Stones of Remembrance 2009

As we end 2009 and begin 2010, I thought it would be a good idea to remember what God has done this year in me and in my family.  If I don’t remember, I will be as fickle as an Israelite and will begin to grumble and complain.  I too need stones of remembrance (see Joshua 4:1-9), so that is what this list is:  Stones of Remembrance for 2009.

1. I got to do the Beth Moore Esther study and learned so much about God’s perfect plan for each of us, His providence, and His perfect timing.
2. I learned that as a child of God, I am His royalty – a princess.
3. God reiterated over and over that He alone is the one who meets our needs and He enjoys and wants to do it.
4. Speed Racer went to the dentist for the first time and did great.
5. Daniel and I celebrated the fact that we have been married for 5 years and survived thus far.
6. Speed Racer moved from a crib to a toddler bed.
7. Every day more and more, God became the friend that I needed.  He was my provision in my loneliness:   He was the mother I wanted and the best friend I wanted and the mentor I wanted.  He met my needs not physically, but with Himself.
8. The kids enjoyed dancing and singing and learning to praise.
9. Daniel and I experienced more time together, and the kids visited their grandparents more.
10. Princess became an artist, learning to draw more and more things.
11. We got new hardwood floors in the living and dining room areas.
12. Princess learned to swim.
13. I learned how to lean more on God through bible memorization, although I slacked off during the last part of the year.
14. I began to finally see a breakthrough in Princess’s behavior.  We learned some physical ailments and saw a remarkable change in her.
15. We took both of our children to Vail, AZ, and survived the plane rides and trips, and saw God work in miraculous ways in getting me there and in using us while we were there.
16. Speed Racer turned 2!
17. I facilitated a women’s bible study over the summer, and then again in the fall.  I was blessed to be able to form deeper relationships through both of those studies and see God at work in others lives and in my own.
18. God worked in my hard heart about some bitterness I had for an old friend.
19. Princess started preschool.
20. Princess finally completed her potty training for good, with the exception of night training, which she is not physically able to do yet (and this is perfectly normal via our pediatrician.)
21. We are expecting our 3rd child and have seen God’s hand at work in our baby already.
22. I began talking regularly to an accountability partner and friend, which helped fill the void I have for friendships.  We continue to pray for several things over and over again, but we’ve seen God answer prayers and meet needs through the things we’ve prayed over. 
23. I became more involved with the ladies at church and although, I still crave more intimate friendship, that too filled some of the friendship void.
24. Princess turned 4!
25. I cried and I prayed and I struggled, but God heard.  God helped me to see how RICH we are – in material and in emotion and in spirit.  He has shown up every time I’ve had an emotional need or a spiritual need or even a physical need.
26. My sister graduated from nursing school!

Taste and See

Last night I was talking to a friend.  She mentioned that she would be cooking Christmas dinner for her in-laws.  She listed two desserts that she would be making, and I, knowing her very well, figured she had not eaten at least one of the 2 pies that she would be making, and she said no she had never eaten the peanut butter pie she was planning to make nor had she ever made pecan pie, which she was about to do for Christmas.  It got me to thinking when I was cooking my Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup today.  You see I personally cannot imagine not eating something I have cooked.  Over the years, I’ve learned how to improvise and cook and make my own adjustments to different recipes and as I was doing this while cooking my soup today, I thought about the pies.  I am assuming that they must be cooked purely by recipe, leaving little room for improvisation.  But, I don’t know for sure.

Anyhow, I got to thinking about how it would be one thing entirely to follow the recipe for Christ by simply obeying His rules and never tasting Him.  You see the bible says that we should “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).  Two thoughts occurred.  One could potentially follow all the rules God has laid out and never ever experience a relationship with Him.  One could never really know that He is good.  Sure you could allow someone else to taste Him, but not the taste the Lord and to delve into His goodness?  Unimaginable!  It almost seems unfathomable that you could cause someone else to taste Christ and not have tasted Him yourself, yet I know that God works in higher ways, meaning that at times He does use nonbelievers to speak to believers.  The other thing is that without tasting, there is no way to allow the Holy Spirit to allow for improvisation, which He so often does.  So although you may not taste the food you cook, TASTE and SEE that the Lord is GOOD!!!!

