Amanda's Books and More: challenges

Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts

Friday, September 6, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #48

Welcome to my weekend blog hop! I'm linking with two other great hops today and I've enjoyed answering their writing prompts for this Friday. My own hop doesn't have a theme, so you are welcome to link your family friendly blog below. Just remember to visit the last two links before yours and leave a comment and make their Saturday sweet.

Friendship Friday's Topic is on Change

I love change. That's because I don't enjoy routine and change allows me to dream new dreams for the future. When I was younger, though, I was more willing to go through huge life-changing experiences.

As my kids grew older, I slowed down with activities and short-term mission outreaches. It was just getting too much for me. I started to feel like I've "been there, done that" and it's time for someone else to go instead. For instances, I went to Zambia twice and Namibia once with two little kids and a breast-feeding baby in tow. Once they were at the school-going age, we settled down.

Hubby, baby Samantha,
Jeremiah and Jessica

A missionary friend with her baby
and me with my baby, Samantha

I slowed down even more when I fell pregnant with Amanda, our fourth child. I don't regret the change of pace. My kids are happy, well-adjusted human beings and that's the main thing. I don't mind if the pace picks up again, but in a different direction. Hahaha! That's just me. Thankfully my hubby likes change too.

The sentence to finish on Finish the Sentence Friday is...

If I had a magic wand, the first thing I'd do is...

...make my belly fat disappear. I don't like exercise too much, so doing it the easy way would make me very happy. "Magic wand, here you go... and, presto!"

After that, I'd have to keep the magic wand a secret, because I wouldn't want to have to deal with all the needy people out there. I'm not God and the job would be too much for me. I'd use it for good, to help others and myself when I needed it, but secretly. And to keep it a secret would be very difficult for me, because I'm a "shout-out" about it kind of person.

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It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

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Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

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Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Protecting Your Child Even from the Relatives – Part 1

Recently I received a phone call from a desperate mom. She told me that her daughter’s grades had dropped drastically and she was no longer communicating with them. The mother decided to make an appointment with the school and she wanted to know from me what the procedure would be.

I always believe in instilling hope in a person when their walls seem to be caving in, so, after answering questions about the school, I said that I believed the daughter was avoiding communicating with them because she didn’t want to hurt their feelings. To me this is monumental. If the child is still on your side, then the task of reaching that child is so much easier. The mom confirmed that her daughter had said something to that affect. I replied, “That’s great! It shows your daughter still loves you!”

Now, the girl had shared with me about a week prior that she was stressed by the grandparents who were visiting. I asked the mom if her daughter’s behavior had changed more during the past week or so. She said it had. I then explained that she had told me how the grandparents had been favoring her younger brother and that she also didn’t like how the grandmother treated her mom.

The mother understood that her daughter might have felt rejected by the grandparents. However, I could sense that she didn’t realize how much it hurt her daughter to see her mom being ill treated too. I used the example of an abusive marriage to explain how her daughter must feel. I described a marriage where the child knew that the father sometimes beat the mother and even if he never hit the child, the child would still be wounded emotionally. It’s important for us as moms to realize that how we allow other people to treat us affects our children.

Another thing I suggested to help the daughter with her emotions was that she should keep a journal and write down her feelings on a daily basis. In this way, she won’t be burying her feelings, but she’ll be able to process them more constructively. I mentioned to the mom that one day her daughter will leave home and if she has unresolved issues then she will carry that baggage with her into her marriage and future family.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Precious Baby

As a baby, Amanda loved teething on corn cobs. I took this picture of her in 2009. Isn’t she just adorable? Many people are born out of unplanned pregnancies and Amanda is one of them. Does that make them less precious? Do they have less purpose? As you can see, we have been immensely blessed to have this child in our lives.

Below I have added previous stories related to the challenges and blessings of having another child. They are listed in order from top to bottom:

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Dora the Explorer

The other day, Amanda received a cute jean dress with Dora the Explorer printed on it. The dress was a hand-me-down from a friend who is a couple years older than her. A lot of the clothes she owns have been handed down; some are even from her sisters. When I first found out that I was pregnant with my fourth child, one of my concerns was how we’d be able to buy all the clothes she would need. I had given all the baby things of her sisters away by that stage, except for one or two sentimental items. Not only did God not let me down, He surprised me with how abundantly He could provide for her.

Amanda hadn’t owned anything with Dora before, so when my four-year-old saw a series of adventure books with Dora at the store, I let her pick one. She chose Dora Saves the Snow Princess. I read it last night to her and her friend. It’s an interactive storybook, so it’s nice to have a friend do the actions and speaking parts with.

Below I have added previous stories related to the challenges and blessings of having another child. They are listed in order from top to bottom:

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happily Ever After

This post follows on from “More than a Prince.”

Amanda with her dad at the Cape Town airport.
Don't you just love the Disney Mermaid suitcase!

It’s funny how little girls get romantic notions. Amanda’s Disney movies send the message that when the pretty girl marries her prince, they live happily ever after. The future holds no more cares or worries. It’s blissful oblivion. From my perspective, they stop existing, because existing means to feel love, happiness, joy, satisfaction, disappointed, discouragement and pain. Life is all these emotions and more.

My advice to any woman wanting the perfect husband is not to go for a prince, but rather go for someone with substance. Find a guy who not only wants to be the champion, but who also wants to champion you. Life will continue after the wedding. It might not always feel like “happily ever after,” but it will be the real kind of existing in a real world.

The best kind of living is one with relevance and purpose.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Surprise, I’m Pregnant!

This story follows on from, "Thinking About Having Another Child?"
You can imagine then how I felt when I found out that I was pregnant! My husband was elated, but I was not so sure. We told the children that same day and they were just as happy as their dad. My son’s excitement surprised me the most. He immediately ran to tell his friends, but since his friends were all boys, they didn’t quite mirror his exuberance.

I went through morning sickness and depression. I lost 8 kg. (which was good for my figure). I noticed something else, that somehow our family, despite all our good intentions, had been experiencing a bit of a disconnect. I don’t know when or how it began, but that independence that I mentioned earlier did not always produce positive results.

During my time of morning sickness, something happened, which made me marvel. Those first few months when I spent most of my time in bed, my son would come and give me a hug. Then my daughter would come and do the same. My other daughter would give words of encouragement and an occasional hug. This was unusual behavior coming from them and of course very appreciated by me. It took this unplanned pregnancy to bring us closer together.

Thinking About Having Another Child?

In 2007, my husband and I already had three kids, ages 7 – 11, who were growing up and becoming independent individuals. They were big enough that life for me was beginning to have some kind of normality to it. To be more specific, I was able to sit down for dinner and eat my meal while it was still hot (without interruptions), watch an entire program on TV, and sleep through the night. Bliss!

My husband and I always wanted a big family, but with things beginning to calm down, I didn’t see the need to disrupt what we had. This story continues in "Surprise, I’m Pregnant!"