compassion

this a re-post from 11.24.2008

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after a conversation i had with my husband last night, a question has been on my mind all day: how do you teach compassion?

i read this post this morning and it brought me to tears. i know that there are many, many people around the world (even in our own country) that suffer, and my heart aches for them. but how do you teach that? how do you teach people to feel and connect with others at that level?

especially as a parent, how do we teach compassion to our children? you can teach them that it's good to help others who are in need of help. but where does the idea of "helping because it's the right thing to do" transcend into helping because your heart is sympathetic to the person's suffering?

there are people who choose to give their time and/or money to charities because it's the right thing to do. or perhaps they were made to feel guilty into giving. or because the money they give or the time they commit x number of hours a month looks good on their resume. but what do you truly gain from that? i was guilty of that especially when i began to prepare myself for college. i participated in school sponsored community service activities. helped out on my own time at the food bank. but truly, what was it for? just one more thing to check off on my college application. in all honesty, after i got into college, never once did i take the time to offer my time in the community. how does it help others in need when the only time or money you're willing to sacrifice is when it's beneficial for you? obviously, i did not fully understand the meaning of compassion (and i was technically already an adult).

so how do you teach compassion (to children and adults)? there's probably no way to truly teach compassion. i know that as parents, all we can do to teach them about compassion is by showing compassion to others. not simply giving money to this charity or that organization when it's convenient for us. but to give our money sacrificially. or to give our time in serving our community, whether it be to a charitable organization or helping a friend who is suffering. we can show our children what compassion is all about by striving to live out what it means on a daily basis.

 

oh baby :: holy giant ball!

i thought i "popped" at 22 weeks, but now my belly feels even more ginormous.  you can say all you want about it not looking that big...but i. feel. big.

and my midwife only reaffirmed my giant belly suspicions this past monday when she said i was measuring at 28 weeks.  that's all well and good, except i'm 27 weeks today.  that means i'm measuring about 1.5 weeks bigger than where i'm supposed to be.

"i woudn't worry about it.  you probably just have some extra fluid," my midwife tells me reassuringly.

ha!  that's what she said when i was pregnant with gibson.  but there was no extra fluid.  just a big baby (compare emma at 6 lbs 15 oz and gibson at 8 lbs 4 oz. big, wouldn't you say?).

i gained 8.8 lbs in the last month.  that's a little over 2 lbs a week.  and now i'm supposed to gain about a pound a week until the end of my pregnancy?  i don't think i'll be pushing out a 7 lb baby by march.

right on target for another big one :)

wordless wednesday::getting in the mood

checking out some of the sights and sounds downtown, bundled up in our winter coats, helps gets us in the mood for the christmas season...

  
more wordless wednesday here and here.

top ten tuesday

this post was meant for last week, but since we had no internet access it was delayed until today.

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the mall.  i don't think i've been to one in quite some time.  and now that peak christmas shopping has begun, i have no desire whatsoever to even head out to a mall.  

i used to be a mall shopper back in my teen years, when the desire to feel like one of the crowd sometimes overtook any sense of originality.  if you've followed this blog for a while, it's obvious that my perspectives about mainstream/big box shopping has changed.  granted, i do enjoy a little target fix once in a while (hey, those diapers are a necessity when you've got an 18 month old!), but when it comes to finding gifts for others (or for me) those big box chains are not on the top of my list.

if you are local, there are many unique, independent businesses, shops, and artists around cleveland that could use your support this holiday season (if you're not local, then consider supporting the local businesses in your area).  sure, the items there may cost a bit more, but you know that more (if not all) of your money is helping support and sustain the local economy.  and you're not going to get some award for giving the most gifts, so it's not even about how much you give.  sometimes it's not about quantity, but about quality.

top ten local spots for your christmas shopping (in no particular order):

1. room service and made in the 216 holiday shoppe. 

they have a new store location at 2078 w 25th street (next door to voodoo monkey tattoo shop), where both the store and the holiday shoppe will be in one building.  it's a great new space, and the shop has many things to offer.

grand re-opening & made in the 216 holiday shoppe event.

a basket perfect for little hands to get into.

go on and spread some of that holiday cheer!