Jesus in Suzanne’s Skin

My blog means a lot to me.  When I post personal posts, I am posting from my heart, from the very deepest places, and I do so because I feel like God is calling me to share whatever story I happen to be sharing with you in each post.  The problem is once I post my heart for all world to see, I rarely know if anyone reads or if God is using it to speak to anyone.  I don’t know who reads regularly.  And posting things that are deeply personal makes me feel naked and exposed.  I have posted about how insecure I am here and here. 

For whatever reason, I often feel as if God has placed a veil over me and no one sees me.  I know this is naive of me to say, but I often feel like a stranger in a foreign country.  Or like the girl with the scarlet letter.  I know that I am different, and I want to be different, but I also want to be connected.  And to be fair, I have felt a whole lot more connected lately, just not when it comes to this blog.  So after I posted this, I felt exposed and forgotten – sort of how one might feel visiting the female doctor, when you’ve had to undress, but the doctor does not quickly come and you are just hanging out under a thin sheet all alone.  Yeah, that’s pretty much how I felt.  I followed God’s plan by posting, but I did not trust Him in His work through me after I posted.  And my heart’s cry is “Use me, Lord, use me.  Empty me for more of You.”

So I began to feel insecure about posting such personal thoughts.  I was feeling particularly down and knew that it was an attack from the enemy, so I asked a friend to pray for me that I would feel His joy and a overwhelming sense of His presence.  My day continued on.  I went to my last bible study of the year and was encouraged, but still not where I needed to be. 

After bible study, I went to the grocery store.  I had to double back for a particular item, and that’s when I saw Suzanne and Josh.  I waved to Josh and turned down the aisle.  Suzanne did not see me.  Josh came to talk to me, and then he got his mom.  When Suzanne turned down the aisle, she said it was funny because she had been looking for me at church.  I was surprised because we say hello at church, but we don’t regularly talk.  She said that God had wanted her to tell me how He had used my blog for her this week.  I knew that in that moment I was staring directly in the face of Jesus, and there was the overwhelming sense of His presence that I had asked for in my prayers.  She proceeded to tell me two ways that God had used my last post to speak to her, and in particular, she had found out about a need, and she had encouraged her bible study ladies to buy a boy a NEW coat, not one that was leftover.  I thanked her and told her that she had blessed my heart by sharing, but I was so overcome with worship for God that I did not share just how much her God-touch meant to me in that moment.  I was overjoyed and grateful to see my sweet Jesus in beautiful Suzanne.

This just shows the sovereign power of God.  God used Heidi to speak to me.  God used me to speak to Suzanne, and God used Suzanne to speak to the ladies in her bible study and then back to me again.  And on it goes.  When God moves, He moves mightily.  And not only does His message resound to the hearts of those He is wanting to change to a better truth, He is a deeply personal God, caring about my heart and meeting my need to see Him.  What other god can you say this about?  I know not other god that cares or that is alive and active as is Our God – the Most High God!  Praise the King!

Congratulations, Nursing Grad!!

This post is overdue.  Two Thursdays ago (12/10/09), my sweet sister, Jennifer, graduated from nursing school.  My mom and I headed to Montgomery to see her get pinned from Troy-Montgomery school of nursing.  First we went to dinner with her and Tanner, and then we headed to the ceremony.  One thing I noticed about most of the graduates is that almost all of them had  to sacrifice a lot to graduate nursing.  Many were married.  Many were parents.  Knowing that my own sister has sacrificed many a hour studying and preparing, I knew that each one had their own story of pain and sacrifice.  I was inspired that so many would feel called to nursing, because that’s the sense that I got – these men and women were called.  Of course, I know that’s not the case for all of them.

