Daughter’s name and age? Makenzie Lorain Warren, 4

Where were you raised? This is a really funny question. I’ve moved over 20 times in my life.  I was BORN in Charlotte, NC. We lived all over NC until I was 9 and we moved to Waukesha, WI (which I love dearly!). We were there until I was finished with 7th grade, then we moved to Troy, MI (which I really really disliked with a passion!). Then we moved in the middle of my 9th grade year to (of all places) Fayetteville, AR.  I consider my stateside home to be Fayetteville, AR. It’s beautiful, and I feel blessed to have been brought here 19 years ago.

We understand you’re a missionary in Honduras. Please tell us what that’s like. First of all, the thing that is cool for me is that you can see God so much more clear - everywhere.  I think it’s because we are up in the Opalaca Mountains, and it is very secluded. The sunsets are incredible, and the downpour rainy days are also beautiful.

I have many days where I get to spend quality time with my Makenzie - that I would have never been able to do while I was a working mom in Arkansas.  This is probably the most rewarding thing for me.

What do you do there? While we were there in 2009, I had the opportunity to begin teaching English to 4th, 5th and 6th graders, and that became another blessing to me.  These kiddos are so much different than students in the states.  They don’t understand so many of the every day things that our students understand.  However, they appreciate things SO much more than our students ever could.  (I do wish, however, that I could teach them the importance of LEARNING and so you don’t have to cheat. This will only come with time!)

What’s your home like? Our home is approximately a 1 mile walk from the mission compound that we are at during the day.  We have grown to enjoy our walks, even when we have to do it in the rain.  We are asking God to give us the opportunity to buy a vehicle, and we hope we can do that at some point in the next year - but in the meantime, we are happy to accept our current blessings.  We do also have bikes, which have been a blessing, and a challenge to momma’s leg muscles. 

We have a refrigerator at our apartment, and that is the only “amenity” that we have.  A small pantry to keep “snack foods”, and a water filter system, which allows us to be able to drink water without having to purchase filtered water, are our version of a “kitchen”.

Any challenges you’d like to share? It is very important, in Yamaranguila, that we wear shoes all the time.  In the dirt, there are parasites, and if you walk in the dirt, the parasites will go through your feet and get into your system.  This was probably one of the biggest challenges for me as a mom – to teach Makenzie the importance of shoes. If you were to walk up to her and ask “why do you need to wear shoes, or keep your hands out of your mouth?”, her response would be “because you will get lady bugs in your tummy!”.

We had to have a talk to explain that many things in Honduras are not safe, the water, the dirt, etc. During this talk, I told her that those things could cause her to get very sick and get “bugs” in her tummy. Well, the first time she heard this, she was around 18 months old, and she interpreted bugs as Lady Bugs. Even in our apartment, we will not walk around without at LEAST socks on. Makenzie and I have never had a parasite, and we want to keep it that way!  They are, however, fairly easy to get rid of, but they are literally a “pain in the rear” (pun intended), and other things that I won’t go into.

God gives us some AWESOME opportunities every day… and we are blessed to have them both in the US and in Honduras.

What kinds of activities do you do together as a family? In Honduras, we generally eat dinner together, and lots of times will go home and watch a movie together. My husband is very busy when teams come in from the US on short-term mission trips, and so we cherish our time with family much more. When there are not teams, we like to go to a little (equivalent of) “Café” in Yamaranguila, called Doña Elba’s.  On our way, we pass a park where Makenzie likes to play. We will often times take time to stop there either on the way there or on the way back. Also, most mornings, we walk/ride our bikes together to the mission compound.

When we are in the US, we enjoy reading books together, going to the library together for story time, watching movies together, and almost every night we enjoy dinner together.

While we are in the US, my husband, Andy and I, try to make it a point to do things specifically that Makenzie cannot experience in Honduras.  For instance, this weekend, we will take a trip to the pumpkin patch.  She is also enrolled in a gymnastics class, and is going to pre-school every day.

What do you miss the most while in Honduras? Two things:  1 - GREAT chips and salsa (La Huerta preferably)… and 2 - the ability to call family and friends without having to worry if I have enough minutes on my phone.

How long are you back in NWA? We will return to Honduras, God willing, on December 28th, 2009.  However, right now, there are several issues going on in Honduras, which actually brought us back to the US over 2 months early this time.  Our president was ousted on June 28th. And, since that day, the political state of the country is questionable. I would be grateful if anyone reading this would please begin to pray for Honduras. Please pray for the unrest to come quickly to an end.

A movie that always makes you watch over and over? Patch Adams. I love Robin Williams, and the things that “Patch” recommends that we do toward people in our lives. I really think that we can take from this movie, and apply it to every day life, and really make a difference for people.