 2. salty not sweet. located on 15613 waterloo road, this little boutique features many local cleveland artists.  jewelry, soaps, cards, children's items, clothing...seriously a place to check out.

3. cleveland handmade market's last minute market.

this event is scheduled for saturday, december 18 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  it's free admission, but early bird tickets are available for $5 with proceeds going to the hunger network of greater cleveland.  just from looking at the seller's list, this is going to be a huge show.

4. bazaar bizarre.

the east side event already happened a couple of weeks ago, but the west side event is going on this weekend.  there are A LOT of vendors and we always enjoy going each year.  admission is free, but make sure you have some cash on hand since not all vendors are capable of accepting debit/credit cards.

5. lilly's handmade chocolates.
you may have heard us rave about this place before, but i'm going to rave about it again.  the truffles are D-vine, and perhaps a must-have for any chocolate aficionado.  and though i've never tried their "hot chocolate", i think it sounds decadent and perfect for this cold, wintry season.

6. native cleveland.
a new shop located on 15813 waterloo road selling many fantastic local items (they'll be carrying c.l.e. clothing co. so you can rock that cleveland pride).  we have yet to check out this new place, but will certainly plan on it soon!

7. cleveland craft coalition holiday shoppe.
the holiday shoppe is located on 1387 sloane ave, lakewood, oh (home of river colors studio).  cleveland craft coalition has regular shows the 1st saturday of every month at bela dubby in lakewood (though they're taking a short break until the new year), and their holiday shoppe is a great extension of their monthly shows.  make sure to stop by!

8. city buddha.
this local store makes its home on 1807 coventry road and has some fun, exotic gifts.  quite honestly it reminds me of home.  many of the products there are actually made in indonesia so how can i not love this place?  and what i really, really, REALLY love there is their furniture, though i'm not certain if it's all for sale or only some of the pieces.

9. big fun.
if you're already at city buddha, why not stop by 1814 coventry road and check out this super cool toy store.  it's like walking into a giant treasure chest full of toys and memorabilia from days of yore.  if you live on the west side, you don't even have to drive to the east side to check this place out because they've got a second location at 11512 clifton blvd.  locally owned and operated, this store has been around for 20 years, and will certainly delight people of all ages.

10. go vinyl: my mind's eye records (west side) and blue arrow records (east side).
this last one goes out to my husband who is capable of spending hours upon hours at a record store.  my mind's eye records is located at 13727 madison ave in lakewood, while blue arrow records is located at 16001 waterloo rd in cleveland.  they're not affiliated but i thought i'd mention a record store for each side of town.  music snobs like my husband will certainly enjoy a spot like this...though i wouldn't recommend picking out a record for them as a gift unless they have mentioned a specific album.  better off getting a gift certificate from there or something of the like.

this is just a small compilation of many other local businesses around town that you can support. 

forget the mall!  buy local.  buy handmade. buy cleveland.

the calm before the storm

i know it's been rather quiet on here.  we were having some internet connection issues after switching providers last week. i had wanted to blog about a few things, and hopefully i can play catch up this week.

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due to the nature of my husband's job, the christmas season is ALWAYS the busiest time of year for him.  the 2 weeks before Christmas is always blacked out on his work calendar.  and for me, i black out pretty much all the days after thanksgiving up to Christmas Eve to mentally prepare myself for the fact that i will most likely see very little of him until Christmas day.  plus, if he does come home early (or at his usual time) then i will be pleasantly surprised instead of being disappointed that he's constantly home late or has to work 6 (long) days a week.

in preparation for this madness his work calls "peak," my dear husband decided to take me out before the holiday storm hits full force and we end up losing any chance of quality one-on-one time.

thanks to gram, we left the kids at home for a few hours and had a very enjoyable evening that took me back to the days before we were married.

after picking up some coffee, we made a stop at unique thrift and had the best time thrifting together. i think this place trumps all the other thrift stores we've visited here in cleveland, and i can't believe that we've never been here until now.