My own sister started nursing school so many years ago.  But life happens.  When she started our family was in a strange transitional place that was difficult for all of us.  In the midst of it, my dad died.  Soon after, my sister dropped out and became a bank teller for a while.  God would not let her just walk away from nursing, however, because her co-workers kept encouraging her to go back to school.  Then she got married.  And then back to school she went.  She had ups and downs, but she struggled through despite all of the difficulties.  Though there were times when I think she wanted to give up, she kept going.  Her perseverance paid off, and now, she is a nursing graduate, and she is on her way to being a nurse.  She has already found a job!  This post is to you, my sweet sister!  I am more proud of you than you will ever know.  And, I know daddy and granny would be proud of you.  Most of all, I believe God is very proud of you too.

My sister, Jenn, (in the white scrubs) and her sister in law, Tara

Me, Jenn, and my mom

Jenn and her husband, Tanner

The graduating class

Selfishness, Giving, and Christ

Here’s the truth about me.  I am selfish, greedy, sometimes jealous, sometimes envious, prone to wander, prone to stray, often without a self controlled tongue, sinner.  When I look in the mirror the Holy Spirit sets in front of me, this is what I see in my natural self.

Just yesterday, Princess had her first performance at church.  I suggested that Daniel save us some seats because he was going early with Princess, but when I arrived all the seats close to the stage where I could easily see my little preschooler were already taken, and no seats were saved.  I selfishly wanted a better seat, and it was only for self that I wanted that better seat.  Not a drop of godliness was in that desire, and the Holy Spirit was quick to remind me of that.  I was not quick to change into a spirit of humility however.

And when it comes to parenting, I am jealous of those who appear to be perfect and those who appear to have perfect children.  I want some sort of perfection in my life too.  I am reminded that Jesus IS the perfect person in my life and that if my child were perfect, I would sit down and worship one of them instead of the Savior, which is idolatry.  No child and no parent is perfect.  Only Christ is our perfect gift and Savior.   Read a great post about parenting myths here (unfortunately the giveaway has passed).

I have been digging Heidi’s blog lately.  She wrote a great post about the Spirit of Christmas and about how we should give sacrificially.  I have read and reread her post.  At the risk of sharing too much, we made a commitment to our church last year to give money to our church over the course of 3 years.  The amount we pledged was for us a God-sized pledge.  At the time, I thought maybe we could have given more, but I followed my husband’s leadership. 

At first we didn’t honor our commitment and give to it regularly.  Shortly thereafter, the economy fell hard and it affected us too.  We thought we could count on bonuses to help us give our pledge, but there is no guarantee of a bonus, so we are now giving our money as we receive it.  This has demanded us to make changes in our lifestyle of which we are still working on.  I no longer have internet on my cell phone.  We technically should not eat out anymore.  For Christmas, we are making gifts as opposed to spending a lot of money on gifts, and the kids are receiving gifts I bought on consignment.  I share this only because through this, I continue to learn how very selfish I am, especially when it comes to food and things for the kids.  We continue to make poor decisions to eat out when we should not.  And honestly, we continue to watch cable TV when I’m not sure that we should really pay for it anymore.  While the pledge we initially made did not seem to be a sacrificial gift, God is using it to teach us about sacrifice.

A friend shared with me a story she had heard about Mark Driscoll’s parents – he said that when he was young, his parents would always give when they saw needs, giving not just old coats they could find out of their closet, but buying new ones for the children they found without coats.  He said that sometimes this meant that at dinner the children would eat while the parents were not able.  Now that is what I call selfLESS sacrificial giving.  And that’s the kind of heart I hope to have and to learn as I continue to figure out how to give sacrificially to God and to those who have needs.  I need to remember to give good gifts to those who are needy, not just leftovers, as Heidi mentioned people often do.

I don’t know if God will bless me monetarily through my giving, and that’s not why I give.  I give to honor God.  And I know that He is already teaching me to slough off selfishness, pride, and the like, but I am far off from perfection, and God continues to be my ultimate teacher, confidante, and friend.  The only thing that differentiates me from someone who does not know God is my relationship with Him.  He talks to me, and I talk to Him.  He is absolute perfection, and I am a sinner like we all are.  In our relationship, He corrects me and helps me to change.  He sets me free from guilt because I am covered by His blood.  I am forgiven.

