Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Joshua's Leap Frog Tag Jr.

I got this adorable Tag Jr. from Leap Frog for my 2 year old.   It is the cutest thing I have ever seen.  It is big enough for little hands to hold and looks like a fat caterpillar to me.  It is a book reading system.  You put Tag Jr. over words and pictures in the book and TagJjr. tells you what the words say or what the pictures are or even ask you to "find" other things on the page.  You need to purchase the right Tag books.  There is Tag and Tag Jr., so make sure you are buying the right ones.

You will need to hook up your Tag Jr. to your computer to download information to it, and upload information from it.  You can have Tag Jr. say your child's name!  "Hello Joshua!" says ours when he turns it on.  You can only download 5 books at a time, put the Leap Frog site makes it very easy to set everything up.Another great addition to the Leap Frog website, is that it will let you know your child's progress. Which book they "read" the most.

As soon as all that is done, show your child how it works.  When they see that all they have to do is touch Tag Jr. to any place on the page and it talks, they will be so excited.  You don't need to hold it over the words or picture, just touch it...and move Tag Jr. and it will "tell" you about what you "tagged".
I really like it and so does my son.  There are many different book from Dr. Seuss's "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You", one of my favorites, to Ni Hao, Kailan.
You can even purchase a great carrying case for up to 5 books and Tag Jr.  It makes it great for traveling in the car! 

I only see a few downsides to this product:
1. You can only download 5 books into the Tag Jr.
2. How long till they no longer make the books for this product?
3. How durable is the Tag Jr.  My 2 year old does not have a gentle touch.  So far, his "touching" has not caused any damage to the unit. 


This products get a 4 out of 5 Mom's Thumbs Up


And  3 1/2  out of 5 Happy Kids






Friday, February 5, 2010

The Ending of the Peru Dilema aka "Door Closes, Door Opens"

Well, last time I posted we were trying to decide.  We prayed about it and decided she should not go.  No matter what the MRI said, it wasn't going to
"magically" make her knee have no pain.  It was an agonizing decision.  We both encouraged her to go, and now we had to take it away.  


At first, she was angry, and I reminded her through my own tears, that it was not a decision we took lightly, nor one done out of punishment.  She finally understood that and wrote this in her blog (and yes, I have permission to share it!) :
  Hey there. So, today I may not be going to Peru *sigh* I'm not mad, more like sad. I'm crushed, but hey, it happens. I'm not mad at my mom and dad, I know that it's not their fault, and it's not Gods fault either. God has been telling my parents not to let me go, cuz he knows best, and now, they get it and are saying no. But it's alright. I wanted to go really bad, but...I dunno. This is just gonna happen all my life, and I have to accept it. I'm more fragile than most, and God is keeping me from harm (or should we say in this case, MAJOR harm). I really don't know how feel now. I guess it's like a longing, deep feeling that I have no idea what it is. Maybe sadness, depression, hurt. It's not anger. I just don't know what it is. I...I think I'm gonna go. 

My response was:

 sweetheart..I think you have a good handle on this. You know God only wants the best for you as do your parents. I think you get to feel disappointed and remember that Paul wanted to go somewhere to PREACH THE GOSPEL and God said no...and I am sure that Paul was thinking..ummm God..but I am going to do good things for you..why wouldn't you let me go??? Seemed the LOGICAL thing to do..but our God never promised to be LOGICAL...as always..His ways are not our ways..and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I hope this helps in any small way. I love you.


She went to church the next day and was met with a "wave" of adults who "could not believe her parents were not going to let her go."  She was very confused and we were, needless to say, a bit irritated.  Of course, none of those  people were here when we made the decision or knew ALL the details involved in the making of the decision.  So, we made a few calls to explain and understanding was spreading out to the "masses".  Here is her next blog post:

