Is your child wondering about Santa? Here's a tip!

"Is Santa real? All the kids on the bus and at school say he is, but older kids say he is not!  

What's the truth?"  

Teaching our kids the difference between pretend and reality can be pretty tricky this time of year.  One of the best tools I found for this dilemma is the Veggie Tales movie "Saint Nicholas A Story of Joyful Giving."  It is a sweet Christmas movie about Saint Nicholas and how his story evolved into Santa Clause.  

I know some children are very upset when they find out Santa isn't real.  This movie can soften the blow.  It emphasizes the giving that Saint Nicholas did and encourages the viewers to be generous.  Parents can share the history of Saint Nicholas and then differentiate the "pretend" part of Santa Clause.  Kids love playing pretend.  You can explain you wanted to be generous and play pretend, and now it's time to learn to give joyfully like St. Nicholas/Santa Clause.

The message is to learn how to give freely with a generous heart, without strings or requiring something in return.  This is based on the Bible verse Matt 6:3 "When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself" (Message version.)  Here's the trailer:

All families are different, and in our family our kids were never taught to believe in Santa as real but as pretend, like Mickey Mouse or a super hero.  When my younger son fully understood the "play" part of Santa and that we "the parents" were wrapping the gifts, he got us two really big cookies to eat while preparing the presents.  Below is a picture of the cookies he gave us.  I think they're the best I've ever had.   

Below is a picture I had the privilege of taking with Phil Vischer the creator of Veggie Tales and "Saint Nicholas A Story of Joyful Giving."  He is also the voice of several of the characters in the movie.  He is really friendly and has a real heart for children.

Keep up the good work Beautiful Mothers! Merry Christmas!

Love, Rosa

"My mentor is the single mom raising two kids. Talk about DIY!" Ty Pennington. Mommy Tips meets the wonderful Ty Pennington!

This past summer I got to meet Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover!  That show made me cry every single time I watched it.  He was fun and authentically nice.  The day I met him he was speaking to an audience about how he got started in his career.  He was asked who his mentor was and his answer was awesome:"really, my mentor is the single mom raising 2 kids.  Talk about DIY (Doing It Yourself)!"

A couple of years ago I had the privileged of visiting one of Ty Pennington's Extreme Makeover homes.  It was in Tucson, Arizona, about 5 minutes from where I was living at the time.  It's built in a typical South Western style.    

The reason I got to go was because of the "Mom's class" I attended.  One of our classes was at the house of Kathy Flores Bell.  She was the guest speaker for a class she hosted in her house built by Extreme Makeover.  Below are a few pictures I took.  It was beautiful.  Kathy was warm and inviting.  She shared about her experience with Extreme Makeover.  It really was a miracle.  

One of her daughter's has a rare blood disease that caused her to need a blood transfusion about every two weeks.  She shared about the difficulties they have overcome as a family.  Kathy spoke with great compassion for all mothers with children struggling with severe health problems.  

 Beyond being a support to mothers all around, Kathy is also an educator in health.  She cowrote with Dr. Kevin Leman, "A Chicken's Guide To Talking Turkey With Your Kids About Sex."  Dr. Leman is very knowledgeable and funny in his own right.  I totally recommend this book.

This blog is an encouragement for all moms, whether you are a single mom, a mom with a child that has severe health issues, a child who is coming into sexual maturity, all moms need to know they are not alone.  Anything worth doing is always challenging.  Mothering is a very high calling.  God will never leave you or forsake you (Deut 31:6).  In Proverbs 31 God lets women know that we are "clothed with strength and dignity, we can laugh without fear of the future."  Let God clothe you with His strength.  In our weakness He is made strong (2 Cor 12:9).  Following is a video update of the Bell family in the Extreme Makeover home.

Keep up the good work Beautiful Mothers,

Love, 

Rosa

Tip for starting school: the secret of the kissing hand.

  The "Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn.  My sons responded so well to this book. 

We had recently moved across country.  It was the night before they were beginning at a new school.  They didn't know anyone in their new classrooms.  I read it to them individually at their bedtimes.

In a nutshell, the story is about a little raccoon going to school for the first time.  His mom teaches him the secret of the "kissing hand."  She opens up his hand and places a kiss in his palm.  She then places his hand on his cheek.  She then explains, whenever he is at school and feels alone, he just needs to place his hand on his cheek to remember his Mommy loves him. 

When I read this book to my 6 year old son, I gave him a kiss in the palm of his hand and put it on his cheek.  He proceed to take my hand and place a kiss in my palm and put it on my cheek.  It was awesome!  I then read it to my 8 year old son.  When I kissed his palm he said "I just felt love go through my hand, go up my arm, and explode into my heart!"

 It's been over a year since I read this book to them and just about a week ago I was leaving one of my sons somewhere, and as we said goodbye he took my hand and placed a kiss in my palm.