By the way, there is a great children’s book that teaches about doing away with a selfish heart to have a heart of sacrificial giving – The Three Gifts of Christmas by Jennie Bishop.  It is awesome!

The New Baby

New Baby has gotten very little coverage on this blog.  I guess because I felt extreme fatigue my first trimester.  In the second trimester, I have been trying to catch up on work in the house that I totally gave up on as well as begin to make room for New Baby.  This has caused me some stress as I mentioned in an earlier post.  Three weeks ago, however, we had an ultrasound which determined we are having a sweet baby girl, that appears to be healthy.  Princess is super excited to be having a sister, and Speed Racer wants to look at the baby (my belly) all the time.  Princess hugs the baby, talks to her, and gives her sweet kisses.  Speed Racer also talks to his sister and is excited to be becoming a big brother, but he is a little uncertain about this as well.  He needs cuddling and his blankie more often lately, and hey, that’s okay.  He can be my little baby for a little longer.  :)

Another New Bed

So after the tea party was over, we set up Speed Racer’s new bed.  Every since Thursday, he has had trouble sleeping.  We think it is over the excitement of the new beds, but we’re not sure.  Anyhow, here is Speed Racer in his new “big boy” bed.  Obviously, he got to move up in bed status a little earlier than Princess.  We’ll find out if he can truly handle it!  By the way, his cheeks are extra rosy, and we are wondering if he has Fifth’s Disease.  So far, we’ve had no other symptoms.

 

A Princess Tea Party

Today was Princess’s birthday party!  Whew!  It was a LONG week of celebrations!  She invited 5 girls and 4 got to come.  The girls dressed up and brought their favorite doll friends to the party with them.  We decorated tea cups, and then ate tea party food – little sandwiches, cookies, fruit and dip, cake, and pink tea (pink lemonade).  The girls played with Princess’s princess dolls and dress up clothes, and I think they all had fun.  Here’s a few highlights from the party in pictures:

Birthday Party at Preschool

Today, Princess got to celebrate her birthday at school.  Her class didn’t celebrate it on her actual birthday since they went on a school field trip.  Yesterday, she and I made cupcakes together, and today, we shared them with her class.  She is birthday princess for the day!  Ms. Melanie, her teacher, gave her a Snow White book and some silly bracelets.

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A New Bed

In preparation for the new baby, we bought Princess and Speed Racer twin beds off of craigslist, so that the new baby could use the bed that Princess used to sleep in.  Daniel picked them up Tuesday night after our CFA celebration.  Last night after bible study I went to buy some sheets for the beds.   Tonight we set up Princess’s new bed.  She was super excited about getting a new bed and new sheets.  Now, she is truly in a “big girl” bed.  We did not have time to set up Speed Racer’s bed right away, but he was very excited too.

Here’s some pics of Princess in her bed for the first time:

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Happy 4th Birthday, Princess!

Today, my sweet little Princess turned 4, and I can hardly believe it.  It seems like yesterday that she was born, but at the same time, it feels like I’ve been a mom for forever!

Today, Princess’s preschool class went to visit a nursing home.  They sang songs and passed out homemade Christmas trees they had made at school during craft time.  Speed Racer was not allowed to go, so Daddy came home from work to watch him for a couple of hours while we went to spread some Christmas cheer.

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Afterward, I took Princess home early, and we spent the day together.

Santa Cow

Recently, we found out that Chick-Fil-A gives out free kid’s meals on family night at the Chick-Fil-A of Inverness.  We knew that every Tuesday was family night, but honestly we have only very rarely participated in it.  I can think of two very memorable times.  One was two years ago, and it was when we took Princess and Speed Racer, who was then Pea, to see Santa Cow.  Last year, we missed the date.  Since we only pretend that Santa is real, we don’t make a big deal over him, and thus, like to visit Santa Cow.  Princess seems to believe Santa and Santa Cow and all the rest are real anyway.  So last week, we decided to go out to Chick-Fil-A and stumbled upon the fact that 1) kid’s meals were free, and 2) Santa Cow was going to be there today.  We could not wait to see him.  The kids got little CFA cows and a picture made with Santa Cow, as well as those Silly Bracelets, which are all the rage right now.  The kids could hardly contain themselves by the time Santa Cow made it in the restaurant.

