J.J's School

This year I am teaching J.J. 2 courses.
Cooking around the world and exploring early american literature. We have a bunch of illustrated classic novels, that are nice reading for J.J and fun! Both him and I are getting a taste of ALOT of classics.

So far we have done Gulever's Travels and Kidnapped. For each book we read a little about the author, the time it was set in, and then if there are any movies/ect based on it. We also take a picture to go along with the book. Here is what we have so far:

Kiddnapped

 Gulliver's Travels

 Guliver talking to the king

 JJ's ver creative king, and if you can see, he tried to make those greeen and red block the king's train.

 Cooking Russian food

 Uncooked

 Cooked and Yummy!

Rebekah

I was trying to think of a good tittle for this post, and I could think of one that would do it justice.
This really is a sensitive post. It is on a subject that is near and dear to my heart, that I am VERY VERY passionate about. Something that makes me so upset I want to scream.

Nowadays when a young lady gets pregnant she most often (probably about 95% of the time) looked down on, and thought to have made an unwise choice, especially by those of us in the Christian community. Now I am not, in ANY way denying that her actions were unwise, but I AM saying that looking down on that lady is NOT the best response.
Think about this for a moment: Most young ladies now a-days who do get pregnant, we never know about. Because they have an abortions. So what do we do to the few who don't have one, who keep that precious life inside of them alive? We look down on them, we gossip about them, we make them seem like the outcast. But when, in fact, we should be rejoicing with them! They have made the amazing and very very hard decision to keep the baby. Now wether they are choosing adoption, or raising it themselves, they are still keeping the baby!  So why, may I ask, do we mock them, and out cast them? Yes, they did make a wrong decision, and they may need to be punished for it. But that is most certainly NOT our jobs. Our job is support them. Be behind them. Tell them that we are here for them. Maybe even tell them that we are willing to take their baby. To raise it and love it as our own, if they are not able. Maybe, if we did this, instead of mocking and outcasting these young women we would have a few more babies, children and people in the world today to love, and to be loved. And THAT is what really matters.

So next time you hear of  a young lady in your church, school or neighborhood that is pregnant. Please don't gossip about her, outcast her, or mock her. Love her. Be there to support her. Help her find a home for her baby (wether that be her own, yours or someone else's. ) And most of all encourage her, because she chose a  wonderful, beautiful path. The path of life. Life for her unborn baby. And now, someday, her baby will grow up to be a living breathing human being who might just be the next president, or the next Nobel Peace Prize recipient. :)

~Rebekah

I heart faces-Chalk!

This is my entry for this week's I heart faces. Today I was getting frustrated with the twins because they would not stop playing with chalk while I was making lunch. Then I realized, "this week's I heart faces is chalk" ha ha I almost laughed at myself. 

So here you go, one of my favorite little girls. She was SO happy when instead of tell her not to play with chalk I actually encouraged it.

Head over to Iheartfaces and check out more awesome Chalk entries!

~Rebekah 

I remember

That day. That day I was at the gym, my mom was teaching a class, and we were in the daycare center. I remember my mom coming in.. acting like something was wrong. We left. We drove home, because we lived on an annex of the base at the time, we almost didn't get in our neighborhood. The gate guards were locking it down. I remember sitting at home, seeing to buildings burning. A lot of firefighters. Then a plane. Now 2 buildings. What was happening? My 7 year old brain did not understand it. We tried to go to the zoo that afternoon. We eventually made it, but almost every exit was closed off the free-way. We later found out the president had been at our base.  That day was sad. All I knew at the time that a lot was happening in places far-away, that was effecting my world as soon as an hour later. It was scary. I remember flying after that. Nothing was the same. All this security. No more walking Grammy to the gate. But I also remember mom being thankful. Thankful that my dad was not TDY at the time. Thankful that he was not in the pentagon. Thankful that God had blessed us with that much. But also sad. So many people had lost family and friends. And so I just thank God. First for protecting a lot of us, even though so many precious lives were lost, many were safe. A lot thanks to those souls on United flight 93. And second for my dad, and my grandpa, and my mom, and the so many of my other friend's parents and family that have committed their life to serving our country.

So here is too our country. Though terrorists my strike, though economies may crash. We are still who we are. 

God Bless the United States of America.

~Rebekah

Your Dreams, not mine.

I am just going to politely skip the fact that I have not blogged in a really long time, and get straight to the point.

