here to enter my drawing if you have not yet.

I wanted to finish with some tips for dinner time reading. This will look to your family unique to your children and their personalities, but this is how it goes down with the Neislers. We have chosen to have this time with Susie at the table with us. Obviously, she does not understand what we are reading, and cannot be counted on to stay quiet. :) But I want her to grow up never being able to remember the time "before" she started joining us for our devotions, so we have her there, loudness and all. We do not have dinner time reading every single day, but usually several times a week at least. Often, we serve ourselves food, and then Josh reads as I feed Susie. Sometimes he reads while Susie and I both eat. Sometimes I read so he can shovel down his food and run out the door and I feed Susie with the other hand (this is not too hard). There have been a few times when he has read after we are finished eating, and I just give Susie Cheerios and a cup of water to keep herself happy -- and fairly quiet. There is something incredibly special about being together as a family like this, and I encourage your family to try to have these times whenever your busy schedule allows!

Emily's Summer Reading List

My sister Emily has asked me for a summer reading list for about 5 years in a row now (does that sound right, Emma?), and I am happy to oblige. She is taking summer classes at the community college, so we're keeping this list pretty short, so she can have time to get in her required reading. I'm inviting you all to have a look at the list I'm making her, but this post is to Emily. Here is her 2010 list:


1. Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman. When I read this, Emily, I thought of you right away, which might sound weird since you don't have children. Well, you do sort of have a child, Mercedes, and you work with kids at church. Also, you are planning to be a counselor, and this would be a great resource for you! It's really short and easy to read, and while I don't think I'll be 100% following all that she suggests, I think she does have some really good advice. Her stories are pretty funny, and the examples are really helpful. If you order it from Blue Kangaroo Books, I'll pay you back for it, because I want that book anyway!



2. Elizabeth Prentiss; More Love to Thee by Sharon James. Fantastic biography! I would recommend reading Stepping Heavenward first, but I think I assigned that for you last summer (or the one before), so I'm sure you've already read it. If you remember that story at all, it will be interesting to you to see how much of her own life Elizabeth Prentiss put into her fiction. I have this book if you want to borrow it.



3. Twice Freed by Patricia St. John. This is a fictional book about the slave Onesimus from the book of Philemon, and it is REALLY GOOD (so far. . . it's on my summer reading list, too!). Patricia St. John is an older, but really popular author for children -- she wrote mostly during the 1950's and '60's. So this book is smaller, and probably geared toward teenagers (Onesimus is 15 in the story), but I think you will really like it. Looks like it's gearing up to have a bit of a love story, but not in the cheesy "Dusty the cowboy swept the perfect Christian girl Lacy off her feet" like typical Christian fiction (sorry for those of you who like that genre. . . I just don't).

Totey's Monster Birthday Bib

So, I have never before written a crafting post on my blog. But I really enjoyed making this bib for my nephew's first birthday, so I'm putting pictures up here, and linking up with Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft on Tuesday!

I got the pattern for the bib here and made a couple of bibs with the pattern just as it was. Then I decided to make it bigger for my nephew (more space for the appliques).

I chose green gingham for the bib background (originally I'd picked orange with spots -- it seemed monster-y, but it was really dark, and the monster and cupcake didn't stand out). I LOVE gingham, and it was more babyish, I think. The monster, hat and cupcake I cut out of felt and scrap fabric (free hand . . . believe me, I'm no artist, but I looked for pictures of monsters for EVER before I started), and then sewed them on by hand using a small embroidery hoop (lots of blogs with tutorials on doing felt applique out there).

Next I sewed the green bib front to the terry cloth backing (using a machine I borrowed from a friend) and then turned it inside out. Final step -- sewing a little border around the edge to make it look more finished. I still don't have a fastener for it, but I might do a snap if I can borrow my friend's snap press again. Otherwise, I'll probably do velcro, but I've gotta wait for a new coupon to Jo Ann's. . . I'm all for making a project last a long time as long as I can keep getting my supplies for dirt cheap.

Possible next projects? Finishing the bib for my daughter's birthday (she and my nephew are having a joint party) and maybe making a flag banner with my leftover material! You never know!