He Won’t Take it Off

Speed Racer has a new favorite shirt.  Check it out – it’s Buzz Lightyear, AND it lights up!  Thanks to Grandmaw and Papaw for his new favorite shirt.  The only way it came off was that it got wet in the tub!

 

 

Actually he is very peculiar about his clothing, and by that, I mean he is very attached to certain shirts and certain pants.  There are some, like this shirt, that he would truly never take off if he did not have to.

Hiking at Moss Rock Preserve

We decided to use some of our extra time together over the holiday weekend to go hiking at Moss Rock Preserve.  We had a lot of fun walking through the woods – even the kids loved it – especially Speed Racer.  We made it all the way to Turtle Rock and then we came back to the car.  For some reason, known only to Daniel, we decided to leave our snacks in the car.  By the time we got back to the car, we were hungry!  The kids ate their bananas and crackers and cookies as fast as they could.  So did this little momma!  Here are some pics from our trip:

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Thanksgiving pics

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A Bigger House?

I’ve actually written a few posts since my last post, but for whatever reason, they sit in my drafts box, not ready to be posted.  This time however, I hope this is a post that says, “Post me.”

 

I very much want to write a post letting you know my heart and my God struggles.  It feels like so long since I’ve done it that it is somewhat awkward on where to begin.  I’ve had lots of struggles going on – relating with friends, relating with my mom, friends who miscarried when I did not, my daughter’s relationships with family members, unforgiveness, God’s created design in our lives, spiritual gifts vs. the whole body of Christ – things that are stand alone topics that I cannot fully go into here now, but that I was not compelled to blog about at the time.  What I will say is that through each struggle, I was not alone, God was there, making sure I found Him and His way through it.  I would recognize my struggle, my pride, my hurt, or whatever it may have been, and He would answer the need and help me walk through the proper path.

Lately, I have been struggling with needing space for my expanding family.  But tonight God placed some truth on my heart that I wanted to share.  I wanted to find a bigger home.  Daniel had no desire for this, but I dreamt a little dream for a couple of weeks.  Then one day God clearly spoke to me that I had a great home with plenty of space for my growing family.  What it no longer had room for was things we have filled it with that we no longer need or use.  Actually, I felt he was clear in saying that in keeping these things, it was like the man in the parable of the talents (Matt 25: 14-28) who takes the talent God has given him and buries it.  Perhaps, by giving some of our stuff away, we can invest in someone else’s life.

Tonight, I felt like he gave me an even broader perspective, which I will attempt to share here.  Sometime between my freshman and sophomore year of college, I felt a calling on my life to be in ministry.  Later, I felt that call was specifically for missions.  I went on summer missions and vision trips and waited for God to call me to a foreign land – a land that was not in Alabama.  My parents were not in favor of this, and they wanted me to stay here.  When I graduated college, I applied all over the U.S., but it was months before I got a job, and it was here in Birmingham.  As much, with the remembrance that God called me to his ministry, I very much viewed my job as the mission field.  I did not hope to attain high ranks in the company I worked for nor did I spend most of the money I made.  I saved it for the day I would be called to that foreign land or to seminary.  I did not live on nothing, but I lived on much less than my peers because I had a goal in sight.

However, along the way, God called me to marry my husband, Daniel, who to my knowledge has not been called to a mission field anywhere other than Birmingham.  Some may think that I missed the boat or did not hear God correctly, but I strongly believe that I have been called to be both married to Daniel and to be involved in ministry, although the latter may appear lacking at times. 