What can I say?  I love this book.  I will definitely be reading it again to my kids the night before school starts this fall.  I know libraries have copies.  It's also printed in different languages.  If for some reason you can't get ahold of the book, you at least have a quick summary, and now you know the secret of the "kissing hand" and can share it with your children.

Keep up the good work Beautiful Mommies!

Love,

Rosa, Mommy Tips

"Let the little children come to me" lyrics with great music in the song "Like a child" by Beckah Shae. This blog is about helping your kids navigate through music.

Here I am with Beckah Shae!!!  

She is a Beautiful Mommy and an amazing "Dove" award nominated singer and song writer.  She and her husband Jack write and produce great music.  They've worked with artists TobyMac, Montell Jordan, T-Bone, Israel Houghton, Crystal Lewis and more...

Mommy Tips is focusing on guiding our kids through music in this blog.

As you know, I am a Mom.  I am also a dancer and zumba instructor.  I've had those moments when I'm listening to music with my kids and have to skip through the song because the lyrics are so nasty.  I really should not be listening to them myself, but the music is so good, aahh!  

I remember when my oldest son was 5, and started singing "I'm sixty and I know it."  I was amused and horrified all at the same time.  I enjoyed his innocence of not knowing the word "sexy" and  asked how he knew that song.  He answered he heard it when we went to the rodeo.  I had forgotten there was a DJ there.  I know we can't shelter our kids forever but we can help influence their choices.  Over the years I decided to let my kids know what I do: "there are some songs that have great music but really bad words so I listen to them rarely, and I try to find excellent music with good lyrics."  I do this because I really believe what we hear affects our thoughts.  Proverbs 2:2 says: "Let your ears listen to wisdom."

One of the artist I've come across is Beckah Shae!  I love her songs.  Her music is really catchy and good.  The lyrics are awesome!!!  I never feel like I have to turn them off around my kids.  They are very encouraging and uplifting.  She gives a good dose of positive thoughts to feed your brain.  My kids know a lot of her songs and I use many of them in my zumba classes.  A favorite song is "Life" the lyrics begin "Here I go, I'm on my way with my love glasses on..."

This is Beckah & I a few years ago.  Gotta love those "love glasses!"

This summer I had the privilege of performing with her on stage.  My friend Ana, another Beautiful Mommy of three little kids and I danced as Beckah sang.  Our kids were in the audience.  They had so much fun singing uplifting lyrics and dancing around.

As a Mommy, I find her "Scripture Snacks" an amazing way to feed the word of God to my kids (and myself of course).  These are short songs that are straight scripture.  They are musically excellent!  One of my favorite verses is Matthew 19:14: Jesus said "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them."  Have a listen to her rendition of this verse and a couple of other verses in this scripture snack: "Like a child."

Check out her website at www.beckahshae.com 

Keep up the good work Beautiful Mommies!!!!

Love, 

Rosa, Mommy Tips

Shepherding your kids through this really messy world.

About 2 weeks ago I met Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales.  He is also the voice of Bob the tomato and many more voices in the animation.  

His voice has been very influential in our family.  For years, even before being a mommy, I tried praying and meditating everyday.  Once I had babies, that became much more difficult because when I actually tried giving myself sometime to pray and read I was so tired I could barely concentrate.  I also wanted my kids to be spiritually fed.  There I was, a young mom with two very active little boys, feeling like all three of us could use some help from God.
Somewhere along the way we came across VeggieTales.  I was hooked.  First reason: my boys would actually sit still and watch it.  Second reason: the stories were spiritually strengthening.  Third reason: those vegetables were funny!

One of the first VeggieTales we watched was "Where is God When I'm Scared?"

http://youtu.be/iNVXbC1iHck

It was so good because at that time one of my boys was really struggling with fear.  It helped strengthen my little son and encouraged me to be strong in teaching my son to be brave.  We put a big sign in his room that said  "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid" Psalm 118:6.  Then we got the kids the VeggieTales Bible and came across this page: 

The day I met Phil Vischer, he spoke about a time he was sitting on a bench having a cup of coffee. Two cute little girls ran passed him jumping on everything they could, followed by their mother pushing a stroller trying to keep up with them.  His heart went out to the mom.  He has two daughters that are older now.  His thoughts were something like: "these little kids go from watching Blues Clues to watching Jersey Shore and Snookie." 

"I want to help parents shepherd their kids through this messy world" Phil Vischer.

I loved what he said: "Shepherd through."  We can't shelter and protect our kids from all the mess in this world, but we can "shepherd them through."  We can give them wisdom, perspective, boundaries, and train them to make good choices.

Another aspect of VeggieTales I really like is that God is presented as loving, not bent on punishment, but a God of grace...  a God who cares about the little children.  In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "let the little children come to me and do not hinder them."