Setting Their Hope in God -- and book giveaway

My friend Andrew Case has written several books, but his latest has really captured my heart. This book is called Setting Their Hope in God, and it is a book of prayers for your children. Specifically, it is a book praying scripture for your children, pleading on behalf of your child's soul, and focusing your own heart on a big and GREAT God.

Do you, like me, find yourself praying almost the same things over and over for your child? You may pray for their health, safety, happiness, obedience and security. You may even pray for their salvation, but you still find yourself praying (as Dr. Donald Whitney says) "The same old things about the same old things." When I would put Susie to bed at night, I would TRY to find the words to pray for her salvation, to pray for her future, or just to pray for her to get a good night sleep! But inevitably, I mostly found myself repeating the same thing. I didn't want to do that! I want to be a prayer warrior for my daughter, to bring her soul before the throne of grace.

So I was delighted when Andrew gave his book away to the families in our church. Just reading the introduction and recommendations, I was nearly in tears! How could I neglect the life and soul of my precious daughter by failing to pray for her earnestly? This book has become a part of my quiet time -- each page has a new passage of scripture written into a prayer. Here are some key things I appreciate about this book of prayers:

1. This book is God-centered. When reading the prayer, your heart is focused on God, causing you to delight in Him in a fresh way. It may sound funny, but it is completely possible to be child-centered in your prayers. My love for my daughter is so deep, that I can just set my heart on her, rather than setting my heart on the good God who gave her to me.

2. Each new prayer varies widely from the one before, not just in the wording, but also in the concept, making this book applicable for parents with children of all ages. But the aim is the same throughout.

3. This book enables me to meditate on God's precious Word, often throughout the day. Several times when I have read a prayer in the morning, I can "re-pray" that prayer in my own words when I put Susie to be that night. That means at least part of that passage has remained in my mind all day!

4. The author's desire and intent to bless families is crystal clear. I know Andrew Case, and he is not writing these books to make money (demonstrated by his willingness to give a copy to each family in our church!). I'm putting up a link to Andrew's website where you can download the PDF of this book for free or purchase the book for under $5 (you can also buy it on Amazon, but it costs $9.99). Additionally, I am giving away two free copies to anyone who is interested in enriching their prayers for their children. Just leave me a comment, letting me know you want to enter the drawing, and put the names of your kiddos (or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, or a friend you'd like to give this to!). I will put your comments in a hat and randomly draw 2 on Sunday, May 30th. . . which happens to be Susie's first birthday!

I am linking this post to Feed Me Books Friday over at The Adventure of Motherhood, because it is something I am reading and I could see reading some of these prayers out loud to your children when you pray for them at bedtime. So, though it's not a children's book, I think it more than applies.

Moo, Baa, La La La . . . and book storage for Baby

I chose Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton to share for Feed Me Books Friday, because it is a board book that Susie has suddenly decided she loves. A friend gave me this book at a baby shower, saying it was a fave for her kiddos, and I expected Susie to be into it, too. It took her a while to warm up, I must say. I guess the illustrations weren't super appealing for a very young baby (she seemed to be more into the really bright, colorful ones, and things with real pictures). Now she LOVES it! It's the perfect length for her, and it rhymes and is funny. I do the animal sounds nice and loud. I remember Sandra Boynton being a big favorite at Blue Kangaroo Books, a children's bookstore in Illinois (where I had the VERY fun privilege of working!). I see how catchy she is when you are reading her out loud, over and over. I'd really rather read this book 4 times straight than just a book naming the animals on each page (we read those, too). If you aren't already a Sandra Boynton fan, check her out!

Here is a picture of Susie looking at this book outside the other day. I had this stroke of genius to take a cardboard box and throw some "outside stuff" in it for her to explore. I mostly put in board books. We don't have a real yard or any sort of garage or driveway. We live in an apartment, which has a nice sliding door and bit of grassiness for us to explore outside it. I like to take Sus out to get a bit of outdoor time every day, and unless I haul out a blanket, I'm just putting the books right on the ground. Empty box -- PERFECT for keeping stuff off the grass, and adds to the fun for her dumping it out. I love the way she imitates me pointing at the pictures. Stepping stones to reading!