It is true that in being married and in having children, my vision has become cloudy.  When I was a child, I grew up in Cordova, AL, in the “country.”  My family life was not perfect.  My parents were not perfect and did things that were not always Christian-like.  We were raised in church, but I would not say that God was at the center of our home.  The town I grew up in was not perfect either.  It was and still is a very poor community.  People there were not concerned with living in the right subdivision or finding the right school district to go to – mainly because there are not those kinds of choices there.  Most of my Birmingham friends may not be very impressed with my humble background, but I am not in the least bit ashamed.  God led me on a path away from my little town, but it is still a part of who I am.

What I have come to realize is that although I hardly live in a perfect place here either, it at times, feels like I live in a dream place, not in the real world.  Though we worry about which school district our children should go to, we have lots of pretty good choices close by if we ever did move.  Schools that would be a lot better than the one that I went to.   We do not live in some exclusive neighborhood or subdivision in Birmingham, but there are still not many poor people living close by, which to me, is very disturbing.  I want my children to be exposed to people who have needs, which means I must be intentional to do this.

Though I came from less than perfect conditions as a child, God totally had a hand on my life all the way throughout my childhood.  I am not saying that it is not important to think about where to send your child to go to school, but we as parents do not have to worry about these things.  We can know that we will be doing what is best when we let God lead, even if it is allowing our kids to go to a school that seems less than perfect in our minds.

Again, living in this world, the world that is my current mission field, has made my vision a little cloudy.  I am becoming acclimated to the culture – the culture that says we need a bigger house and to go to the best school system.  And that is hardly what I want to do, I want to set my sights on things above, where my vision will again be clear.  There is still a chance, small though it be, that God will call me and my family to Timbuktu, and if it comes, I want to be ready (Matt 25:1-13) and not have wasted my resources on things that simply do not matter in the eternal scheme of things.

Max’s Delicatessen

Daniel is going out of town tomorrow night, so tonight we went out to eat.  He has been wanting to try a new place called Max’s Delicatessen, and we have coupons for it, so we went there.  I will leave an official review to my friend, Amarilys, whose blog is devoted to her thoughts on food and restaurants, but thought I would leave a few thoughts here.

Max’s is a hometown restaurant locally owned and operated.  When we arrived, we were greeted with a smile and were quickly seated.  The children were given Crayola crayons and a color page.  (Parents of small children know that restaurants crayons rarely hold up to little hands, much less mommy’s and daddy’s hands.  Crayola crayons are the mark of a good restaurant, in and of themselves.)  Then a veggie basket was brought to us, which included pickles (these were slightly different – not dill), raw carrots, raw celery, and ranch dressing.  Our drink order was taken and promptly brought out, and we were given plenty of opportunity to order quickly or not, to our needs.

Daniel decided to order the beef brisket, and I decided to order the sweet and sour stuffed cabbage.  (This was a dish my parents both used to make when I was younger, and I’ve not had in many years.)  Princess decided that she wanted to chili, and Speed Racer shared with us.  The dinners included soup, and Daniel got Matzo ball, and I got Chicken and Rice.  They came out very quickly and were very large in portion even though a side portion.

Then, our dinners came – Daniel got mashed potatoes and spinach for his sides, and I got mashed potatoes and fresh fruit for my sides.  The spinach was uniquely sautéed with onions, was obviously fresh, and tasted delicious.  My bowl of fruit was huge, very yummy, and also fresh – grapes, pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melons, and some watermelon. 

One of the co-owners brought out Princess’s chili, and when he saw it was for her, he told us that we might to sample the chili first saying it was very unique – a bean-less chili.  He took it back, brought a sample, Princess tasted it, loved it, and he brought it back with some freshly shredded cheese.  (I could pick up the cheese and feel its texture and know that it was grated in house.)  The dinner portions were once again large and everything served was very fresh and delicious.

The waitress took the kid’s colored pages and hung them up on the wall.  When we come back, if their picture is still hanging up, they are entitled to a free cookie!