I have been reading an awesome, amazing, stunning, life-changing book called Sacred Singleness by Leslie Ludy. I have fallen in love with all of the Ludy's books.

The part I just finished in the book was called no strings attached. Oh how simple the tittle sounds, and yet how hard the concept.  In this chapter it was talking about giving ALL up for Christ. Your life, your love, your dreams. This may seem like a pretty basic concept, but it is really oh so hard to grasp in reality. Even though I have been thinking the whole summer about giving my ENTIRE life to God (and have told Him He could have it on a number of occasions). I did not truly realize all this meant, till I finished reading this chapter. ( I will probably never, honestly, grasp what it means to give my all, only Christ has done that, on the cross, but I can try.) I realized that even though I had told God that He could have my life,every part of it, including my love life, and my future husband, I was totally missing the point! Yes, in a way I was giving it up to Him, but I had strings attached. I was saying, "God here is my life, take it, do what you want with it, but in return, I would love a husband, and some children would be nice also." That, is most definitely not giving up everything. When Christ died on the cross for me, He did not say, give me _____ in return. He just did it. Without thinking He would ever, in anyway, be repaid. THAT is truly giving up EVERYTHING. And THAT is what I want to do. I want to give up all for Him. But NOT because I want something in return. I need to EXPECT to be single. Yes, you did hear that right. Expect. Every ounce of me has to agree that, yes, I will be perfectly content if God never brings a man my way, EVER. And then I need to Love God. Love Him passionately, self-lessly, without expecting ANYTHING in return. Just love Him because He is God. Even if my future was going to hell, I still desire to love Him, praise Him, and give my life for Him. And yes, everything I said above i meant. I have given up marriage. If God ever blesses me with the precious gift of marriage, I will thank Him. But if He doesn't, I will STILL thank Him with the same CONTENT heart. I want God to take every selfish seed in my heart, reveal it to me, and pluck it away. Yes, this will most certainly be painful. Probably the most painful thing I have ever experienced. But guess what. That is what God deserves. That, and even more. And I don't want a single ounce of me to hold back. Cause I want to give Him my ALL. EVERY part of me. including my hopes and dreams. including marriage, and even Children.

So God, please give me Your dreams. Take all of mine. Every. last. one.

Love,
Rebekah

I heart faces-Beach Fun!

This weeks theme over at I heart faces is Beach Fun!
Since I almost NEVER get to a beach, it took me a while to find this picture. But when I did, I knew it was the one!
This picture shows exactly what I have been thinking about this week. Savoring the every single moment God gives you. This means the good, and that bad ones. I love to capture these moments, one of the reasons I love my job soo much!
Anyways, back to faces. These are some of my favorite faces, my beautiful, wonderful friends! God has blessed me oh so much this assignment, with so many friends, that are not only epicly amazing, they also encourage me in the Lord!

Check out the other awesome Beach fun photos at I <3 Faces!

~ Rebekah

I heart Faces-Surprise!

I do realize I haven't posted in a while, but I have been on vacation in Disney World for the past 10 days, so I do have a bit of exuse :)

Here is my entry for Surprise! I was looking through my Disney photos and found this one, and knew, this was the one! I thought the picture pretty much said, SURPRISE!

Head on over to I <3 Faces and check out the other awesome Surprise! Entries :)

~Rebekah

Yes, I am opinionated. VERY opinionated. Just about some things. Other's things I couldn't care a lick about.
Honda Odysseys.
I am in LOVE with Honda Odysseys. Every since I had my first ride in one, I have wanted to own one. The reason why I love them? They are beautiful, I love the look. They are just so cool :) They are also extremely versatile. This is probably the fact I love most. The middle row can change up from 3 seats, to two, and then the seats can move back and forth. This is something NO other minivan on the market has.  The two middle seats also slide forward instead folding forward. I love this. I could go on and on........ but people have told me that the Sienna drives better, why would I want a Odyessy? Because I would much rather the versatility and able to change things up according what I need. I have driven a Subrban/truck my whole driving life, anyting is going to drive better for me :)