I also came up with a way to store her board books so they are always available to her! I got these CHEAP little baskets with liners and filled them up. Now, in the picture, I've got them all tidy, but the cool thing is that I can just seriously toss the books in and they look fine. And since it was a set of 2, I can put them in different rooms. I was thinking that as she gets older, and I start getting out more of her paper page books, I can rotate them out of the baskets so there are "new" books for her to look at! This has been a big improvement over the bottom shelf I had initially given her. It was just way too confusing to keep the books she CAN have right underneath Daddy's textbooks, which are "no touch". It's pretty funny when she crawls under her jumpy and looks at her books. It's like a little house to read in!

Susie

Can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted. We've had LOTS going on with traveling! Just wanted to put up a couple pictures.

This is my mom, Susie, as a baby. She's a cutie!

And here is my Susie!!

They look quite alike!! This is the best match I could find, picture-wise, since Sus doesn't stand on her own yet. She actually looks more like the Susie in the first picture in real life.

That's it for now! Off and running and getting ready for Abby's graduation! I've got lots of books to write about, but those will have to wait until later, I guess.

Books My Mother Read

If there ever was a read-aloud queen, it was my mom. She was the poster mother for reading to your children, beginning young, and continuing far past the years when they could read for themselves. Hundreds of golden days were spent with her voice reading stories out loud to her children. I chose a few to share today for Feed Me Books Friday.

The Poky Little Puppy -- who doesn't know this classic? But it is one of the very earliest books I remember. To this day, the sight of a strawberry growing in the grass jars my thoughts to the Poky Puppy's discovery of the strawberry. Last night Susie and I found strawberries growing out our back door, which prompted me to try again with a paper-page book. She was pretty distracted and grabby on the pages, but I tried again while feeding her breakfast this morning. It went GREAT! She was attentive most of the time while I held the book in my left hand, and fed her yogurt with my right. She munched on some Cheerios with her eyes glued to the illustrations. I was so excited to see her progress! This may need to be a morning ritual. Anyway, the Poky Little Puppy is a great mother's day choice, of course, because the Mama dog (who is never pictured in the book), is the moral guiding force. . . that is to say, she teaches her puppies right from wrong -- and they learn their lessons! I remember being EVER so disappointed for Poky Puppy having to go to bed without strawberry shortcake. My mom did a great job emphasizing what a tragedy that was and how Poky Puppy should have just obeyed in the first place!

2. Chicken Soup with Rice -- this is a family fave! Mom must have read this to us a zillion times, because as a toddler, my brother could recite the rhymes "paddle once, paddle twice, paddle chicken soup with rice". If you aren't familiar with this old book, I'll just tell you that it is a book of months, with each month telling you that chicken soup with rice was just the thing to eat! We begged Mom to get this kind of soup at the store (even though I remember not really loving the soup. . . I just wanted it because of the book). Maurice Sendak does the extraordinary illustrations. Here I have January, one side the words, one side the picture. Warning -- this book is addictive! I could read it a million times and recite the rhymes over and over. It's GREAT for preschoolers learning the months of the year, for early readers (because of the repetitive language) and just for fun! Grab a can of Campbells and break out this book for a special lunch time!


3. Poinsettia and Her Family -- written by Felicia Bond, of "If you give a Mouse/Moose/Pig" fame, this out of print book is a gold mine of ADORABLE pictures. I can only say I am too sad Amazon doesn't have the cover image available. I gave this book to my mom for Christmas about 4 years ago, because I'd found a used copy and I knew she's be thrilled. We used to get the Poinsettia books from the library as kids, and Mom could relate to poor Poinsettia who was just looking for a quiet place to read her book, but her house was full of siblings lying around "like seals". I've been searching for a link to show you some illustrations from the book, but you'll just have to take me on blind faith. Look for this oldie-but-goodie at the library!!

My Mother's Eyes

Abby with Mom on her last mother's day on earth

Mom had green eyes. When she wore contacts, she sometimes ordered the tinted ones to make them more green. She wore those hard contact lenses that almost no-one wears anymore. She had to buy special cleaning solution that was not cheap.