Max’s does not serve the usual fare, but has a variety of items on the menu.  I found everything to be so fresh and delicious that I wanted to recommend it.  When we go out, we often only visit restaurants that have coupons.  Many times these restaurants are new or are struggling to survive, thus the need for coupons.  Many times these restaurants are no longer there when we finally decide to go back.  Because the food, service, and environment was truly excellent at Max’s, I wanted to give you and opportunity to see for yourself in hopes that it thrives and that you enjoy it as well. 

Now, I cannot wait to try one of their sandwiches or their breakfast.

Windows Live Writer

If you are a blogger and you’ve ever thought that the blogger editor could be improved upon, here is the solution for you.  I am currently writing this post using a new editor, Windows Live Writer.  I got the tip from Shirley at Alabama Times.  She links to all the appropriate links so that everyone who suggested this fancy tool gets credit where credit is due.  I went ahead and left a link straight to the download, because you have to clink through a few links to get there.  Supposedly, this editor makes it easier to use fancy fonts, as well as makes it easier to post pictures.  If you’ve used blogger for very long, you know how difficult it can be to post pictures – including how they appear on the page as well as the upload time it takes.  Windows Live Writer is supposed to be the answer.  Let’s see… It looks as though it really is easier to add photos this way.  And, you can even edit your photo, crop, give it a fancy border, etc. all inside this editor.  Pretty nifty.  I’m pretty excited about this!

 

Carving the Pumpkin 2009

Fall Festival 2009

Today, we went to the Fall Festival at our church. Princess dressed up as Cinderella, and Speed Racer dressed up as Batman. We had a great time. The kids played games, won candy, bounced in the bouncy house, rode on a hay ride (Princess and me), ate hot dogs, hamburgers, and popcorn, and slid down the giant bouncy slide. It was quite a fun time.

Princess saw her friend, CE, and helped cheer her for a little while. Elijah ran around with his friend, JP. Of course, Princess and Speed Racer had to dance to the folk music before we left, and I enjoyed some cotton candy.

We had a great turnout - there was a lot of people, and each year it is more organized and better than the year before. So exciting!

Things to Remember

Being a Mom is Hard. These are a few of things I hope I can remember when I get to be an older mom or a grandmother:

1. Potty training is extremely difficult - just when you thought it was over, someone has an accident or a potty problem. It takes a whole lot of time and patience. It may be extremely easy for some, but not for this momma. I hope I can remember something about how to help Princess train her kids when she is a mom.

2. Your kids are not young forever. I am only assuming that at some point they learn to obey and actually want to obey when they are asked. I need to cherish our time together despite how difficult it can sometimes be. It is important to remember humor in your day or despair may occur.

3. Despite the absolute joy of spoiling the grandkids, I want to remember how much extra work it was for me when they were spoiled, so that I aid not hinder my children when they are parents. I am sure I will forget this one as all grandparents seem to do, but with any hope I will not. I do not believe this is some rite of passage for both parties as seem think we all deserve this "punishment." And whatever rules mom and dad instate, I hope to abide by.

4. Parenting never ends despite what one would like to believe, even when you grow up and the relationship changes. I hope I will be there for young moms to mentor them and teach them from things and experiences I've learned as a mom as in Titus 2. I hope to always listen and be there for them, no matter how old or what kind of problems they have. I hope that at that point in time, I actually have some wisdom to offer.

5. I also hope to be like my granny and instill a genuine love of Christ in my grandkids. I will sing "Jesus Loves Me" all my days, and I hope they will see me serving others and passionately living for Christ. I will take them to church with me and support them at their church (hopefully).

The Prayer of a Child

For no particular reason, we don't do rote prayers very often at our house.

But the kids have plenty of opportunities to pray. We ask them if they would like to say the blessing. Tonight Speed Racer wanted to do the honors. This is what he said:

Dee-ah God,
Tank you for food. Tank you for dis (as he points to his hominy and cannot remember the word for it), dis is good. Tank you also for the gween beans (which are really peas) and my chicken too. Amen.

So simple yet so perfect.

Snuggling Up

"I so love you, brother"

Princess said to Speed Racer as they watched morning cartoons together.


P. S. This is my 300th post!! Yay me!
I am thinking of giving something away in honor of this. Stay tuned.