we spent an hour or so of explorating (though we could have stayed longer), then finished off our evening with dinner at heck's cafe in ohio city.  my lamb burger with cucumber-feta aioli and fries really hit the spot. it was a perfect end to the night.

the evening had a certain nostalgic feel to it for me.  eat-and-thrift or thrift-and-eat or coffee-and-thrift made up a good chunk of our time together when we were still dating. quality thrifting is not as easy with the kiddies since you can't spend more than an hour in the store, and your attention is divided between keeping an eye on the kids and searching through all the stuff for those cool finds.  so this date night was a treat that brought back some great memories, and time spent together reconnecting, refocusing and re-energizing together as a couple.

ready for the storm now...

christmas tradition: jesse tree

i thought i would re-post this from last year, since we started our jesse tree today. 

observing advent is not a requirement, though for us advent is a time that has helped us as a family re-focus on the reason why we celebrate christmas at all.  for our children, observing advent by means of the jesse tree has helped keep them (especially ty) from being overly focused on the consumerist aspects of the holiday season.

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our jesse tree is the first new christmas tradition out of three that we have started this year (i'll cover the other two another time).

i originally had planned on starting a jesse tree two years ago after coming across shannon's post about her jesse tree, but for some reason never got around to it.  well, i know the reason...i wanted to make my own ornaments and by the time i got it together christmas was literally around the corner.

if you are not familiar with the jesse tree, it is an advent calendar of sorts but includes daily scripture reading beginning from creation all the way to the birth of Jesus.  the purpose of the jesse tree is to bring the focus on the true meaning of christmas, why we celebrate it, and to show how all the old testament prophecies point to the coming of Jesus.

we used the daily scripture and devotionals from here, though there are many other resources you can use (or augment or make your own devotionals to suit the unique needs of your family).  simple mom provides you with a simple explanation and how-to along with links to other jesse tree resources.

the majority of our ornaments are based on the pictures from the devotionals site and most are made from felt.  most turned out great, though there are some that i'll re-make again for next year.  our tree is simply a twig with lots of branches (for ornament hanging) placed in a big mug with brown paper to hold it up.  i like the understated simplicity of the twig and how well it displays the ornaments.




















we all have learned a lot during our special jesse tree time.  you can often hear emma eagerly ask what we'll be learning today for our jesse tree, and it makes me smile to see such eagerness!  with tyler, we have had some great discussions following the scripture reading, and he has surprised us on a few occassions with some of his responses.

 one of the best things about this new tradition is the meaningful time we are able to spend together as a family.  we are so glad we can incorporate this new tradition into our christmas celebration!

originally posted 12.19.2009

the feast

we had a very enjoyable thanksgiving day with family, and were glad to be able to host again.  this year i got smart and prepped most of the thanksgiving meal before hand.


preparation...

thanksgiving day spread...

the day's menu...

appetizer and pre-meal snack:

artichoke dip (thanks to corrie)

pumpkin chocolate chip bread

main course:

oven roasted turkey (of course!)

apple-cranberry sausage stuffing

creamy sweet potatoes with candied pecans and brown sugar

garlic mashed potatoes

grilled asparagus tossed in olive oil and our magic salt

homemade cranberry sauce

homemade dinner rolls

dessert (thanks to gram):

apple pie

pecan pie

pumpkin cake

filled with a thankful heart, a full tummy and a house full of family, i managed to take many photos of the glorious food but successfully neglected to take pictures of the wonderful people.

sometimes enjoying the moment means forgetting about the camera.

wordless wednessday::stick it to me

 

more wordless wednesday here.

top ten tuesday

oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever.  

let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble,

psalm 107:1-2

the thanksgiving holiday is upon us, and much like last year it gets me thinking as to why i really celebrate it.  is it so that i can cook a massive turkey and wear stretch pants all day to allow for the extra expansion of my thighs and belly after some serious eating?  where is my heart in all of this? 

remembering to be thankful should not be reserved solely for the holiday season, but should be addressed through out the year.  however, the coming holiday season provides a great reminder for many of us (including me), who have so much already, to be thankful of what we have and appreciate the things we may often take for granted.

top ten reason why i'm thankful:

1. i have a God that loves me.  he is compassionate, faithful and merciful even when i can be a big pain in the you-know-what.  he provides for me and helps me even when i don't deserve it.