Mom's eyesight was always poor. She got glasses as a little girl, so all her childhood yearbook photos were just a little bit geeky. She had those really cool cat-eye glasses in junior high, but when she'd look back at those pictures she said those glasses were awful (I like them).

When I was in 4th grade, the eye doctor said "Oh, mom, she has eyes like yours." He had finished examining my siblings, but when he came to me, he discovered I needed glasses. I remember his words so clearly "she has eyes like yours" -- I actually felt flattered about that. It meant something special, in my 9-year-old mind. So I went off to pick my first pair of glasses (and if you think 1950's lenses for children were bad, then please take a look at what the 1980's had to offer us!); they were blue/clear plastic frames. It was great to be able to see clearly.

I remember Mom mentioning that she'd like to have corrective surgery so that she could just jump up in the morning and see right away (years later I totally understand this). One time when Anna and I had a sleepover, we were being a bit loud in the basement, and Mom jumped out of bed, grabbed her glasses and came down to let us know. But we all had a hard time taking her seriously because she'd grabbed her sunglasses. She burst out laughing along with us.

Mom wore contacts the majority of my life, and her in glasses was equivalent to her being sick or having just woke up. Then in 2006, she had a big scare with her eyes when one of the retinas detached and that eye went blind. She had corrective surgery and had to spend days with her head parallel with the floor. Then she had the surgery on the other eye, because it was about to detach. Then the same eye detached again, and she had the surgery again. That last time she had to keep her head down for something like 2 weeks. She could only get up momentarily to go to the bathroom. I remember how her poor sore eye looked when my dad put the medicine in it when she got up. I felt so bad for her during these times. She was such a trooper, watching tv with a mirror on the floor, or listening to audio books or even reading with her one good eye!

The sad thing was that Mom had to wear glasses all the time during this time, and I know she disliked it. She did look different, not her usual contact-Mom self. And when she was able to go back to contacts, her eyes suffered a bit from the surgeries and one of them was rather squintier than the other.

But when she would look at you with an excited face, her eyes lit up just the same. I can still picture her sitting on the love seat in the living room, talking to me with eyes lit up.

Mom had a beautiful smile. People often commented about her infectious smile, but I think it really was her eyes smiling that was so infectious. It's sweet to me to think that God gave her those eyes, with all their defects and they were used to bring so much joy to others.

Those eyes laughed at thousands of childish antics. They poured over millions of pages of books and magazines. Those eyes looked right into the eyes of a toddler, issuing instructions for obedience. They closely examined stitches in quilts, samplers and her own sewing. They conveyed love to her family. They poured out tears at the drop of a hat -- in joy or sorrow or pity or empathy.

When Mom died, we found that she had wanted to be a donor. Most of her body we weren't able to donate because of a small spot of skin cancer from years ago, but we were able to donate her eyes. Those eyes. Oh, they gave her such trouble, but what tools they were for helping others. And selflessly she gave them away, helping others after she no longer had use for them herself.

Now when I think of the optometrist saying my eyes were like Mom's, I can only think "I hope so!"

Instructing the next generation

Dear readers,

One of the greatest gifts to your children is to teach them to show love and respect to the elderly. One of the greatest ways to honor the aged is to bring children to love on them. Here is a picture of my niece Cede visiting my grandmother in the nursing home last weekend.



Now, Cede does not know Gram. She has only met her a few times (and in a 4-year-old's life, that is not many). But Cede has spent plenty of time in the nursing home, visiting the elderly, and has been shown how to give her affection freely.

My mother used to regularly take us to visit her aunts and uncles (or maybe they were her GREAT-aunts) in the nursing home when we were really little. Many children develop a fear of these people or places because they just don't have the opportunities to develop familiarity with the residents living there.

Here's a Mother's day idea: take your child to visit a nursing home this week! If you don't have any relatives you can visit, then go visit strangers. I promise, the residents won't be sorry to see some child-like faces!