Ok, so I go to church today, and the message was applying yourself to God's work. Instantly I had a pain in the pit of my stomach. In the message, pastor said there are 3 things that might be preventing God from using you. So I look at them and I feel guilty. They were sin, doubt and laziness. So I'm thinking, ' Have I done any of these? Is that why God prevented me? Am I doubting? Am I being lazy? Do I have unconfessed sins? After the message, about 10 people came up to me and asked why I wasn't going, and did I start to feel bad. Now, yesterday, mom said that Megan told her Christian said That I would be one to get it. That started making me guilty, and a bit happy, cuz it was so cool Christian thought of me like that. Anyway, for Sunday School, Mrs.Morgan gave a lesson, and it was centered around the same thing. So I have that pain in my stomach again, and I was wishing I could leave, but I knew I couldn't. She said they would be praying, and afterwards, she and Jessie Jensen said I could do office work and Mrs.Hand could stay with me, so I got a small spark of hope, but on the way home, I was so confused. I told John everything that had happened, and I feel so confused. God, are you trying to tell me something? Didn't you just tell my parents you didn't want me to go? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you tormenting me? I just don't understand....... 
 
I commented on this and so did a friend of ours:
 
Mine:
First of all...the three things that could hinder you from serving..you have none of them. You wanted to go..you may have unconfessed sin...but you will take care of that and you do not doubt God. The torment lies in the fact that you made a decision...and now everyone, who doesn't even know the decision, are pointing you another way. In my life, I have always practiced...if there is a will there is a way. I would spend hours trying to come up with scheme after scheme to get what I wanted or do what I wanted. 9 times out of 10, I was never suppose to have or do what I wanted because of it not being what God wanted me to do. So, I see all these people as coming up wi "schemes" to get you to go. Not that they are being evil..just they know your heart. If there was a "scheme" I think God would have revealed it. Megan would say..oh take the time you need to decide...and she isn't saying that...not that she is too blame. There are always deadlines on trips.
Take heart, sweetie, God will open another door for you since this one is closed.

Our Friend:
Shelby, I would have to count myself among the people who were guilty of trying to problem solve for you. Like your mother said, it isn't because we're being evil, we all just think...maybe I can fix this!
NONE of us lives with the aches and pains and discomfort that you put up with every day, and we don't even know what it is we're trying to push you to do. We look at you, and see a heart for God in you, and push you to do things that we think sound right, or seem right. It doesn't make them right for you.
God's timing is perfect, not mine. Acutally, my timing stinks a bit. Know that I love YOU with all my heart, and God is using you right now to work in us, and maybe THAT was the whole point of this. I'm sorry if you have been tortured on my behalf. God can use you here, in Northville, just as well as he can use you on the other side of the world.
I will pray that God will give you peace, and that your stomach will stop hurting!
 
 
Within an hour, there was an OPEN door!  Something in the states, a few states south, doing stuff that IF her knee is still bothering her, she can still do!  God is so faithful and I pray that she will see the tremendous amount of love He has for her.  Here is her post:

Ok, so I can't go Peru....but Mrs.Morgan did say that they were planning a trip to Virginia and said I could go! YES! Thank you God! I am SO hoping God will allow me to go to this one. Mrs.Morgan said it's gonna be crafts, sewing, painting and all that stuff that I'm good at! Mom said it was as if God closed a door on one thing, and opened another. :D :D I am so happy. When the time come for the teens to go, I'm not gonna be sad, I'm gonna wish 'em off and pray one of them will reach someone. I hope this new trip means that THAT one is the one he wanted me to go to all along.
 
 
I am truly blessed and I know God is grooming her and is going to use her in a mighty way.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Lack Of Faith Or Common Sense?

Recently we are in a dilemma with my daughter and her knee. She is planning on going to Peru for a missions trip in April. She is 15 and so excited about it! Problem is she hurt her knee. She had an X-ray and a MRI done. We are waiting for results as the mission trip for her hinges on them.

So my struggle is always the same. Are the hurdles a sign that she should not go... or Satan just attacking? Am I to look at them as a growing opportunity for my faith or an opportunity to use my common sense?

On and on my mind goes. I could analyze forever, but that is not biblical. One of my many weaknesses is NOT being able to take that step of faith unless I can see the light shining on it! Anyone else like that? Can I get an "Amen"? It is not the way God intended for us to walk with Him. I know that He did not tell Abram exactly how he would travel to where He intended him to go. And did Abram say, Um...can ya let me know the route so I feel better inside about this trip. If I know where I am going, I will be able to be more obedient. " NO! He just went.

I need faith and obedience like that.