2. i have a patient and loving husband who works hard to provide care and comfort for me and our children.

3. i have me some beautiful children...and one more on the way.  it brings me joy to know that our home will be filled with little voices, giggles, laughter...and yes, even the sometimes aggravating chaos loudness that comes along with having a house full of kids.

4. we have been provided with shelter from adverse weather conditions (hot or cold).

5. we have functioning cars!

6. we have never gone hungry, even when it feels like there is no more room in the grocery budget to cut.

7. we have a wonderful church family.

8. fall has been warmer than i expected this year (you know how i LOVE the cold weather...please know that i'm kidding).

9. the awesomeness of the 216.  there are still times (even after 5 years) i miss the west coast (and admittedly, long to go back), but i am so thankful for the new discoveries i've made since living here.  great people.  great community.  cleveland, you have a piece of my heart!

10. having a healthy, low-key pregnancy.  4 more months to go and nothing adverse to report.  boy or girl, this little one will be warmly welcomed in march.

happy thanksgiving!

school days: fall is fun!

we started the month of november with a topical study on autumn, and just finished up last week.

emma and i worked on putting together a "fall is fun" (she made up the title, not me) lapbook and baked apple pie.  both kids had fun raking leaves (well...i did most of the work but i guess it was fun for me too), doing a few nature walks hunting for leaves, acorns, and sticks, and reading plenty of fall related books.

then there was our first attempt at leaf printing...it turned out okay.  messy, but we are happy with the finished product.  i even let gibson have a go, and after a few turns of smashing down painted leaves on the paper with his hand he just tried to eat the paint.  good thing it's non-toxic.

the lapbook provided a very helpful foundation on where to go with the study, and made it easy to incorporate the basic concepts i had listed here.  i think she had a great time putting everything together, and continues to use this lapbook as part of her day to day activities.

lapbook highlights:

we went over the 4 seasons and discussed what the weather was like and what we usually wore for each season.  emma and dad also talked about their favorite season and why during an impromptu daddy-daughter date at malley's.

 the johnny appleseed grace tri-fold sheet was very easy to do.  i was quite impressed with the thoughtful list things emma thanked God for, which i wrote down for her on the inside of the tri-fold.  we have also changed our meal-time prayer this past week to the johnny appleseed grace pictured...i'm glad that my singing voice is somewhat acceptable.

 i added velcro to the apple pattern activity so that emma could do this activity more than once (thanks to living and learning blog for the idea).  this also inspired me to do the same for the pumpkin life cycle (this was also a great opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences between a pumpkin and apple life cycle). 

one surprising observation i made from doing this study was her fondness of mazes.  i printed a rather easy one for her to do to introduce her to the activity and BOOM.  she figured it out in no time.  i printed 2 more for her to do, which i thought would be more of a challenge for her and BOOM.  again, she did them in hardly anytime at all.  this is such a change from a mere 6 months or so ago, when i noticed that mazes provided quite a challenge for her.  i never pushed her to try anymore at that time, since it was obvious she wasn't quite ready.  it's pretty amazing what a little time can do.

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giving credit where credit is due...

"fall is fun" lapbook resources i used:

•  the old schoolhouse autumn treasures download n' go.  i was able to receive this free a year or so back, thanks to granola mom 4 God.  i didn't stick to the pre-planned schedule, but used many of the ideas and activities from this e-book (the reading list was very helpful).
• 1+1+1=1 blog.  she had excellent photos of their fall lapbook and was a great source for some of the links i used to make our lapbook (the maze and "fall is" mini book).
• dltk's holiday activities.  this is where i printed the fall mazes (numbers 2,3 and 4).
• homeschool share johnny appleseed and apples lapbook.
• living and learning blog.
  

fall-related books we read (i think there were a few more, but i've forgotten what they were):

• 10 red apples by pat hutchins(a gibson favorite)
• leaf jumpers by carole gerber
• johnny appleseed by reeve lindbergh
• the apple pie tree by zoe hall(this was another gibson favorite)