Candy Corn Craze....

To celebrate Fall, we did a little craft yesterday celebrating Candy Corn!! Who doesn't love Candy Corn? Even Bergen agreed to do the craft, seeing it was for younger kids, just so he could get some Candy Corn when he was done......it's amazing what you can coerce when there is candy involved.

Did you know Candy Corn is shaped like a kernel that has just fallen off the cob before harvesting? It's made from sugar, corn syrup & honey (so Bergen thinks we can just whip up a batch in our kitchen, just like that!). It was invented in 1880. And the National Association of Confectioners (no idea they even had an association) estimates that 12 million pounds of Candy Corn are sold every year!!! I asked Bergen how many pounds a year he thought was sold & he said 672.....see, he was close.

But even better, October 30th is National Candy Corn Day..........so celebrate!!! We did with our jaunty little Candy Corn People......& please don't tell Bergen, but I found a recipe for homemade candy corn........

Interrupting Cow

Mallory: Knock, Knock
Daddy: Who's there?
Mallory: Interrupting cow
Daddy: Inter.......
Mallory: MOOOOOOOOO!

Thanks Uncle Jaaron.

Jonah and the..........bathroom?

Our church has been doing a series on the book of Jonah. You know he story. God tells Jonah (a minor prophet) to go to Nineveh and Jonah says "no" and sails to Tarshish instead. On the way, a huge storm kicks up and Jonah asks the sailors to throw him overboard to calm the storm. He is swallowed by a great fish and stays in the belly of the fish for three days until he is spit upon the shore. He then heads to Nineveh and preaches the gospel like God had initially asked him to.

Last nights message was when Jonah was in the belly of the fish and praying to God. Oddly, he wasn't praying for God to get him out, but he was praying a prayer of thanksgiving to God for saving him from drowning. He acknowledges that God is the true God and all powerful. God then commands the fish to spit out Jonah.

Not many people know it, but Hatcher was a coin flip away from being called Jonas (a variation of Jonah). It was the day after his birth and Jynelle and I (mostly me, because apparently the father is supposed to name the male children) had not decided upon a name for him. We had it narrowed down to two, Jonas or Hatcher. I thought, when he arrives, we'll know because he looks like a (insert name here).

Well, he didn't look much like a Jonas or a Hatcher, and we'd spent 9 months coming up with those two names (I know, 9 months to come up with that?), we didn't have much of a prayer to come up with something on the fly. So, with the nurse breathing down our neck (she had to fill out the paperwork), the pressure was on. So what do you do when you're under pressure and don't know which fork in the road to take? You flip a coin. Whatever the flip was, it came up Hatcher.

Anyway, last night after coming home from church, it was the mad dash to the bathrooms. I think their teachers fill the kids with water just to mess with us parents, because every week it's the same thing. Running and fighting over who gets to use which bathroom (we have 3 fortunately). I can see their teachers all laughing at their weekly staff meetings "You should have seen the Jacobsens rush out of here. Hatch was doing his 'potty' dance......ha ha ha." Hatcher being the smallest, usually ends up in the bathroom furthest away (ours) and he should be the one to use the closest. Well Bergen and Mallory wrap things up and join us in the living room, but it takes Hatch a little while and when he does show up, he's been crying.

I said to him "What's wrong?" and he responds "I got locked in the bathroom and couldn't get out. I prayed to God and He let me out." Well, we had a good laugh and remarked how it paralleled the message at church (although it was probably more like three minutes instead of three days). First off, I was very impressed that our four year old was praying to God for help in a difficult situation. Secondly, it got me to thinking....How often do find myself in "minor" situations and fail to give them up to the Lord? How often are my struggles the result of my disobedience to the Lord? Usually, I'll just struggle a bit and get it figured out, but what if every time I was struggling, I prayed to my Father for help? Not just the times I am in dire need, but the everyday things too. Maybe He would give me guidance so I wouldn't have to struggle? Maybe He would only confuse me more to make me work harder, therefore maybe learning more? Or maybe He would just give me peace about it and let whatever situation pass?

Whatever the end result, we should always be giving up our worries and concerns to our Father. That is what He wants from us. He wants to be needed. He wants to be relied upon (just as we want to be useful and relied upon by our children). Even when we've been disobedient and caused the struggle ourselves. 1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." How awesome is that! The God of the universe cares enough about me and you to want to be troubled with our most insignificant anxiety. Cool.

Funny, but the sermon that night didn't reveal that thought to me, but my son's experience did. From the mouth of a four year old, I've been reminded that I too need to be praying to God and relying upon Him. I have a long way to go.

It makes me wonder if the coin flip was wrong and Hatch's name was supposed to be Jonas?

dj

Chicken McNuggets and Jesus

Tonight was Guys Night Out and I took the boys to McDonalds after soccer practice so they could use their gift cards Aunt Colleen gave them for their birthdays (thanks Colleen).

Hatcher had ordered a 6 piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with his card, Bergen got an adult Big Mac meal with his (yes he ate it. we're in trouble when he becomes a teenager). I only had $3 in my pocket, so I just got a couple of items off the dollar menu (this is important to the story later).