What are your favorite hobbies? Before I moved to Honduras I loved to scrapbook, play the piano, and hanging out with my friends.

In Honduras – I love to hang out with my “Mak”, make pine needle baskets (I’ve completed ONE and hope to complete many more soon)….. and enjoy God’s presence.

Where did you meet your husband? This is funny. On my first day in 9th grade at Woodland Junior High School, my 6th hour teacher, Mr. Remmers who taught Science, took me in front of the class, and introduced me. No other teacher did this the whole day. Well, while I was standing in front of the class, I was looking around… and I spotted him… the cute guy on the right…. A few desks back. “I need to find out who he is, and get to know HIM!” Well, we became very good friends through youth group at church. Such good friends that we vowed in 10th grade that we would never date because we didn’t want to ruin our friendship. We had the opportunity, in 1996 to go on a (of all things) mission trip to Juarez, Mexico. This trip changed our friendship, and about 6 months later, we started dating. Andy is the love of my life, and he blesses me every day with his love for me and for Jesus.

How long have you two been married? Our 10th anniversary is May 27, 2010 (big one, girls… any suggestions for gifts?)

What are your favorite parenting moments? The best thing about it – is seeing her love for the Lord. She has this passion for praising God through song, prayers, and reading her bible.  I am blessed to have a child that loves the Lord with all her heart!

I also love the funny things that she picks up on.  I love her saying things back to me that I have said to her so many times.  I also love something that she started doing this summer, and that is mimicking people.  For instance, we have this guy that works with us in Honduras, and his name is Jim.  He has a “big tummy”…. And we will say, “Mak… how does Jim walk?” and she will stick her tummy out as far as she can and walk down the hall.

I also love the way she interacts with people.  She loves guys – especially really tall men that are in their 20’s. She has a friend that is around 6’5” that she claims is her boyfriend – and I believe he adores her – and she definitely adores him!

Tell us about a happy childhood memory: Ok so it’s hard to pick JUST one. One that I will never forget, was going to see the Michael Jackson, Bad concert. Yes, Yes… I’m a Michael Jackson fan! I had a great time – and it was my very first concert-I was in 8th grade! Also going to my great grandparents house (Yes, I had 2 sets living when I was young – and I was old enough to remember them!) My mothers – The Crocker’s (yes, I have an aunt named Betty Crocker) were wonderful people.  Paw Paw always had a garden, and I loved to help him pick green beans.  Grandmother Crocker taught me about cooking different things.  My dads – Grandmother Williamson – she was very into animals. She would sit out on her front porch and feed Cardinals out of her hands. We also, several times, found injured baby rabbits or birds and helped them get well enough to go back home. I still to this very day, think of Grandmother Williamson when I see a Cardinal. I used to believe when I was a little girl that she would came back as a Cardinal after she died. (This was before I knew Jesus – but I still remember it!)

What’s something (besides Makenzie!) you don’t leave home without?  I try to leave the kiddo home!!  Ha Ha….. because in Honduras, she is ALWAYS with me. All right – that would be cell phone, my inhalers (I have asthma) for emergencies, and my camera.

One word to sum me up … Loving.

Photo Credit: Big Shot Photography/Gwendy Lefforge

Dear Denise,

Help! My dog is so annoying at the dinner table. I know it doesn’t help that our daughter sometimes slips him food while we’re not looking. What’s the best way to keep a dog from begging at the table?

Denise: The best way to keep a dog from begging at the table is to eliminate the opportunity. If you are trying to enjoy a sit-down family meal or have company, I’d simply put the pooch outside or in his kennel with something yummy of his own. Once he is trained, you can reincorporate him into the environment, but training begins when food is NOT on the table and your focus can be on training, not entertaining or serving.

Does your dog know a down-stay? This is step one. After teaching this, you will begin asking for a down-stay in a specific location. I’d choose a location out of the way of traffic and out of reach of your daughter, but where he can still see you at the table. Ask him to stay as you move to the table. You will slowly begin to ask for longer downs with added activity. For example, you ask for a down and then go to the table to sit. Then you may get up and go to the kitchen, and return. You may need to remind your pooch to stay. If he breaks, simply return him to his spot, and repeat the exercise. The trick with stays is to mix it up, short, long, movement, etc. and to not do too many reps. Stays are difficult. So make your training exercises short and successful.

Once your dog can hold a stay in place for approximately 20 minutes while you move about the dinning and kitchen area, then try it with food on the table, or at dinner. You may also want to provide your dog something really great to do in his place, something like a hollow toy stuffed with peanut butter would be perfect. The only time he will get this really great thing is during dinner while he is in his place.