I didn't get my intellectually stimulating times of prayer, meditating, and Bible study when my kids were little but I definitely felt God meet all three of us through these veggies.  So to all you Mommies out there needing a little help like I did, remember "God made YOU and your kids special, and he loves you very much!"

Keep up the good work Mommies!!!!

Love, 

Rosa, Mommy Tips

Mommy tip: Keep reminding yourself, this "Mom thing" is crazy hard but so WORTH IT!!!

Last week my pastor's wife invited me to go see "Moms' night out."  The movie with Patricia Heaton & Sarah Drew.  I pretty much didn't know anything about it because I watch movies like Frozen or the Lego movie.  I am always up for a Moms' night out, if I can manage to tear away from all the mommy responsibilities.  My husband is always very supportive of me going out with girlfriends because he says I'm a happier person after being with them.  Plus my pastor's wife is really cool & fun.  

It turns out the movie is about a pastor's wife, Patricia Heaton, & a Mommy blogger, Sarah Drew.  What a cool coincidence!  It's a crazy comedy but some of the parenting moments depicted are so realistic.

The one I could relate to the most was a moment when the house is so messy it looks like a bomb went off.  The kids are in bed and the mom is hiding in the closet eating a whole bag of chocolates.  Her husband finds her, she explains she is hiding from the house.  She says she is going to get up to clean it...but she can't move.  "I'm stress paralyzed."

Ever felt "stress paralyzed?"  I remember when my kids were very little, the house looking like an explosion had taken place, yelling at one kid while the other one was in time out, unshowered, overweight, dressed in the worst looking pajamas I ever owned when my husband walked in the room.  I switched my yelling to the child to yell at my husband and these are the words that came out "is this what you expected me to be like when we got married?" Ugh...

I was so far from what I wanted to be yet exactly where I wanted to be.  My dream was to be married and have children.  A major deciding factor in marrying my husband was that he was a guy who really focused on his family and wanted a family just as much and sooner than I did.  

Bottom line: Anything really worth having is always difficult.  One of the lines in the movie is "this mom thing is crazy hard!" 

Beautiful Mother, if you haven't showered in days, laundry is out of control, the house doesn't look the way you want, it's just a part of the journey.  I remember hearing John Maxwell explain that important projects always take longer than you expect, cost more than you expect, & are more difficult than you expect.  So if you are feeling any of those, you are in the middle of an important project.

Keep up the good work!!!
Love,
Rosa, Mommy tips

Mommy tip: Help build your child's self-confidence

A few years ago I was attending a classical choral concert with Barb.  My husband was the conductor and her husband was a singer.  Barb is a Beautiful Grandmother who has been teaching a Mom's class for over 30 years, a dear mentor to me.  Both our husbands are doctors, hers a Pediatrician, mine holds a Doctorate in Classical Choral Conducting.
This was a special time in which Barb chose to teach me the importance of building my children's self-confidence.

~Self-confidence~

The foundation of all

great success and

achievement.

(Inspirationboost.com)

We were watching our husbands use their gifts, talents, and passions.  Barb suggested "find out what your children have a passion for and feed it.  If they are able to do something well their confidence grows.  Then, if they are struggling in some other area it doesn't destroy their self-confidence because they know they are good at something that really matters to them."   
  
I've heard John Maxwell explain that we tend to focus on our weaknesses rather than our strengths, but it should be the other way around.  For example if my singing is a 4 out of 10, if I work my best at it I could get better but probably not get above a 6 or 7.  However, if I am a dancer and I have a 7 out of 10, if I worked my best at it I could probably get to a 9 or 10.

"Everybody is a genius.  

But if you judge

 a fish 

by its ability

 to climb a tree,

 it will live

 its whole life

 believing

 that it

 is stupid."

 Albert Einstein

Music, dance, and the arts are very much a part of our family.  So we naturally began surrounding our kids with music.  This is a picture of my son at the piano when he was about 2 years old, looking as cute as can be. 

However, his passion at this point in time is baseball, not the piano.  We are originally from Philly but lived in Arizona for 3 years and during that whole time he wore "Phillies" baseball team shirts and hats consistently.  We are back on the East Coast of the US.  He had a game a few nights ago and played amazingly!

Of course this does not mean we neglect areas that need help.  Absolutely not.  However to specifically build self-confidence, feed into their passions and natural talents.  Confidence comes from the Latin to "have full trust" or to "have full faith."  Increase your child's faith and trust in their ability to succeed.  Dr. Caroline Leaf, a specialist in brain research, writes:

Your passion

releases

your genius.

James 1:17: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father."  We have all been given unique gifts, let's help our kids discover and develop them.

Keep up the good work Beautiful Mothers!!!

Love,

Rosa