As we sit down to the table, Hatch opens his Happy Meal and there are two boxes of 6 piece McNuggets. (How someone doesn't already see a box of chicken in a Happy Meal and places a second one in there is beyond me.) I'm thinking "Alright, free food!" (remember I only had $3 and didn't get much to begin with) then Bergen starts to pray for the meal. It strikes me as ironic that my son (all of 8 years old) is praying to our Lord & Savior, and I'm excited about chicken we didn't pay for. I start to feel ashamed at my reaction and wish I could hide.

As we eat and talk about politics (CNN was on the tube), I'm thinking about my options. One, I could go to the counter and return the chicken, knowing they'll just throw it in the trash. Two, I could go pay for the chicken with my debt card. Or three, I could eat the chicken without paying and nobody would know any better. It's not as if McDonalds is going to go broke over a 6 piece McNugget. Besides it was their fault.

Of course I had made up my mind to pay for the nuggets (I was hungry), but decided to ask the boys what they thought. Bergen said "We'd better pay for them. I don't want to be a restaurant thief." Hatcher said "Yeah, we should pay for them" (he says whatever his big brother says.) I was really proud of the boys and thought, maybe Jynelle and I aren't doing such a bad job after all.

So after we ate, we went up to the counter and ordered a couple of apple pies. I explained the situation to the lady (actually, she was probably still a kid in high school) and that we wanted to pay for the nuggets. She said, "Don't worry about it" and sent us on our way with the pies.

I explained to Bergen that she was in her right to charge us for the nuggets, because I had eaten them, but she showed us grace and didn't make us pay for them (or it could be that the 6 piece McNuggets aren't sold separately and she didn't know how to ring them up). I then asked Bergen if he knew of anybody else that has shown us grace and paid for our debt (or sins) when we deserved to pay for them. Once again he amazed me and said "Jesus, He was nailed to the cross". Proudly, I said "Yes, Jesus." and thought to myself once again, maybe Jynelle and I aren't doing such a bad job after all. Then on the way home, Hatch gets his finger stuck in the air hole on the pie box and starts screaming. My pride went right out the window. (I'll ask for forgiveness of my pride when I go to bed)

Final thought.......

At a home school seminar Jynelle and I went to, the speaker reminded us that we need to be preparing our children for the Kingdom of Heaven, not just graduation from high school (whether we home school or not). I'm finding these opportunities come up all throughout the day and night. The Proverbs are full of commands for fathers to teach their sons (and daughters). I admit, I am not the best teacher or example for my children. But as their father, I am commanded to ".....raise them up in the way of the Lord." I pray nearly every day for help because it is such an awesome responsibility (and privilege). I sometimes forget our kids don't know as much as we think they do and every situation is an opportunity for instruction, no matter how small (like not to stick your finger in an air hole on a McDonald's pie box).

dj

Map Work...

Bergen has started doing "map work" during his school day...this has brought much excitement on his part & a big world map on my dining room wall for mine. I must say I am learning a lot right along with him....Did you know the main mountain range on the continent of Australia is called the "Great Dividing Range?" I didn't know that either. Funny thing is, it isn't really dividing anything....it's on the East side of the continent, not in the middle or anything where I could see it was doing a job of dividing something. I'm sure there is something to this logical argument? Right?





Ok, maybe not. As Bergen was marking the seven continents (can you name them?) onto his map & the 5 oceans (go ahead & try), I was realizing how little about the world I know. If I get the Geography category in Trivial Pursuit, forget it! So, maybe through home schooling I can learn some of this stuff & be able to show off next time we get Trivial Pursuit out.......





Bergen moved on to labeling the mountain ranges & he got excited when he found Mt. Everest.......then I got excited because our very good friend Megan is going to be climbing to the Mt. Everest Base Camp next Spring. I keep telling her how many dead corpses you can supposedly see from spots on the hike, but she will not be deterred! So in honor of Megan, Bergen wanted me to take this picture:


So, go Megan!!! (& don't forget my souvenir!)

& the blog is on...

After much deliberating & putting things off, I am FINALLY doing something on this family blog. After just adding a heading & a picture, I was told this blog was "boring".....so, what do we blog about? Life? Family? Politics? Music? Movies??? How about whatever catches my fancy at any given moment? (that is your only warning)





Here in the Jacobsen house, we are very busy with school & watching the laundry not get put away. But we have many ideas always bouncing around hitting the walls & ceilings. Bergen & Hatcher always seem to be up to inventing or building something....many times things requiring the use of shovels & water. Right now, they are using a hole in our back yard from a tree that had been there to be "Lake Lucy," appropriately named after our dog.....





As for the girlies, Mallory is usually seen dancing & leaping through the house while Mommy plays songs from "Mama Mia" the movie on Youtube. (sssshhhhhh, don't tell DJ!) Melissa just crawls around trying to find new things to get into & eat.....She will hear the beginning stanzas of "Mama Mia" & start dancing to the music too.......I'm telling you, this Abba music is like a disease & I love it!





Melissa just turned 9 months old much to my dismay.......she is growing entirely too fast for my fourth & final addition. If you have kiddos, go hug them for me & tell them to slow down growing up......do it for Aunt Nelle.....





Here is a picture of all four kiddos when they were or are 9 months old....all Jacobsens to be sure! It is amazing to me how God makes them each related & of the same blood, but each so different & people unto themselves. We are blessed, indeed!