Honoring Gram

This week I hope to post several times in honor of Mother's Day. Last year I had a difficult time dealing with this holiday because I had just lost my mom, Sue Benzing, and was waiting for my daughter to be born. There were too many emotions for me to struggle with at that time, and I could hardly look at the Mother's day card section in the store. I wanted to honor my mom, but I couldn't think of a single thing to do. I was at a loss, and was still hurting so much from my recent loss, that the holiday came and went without doing much special.

This year I'm choosing to honor my mom by celebrating Mother's day. I have a daughter this year, and get to celebrate for the first time!! I'm also focusing on helping others love and honor and remember their moms (or other precious person who is gone). Yesterday I saw my sisters and had a gift for each of them for Mother's Day. I'd gotten these beautiful picture frames at Target that said:

"Mother. . . All that I am, and hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~ Abraham Lincoln"

I put a picture of each of them with Mom in the frame. They turned out really pretty, and I was so happy with them.

I also was able to visit my grandmother, Helen Wilkinson yesterday. She has Alzheimer's and lives in a very nice home for the elderly with dementia. The staff are just wonderful, and we were able to sit and talk with Gram for a little while. Of course she does not know us at all, and when we talk, it very rarely makes any sense, but she is entirely pleasant, and you can at least feel like she's pleased to be having the conversation with you. Here is a picture of my sisters, my niece and me with Gram. I want to tell you a little bit of what I remember about having Gram as an active part of my life as a little girl:

• Gram always painted her nails beige. She'd paint ours, too, but hers looked better because they were long.
• Gram sewed a lot. She taught us to piece quilts by hand. For a long time, Anna and I had a hand in part of every quilt she was putting together. It was such a warm, relaxing pastime to enjoy together, and I remember absolutely loving it.
  
• Gram loved sports, especially baseball (the Reds) and football (the Bengals). She often told us about going to Red's games at Crosley Field (she'd say "Crosley Feel") when she was a young lady. We'd watch the games with her at her house, unless Grandad didn't want to watch sports (so funny that she liked them and he didn't!). Then we'd listen to it on the radio. Gram went to the All-Star game in 1976 with my dad (who is her son-in-law) and his brother. I bet they had a ball.
  
• You could always get Gram to laugh at your story. She gave you just the response you wanted. Probably ever since, I have found some of the best people to be around are the ones who easily laugh at what is funny. It's a gift -- a way to love others.
• Gram baked for special occasions. She'd ALWAYS make Cherry Delight (pronounce that by emphasizing the DE-light), and we'd rave and rave. She made several special occasion cakes as well, but often said pies were not her thing.
• Every morning Gram ate half of a bagel with cream cheese and strawberry preserves. For the longest time, she'd get her bagels at this amazing authentic place in Cincinnati that had sold bagels forever (as in, before they were popular and available everywhere -- Cincy had/has a large Jewish population). We LOOOooooooved going to the bagel store with her, because you could taste samples and choose your own kind. Gram also drank coffee with cream and sugar. The color of it kind of matched her nail polish.
• Gram came to stay with us in all the houses and states we lived in. Sometimes it was when Mom and Dad were out of town. You could count on lots of board games being played (and quilts pieced).
• Gram hooked us on the TV show Matlock. It was a fave (we didn't watch much tv).
• We begged Gram to retell old stories. As we got older, and her Alzheimer's began to show up, that was mostly what she told. Right now I'd love to rehear one. Here are some amazing stories: Gram killed a copperhead snake when she was a little girl with a hoe. Gram eloped with Grandad when she was 15.

I wanted to write about this woman, who now lives a simple little unnoticed life. I want to show her honor, even though she cannot know I am doing so. Helen Wilkinson was my mom's Mother, and my heart weeps to think that her name not receive a little bit of fame that it deserves. If you knew Helen Wilkinson, and have a memory to add, please post a comment and share it.

What are you planning to do to honor your mother this week? Do you do anything in someone's memory? I'll be posting more about motherhood and my own Mom as the week goes on. In the meantime, if you are new to my blog, you can click the label "My Mom" to read a few posts about Sue Benzing. Thank you for showing her honor by doing so.