Denise Holmes is a local pet behavior counselor who owns Ain’t Misbehavin’. She answers pet questions sent in by NWA moms. Denise has been training animals for 25 years and believes she has the best job around! To send her a question, email it to: mamas@nwaMotherlode.com.

• Strega Nona on November 14th

• Peter and the Wolf on November 21st

• The Nutcracker on November 27th
  

We’re pairing each set of show tickets with lunch or dinner at one of our favorite pizza places — U.S. Pizza on Dickson Street. The food is awesome, and most people already know that. But did you know that they have a very kid-friendly basement with activities for kids to do while they wait for their dinner to slide out of the pizza oven? We LOVE when a restaurant makes it easier for mamas to take the kids out to dinner. It’s a smart business move that keeps us and families coming back. Click HERE to see the U.S. Pizza menu. (They have awesome salads, too!)

To throw your name in the hat to win pizza and tickets to any of these three shows, simply click the “comment” button below and tell us which of the shows you and your kid or kids would most like to see. (You can also enter by e-mail by sending a note to giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com.)

If you’d be thrilled to go to any of these shows, tell us that, too! We’ll choose three winners’ names out of the hat on this Friday, November 13th. This is a QUICK giveaway, so throw your name in the hat now and tell your buddies about it asap. It’ll be over soon.

Here are descriptions of the upcoming kids’ shows at Walton Arts Center this month:

Strega Nona: This is a musical that combines three popular children’s books — Strega Nona, Strega Nona Her Story and Big Anthony and the Magic Ring.  The stage is designed to look like the pages of a pop-up book.  The story is about a magical Italian grandmother and her mischievous apprentice. Strega Nona is looking for someone to help her with her chores, and Big Anthony responds to her ad. She has him do various chores around her house, but she warns him not to touch her magic pasta pot, an enchanted pot that produces pasta at the command of a spell. (In Italian, the word “strega” means witch, and the word “nona” means grandma.)

As he is doing his chores, Anthony spies on Strega Nona conjuring pasta from the pot. He watches  as she commands the pot to stop producing pasta. But he doesn’t see that she blows three kisses after commanding the pasta pot to stop making pasta. When Strega Nona is away one day, Big Anthony tries his hand at the magic pot so he can serve everyone pasta, but he can’t make it stop and ends up flooding the town with noodles. Strega Nona has to come back and save the day.

Peter and the Wolf: Best for ages 5 to 9, this is a story about a cat, a duck and a bird who join Peter and his grandfather to outsmart a wolf. This story was written in 1936 as a music symphony for children. Each character in the play is represented by a certain instrument. The flute represents the bird. The clarinet is the cat, and the oboe represents the duck.

This show will last about one hour and will be followed by a Q&A session with the cast! (Might be perfect if your kid LOVES to ask “why” and get more info about what he or she has seen.)

The Nutcracker: Who doesn’t love The Nutcracker? It has become as traditional as Santa Claus himself. This beautiful production includes more than 60 dancers, actors and circus artists, and the stage sets are incredible. Many families make a point to see this production every year before the holidays, and I know several mother-daughter duos who never miss the performance of this fairy-tale ballet.

The story of The Nutcracker revolves around a German girl named Clara and her family. Her grandfather shows up at a party with Christmas presents for the children, and Clara receives a toy nutcracker. Her brother is jealous and breaks it, but the grandfather fixes it. After the kids go to bed, Clara hears a sound and investigates. The nutcracker comes to life and turns into a prince, so Clara and the Prince go an adventure that leads them to the land of those famous, dancing sugar plum fairies.

There will be four showings of The Nutcracker this year. Click here to see the show dates and times. Prices start at $28.50 per ticket, so this giveaway is a BIG value because you’d be winning well over $100 worth of tickets alone, not to mention the pizza!

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING: As always, we reward mamas who help us spread the word about our cool giveaways. If you send an e-mail to your fellow mamas and friends/family about this giveaway, we’ll give you an extra chance to win for every friend you tell. Tell 10 people, and you’ll get 10 extra chances to win. That’s how it works. Plus, you’re helping your friends out by telling them about the giveaway so they can enter as well. Just be sure to put giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com on the CC line of your e-mail so we can give you proper credit.

Good luck! We’ll contact the winners via e-mail soon, so watch your inboxes!

If you didn’t get a letter, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. In the video below, the store manager, Dave Wicklund, invites all the Motherlode moms to attend the private sale Thursday, November 12th.

Metro Builders Supply is located on Hwy 71 Business between Lowell and Springdale, right next to Lighting Emporium. From the bypass (I-540), take either the Wagon Wheel Road exit or the Lowell exit and then head toward 71 Business. If you get lost, call 479-750-2200 and they’ll talk you through it. It’s pretty easy to find. Happy shopping!