Focus on Family - Tulips, Meatballs and No More Spanking

Well, I officially can't say that Jeffery doesn't get me flowers. The other day he came home from work with these beauties. Tulips are my favourite flower. It's nice to have proof that you've been thought of, doesn't it? Now what can I do for Jeff that is just as thoughtful?

Isabel has been discovering her hands and how wonderful they taste in her mouth - they are in there quite often! I keep pulling her feet in front of her face for her to discover them too, but she just smiles at the position she is consequently in.


Also, Isabel is turning into the smiley, happy girl I hoped she would be... finally! Especially when she is watching Alexander or myself. I love seeing that smile of hers!

But she doesn't know how to pose for the camera yet.

Jeffery's work has continued to be busy; but this coming week we will be seeing a small decrease, as Omni has been trying to go back to two appointments a day. So, as long as the office schedules Jeff's appointments the way he asked them to, he will be working only Monday and Wednesday evenings. However, knowing my husband, he will be booking follow-up appointments and revisits on some of those evenings anyways.


Jeff has been looking forward to being able to participate at Ignite (the youth group), get together with his accountability group, and also go out for coffee/tea with some soul friends. He has been so busy, he hasn't been able to do any of that. I mean, working so many appointments hasn't really brought us any more income than it did in other months where he works less, so there's isn't really any point to Jeff working himself to exhaustion, is there? So we both will be glad when his work goes back to a normal pace.

Taking pictures of Alexander have become a big challenge, since he never wants to sit still long enough to get a decent picture - this is the only one this week of Alexander that wasn't blurry. I need to get that velcro wall and just toss him on for a while, then maybe he'll be still. As it is, he's only still when he's sleeping; and sometimes not even then! He moves around a lot.

Jeffery and I had been discussing the option of not spanking. We had been spanking Alexander only when we tell him to stay in bed and he got out of bed anyways - outright defiance. But we were spanking him three or four times a night! I didn't like doing it, and neither did Jeff. I had noticed that when it was Jeff's turn to discipline Alexander for getting out of bed, he would put Alexander back in bed and just tell him sternly to stay in bed, and nine times out of ten, he would!

At first I merely thought that Jeff was a "softy" and just didn't want to be the "bad guy". I started thinking more about it and wondering if there was another way. I had been brought up with spanking as discipline, and me nor any of my five siblings had any issues - meaning to say that we never thought that because we were spanked, that it was okay to spank or hit other people. I know that's not the only possible behavioural issue, but it's one of the most common that I have read about.

So we were talking about it, and we decided to try not spanking. After all, the only reason we were spanking was because we had set certain boundaries and rules, and Alexander was not obeying us in the rules we had given him. Thinking about it, it doesn't seem like a fair punishment for a toddler - sometimes it's hard to remember that Alexander still is not yet three years old. I was given this link from a facebook friend, Christina, and it was really helpful in giving me a different perspective on the issue. This is the link.

So last week was the last time we've spanked Alexander. He gets out of bed only once a night, about five to ten minutes after we put him to bed, then one of us goes into his room and speaks sternly to him to stay in bed, and he does. I'm very pleased that this is what works better for us!

These meatballs are Jeffery's recipe. Don't they look stupendous (yes, that's still my new favourite word)?? They certainly are tasty!

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 lb ground sausage

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp ground garlic

2 tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp parsley flakes

salt & pepper to taste

3 tbsp barbecue sauce (we always use Baby Ray's - it's a PC product)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Roll mixture into 1 inch balls.

Place meatballs on greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

I almost always end up putting more bread crumbs in the mixture. What I like best about making these is that I can mix it up with a fork instead of my hands. I really don't like getting my hands all goopy and icky from mixing something up. I don't make meatloaf because of that (I get Jeffery to make it!), and I really don't like preparing the chicken rub either. But I do that because I like the chicken; I just suck it up! But this recipe is nice because I don't have to get my hands all gross! YAY!

You can use these meatballs for anything. The first few times we made these, we used them in spaghetti. But Jeff doesn't like to eat pasta all that often (I would eat it a lot more - I LOVE spaghetti!), so we also make it with mashed potatoes and garlic carrots - can't forget the gravy!

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

-Shirley