Baby gear. Now this is a HUGE one.  When I used to play baby dolls everyday (i.e. 2years ago :) I started looking on Target.com and looking at baby gear for hours a day. I would read all the reviews, study them, look them up other places. And so soon I was pointing out gear whereever I went. I was memorizing stuff. And now I am kind of addicted. I LOVE baby gear. I love to study it, test it, and spend time looking at it. Ok so I have a small obseesion. Small :) My favoirte site for baby gear is Babygizmo.com. it's done by a mom who tests it out, and then reviews it. She sees what REALLY works and what is actually practical. My sister knows (and hates) the sound of the video reviews very well. My sister and all of my friends say I will be the first person they will call before buying anything for their future children :)

Vera Bradley. I love Vera Bradley. SOMEONE (i.e. one of my best friends) Got me hooked. In the last 3 years I have bought 1. ONE non-Vera Bradley. lol. They are cute, 100% washable, and fun :)

Stargate SG-1, Monk, NCIS. My absolute FAVORITE shows of all times :)

Ok so that is a lot of them. But I need to go to bed :)

~Rebekah

A little peak behind the Beks.

My full name is Rebekah Jean Kimminau. I like to sign my name this way. No one calls me Rebekah Jean, or even Rebekah. If someone calls me Rebekah I know they haven't known me very long. Most of my friends call me Bekah, somehow it is just eaiser to say. I do have many nick names though. My sister sometimes calls me The Beks. I have also gotten the name Bekasaur. Most everyone I baby sit calls me Miss Rebekah, I tend to refer to myself as Miss Rebekah anytime I am around babysitting kids, and a lot of times also in normal life :) I also have this habit of talking about myself in third person. It backfires a lot at me, people are always confused. Oh well, everyone will just have to live with Bekah. It's part of who she is :)

I am also a clean freak AND very OCD. I like everything to be clean, organized and in it's place. Some people call my room rediculously clean, I like to think of it as peaceful. :) My desk downstairs is another great example of how I wish I could make stuff all the time. I LOVE when stuff is organized, and I actually I rather enjoy organizing too :)

Not a great picture, but most of it is Ikea. Oh and a lovely chalkboard one of my friends made me for my birthday!

I also have this weird sense of hearing. I love certain sounds, I don't know why.  I love the sound of ice clanking against a glass of water. I love the ticking sound of the turn signal. I love the sound of little toddler feet pitter-pattering across the floor. But most of the time we miss these sounds because our world is so filled with things like media... but that is a whole nother post.

I also have things that I am passionate about. This includes but is not limited to:

All Baby Gear

Names

Honda Odysseys

Ikea

I do have a few things that bug me to death, you could call them pet peeves:

When people store stuff on top of their refrigerators.

When people leave knives just sitting in the sink.

When people assume that college is the only way to get an education.

I got a 30day trial of Lightroom, and I have been experimenting with it. I LOVE it!

Night Night!

~Rebekah

Never-dull adventures, peace and mango monkeys.

Some people would call my life crazy. Some would call it insane. Some would call it weird. I like to call it never-dull, and an adventure. Over the last few days I have been hopping back and forth between the Hospital (where my mom is because she just had her hip replaced) and the base hospital (where I am starting to Volunteer with the Red Cross) and babysitting all over the place. Then home. Then cleaning, laundry, cooking and more cleaning.  I can tell you right now I have never appreciated my mother sooooo much.

Monday night before my mom went into have surgery, I was realizing how much I depend on her. And I was starting to miss her before she left. But then I got this great sense, God would be there. No matter that I had a lot on my plate, that mom was gone, that I couldn't text one of my best friends. But I knew that God was there. Then that night, my daily lights study had the perfect verse for me. How lovely is God.

(God talking) " I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream. you will nurse and be carried on her harm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child so will I comfort you:" ~ Isaiah 66:12-13

How beautiful is this verse! I feel like God said it just for me. Not only do I spend most of my time around children, but my love language is also touch. I know what it means to tenderly hold a sleeping child in your arms. It is incredible to know that this little person it totally depending on you at that moment. I can not even begin to fathom that I of all people can be totally dependent on the God of the universe. I also looked into the words further. Did you know dandled means to pet or pamper? God, GOD!!! Pampers ME!! What? Am I dreaming? That just amazes me. 

Well on to something else. My youth group started back up tonight. I was SOOO happy! I love to spend time with my friends playing games, and worshiping God. Now our youth group is special. Don't get me wrong, my youth group is amazingly awesome!! But let me put it this way. If a monkey holding a mango ran through the room, we probably wouldn't think it was weird at all :) Well off to bed for me!! nighty-night.

~Rebekah