In the Middle of the Night

A lot of nights, we get woken by frantic yells by our young boy,
needing mommy or daddy.

"Can I have an ice cream cone?"

"Did you make those flags, Mommy?  Why?"

View from his bed

"Um, I wuv you."

"My bed is messed up."

"Where is my shoot gun?"

"I love this book."
(pointing to the Richard Scarry book tucked in the side of his bed)

I do love to know that he loves me at all times of day, I guess.
But, most the other stuff could hold until later.  I'd prefer to sleep.

Our Own Little Tagger

One of kids, who shall remain nameless,
was doing sidewalk chalk yesterday evening.

He wasn't really doing it on the sidewalk.
He was intently making marks on all of the flagstone we have precariously piled
(waiting to be used in a new patio).

Then Scott & I stepped inside to finish dinner prep.

The child continued the outdoor tagging.

He colored posts.  He colored the sand box.

Then somehow, he got past us in the kitchen

& went on marking indoors.

There were marks on the hallway walls.

Marks on the dining table & chairs.

And his final masterpiece,
which he showed us when we went in to start the kid's evening bath,
was a huge circling of the toilet paper holder.
The spiral design was ginormous.  I have no idea how he did it.

It was cool.
We have a little tagger.

The Next Amelia Earhart

Six Years & The Rewards are Sweeter

6 years ago, right about right now, this is what Scott & I were doing.

Marriage is about giving up & serving & being vulnerable & purposing to love.

That sounds kind of hard.

It is.

But when both persons are actively 

giving up & serving & being vulnerable& purposing to love,

The rewards are so much sweeter than the difficulties.

We only love each other more.

I am grateful for the place God brought us, 6 years ago.

But even more grateful for where He has us today.

Welcoming September

This week we went to the local teacher supply store, Kaleidoscope.
We picked out some flashcards.
Counting
Shapes
Colors
Letters
We picked out some simple workbooks.
Glittery pencils & cool pencil grips.

When we got in the car, Gillian asked me if it was time for school to start.
I said yes, just about.
She squealed/screamed, "Right now is all my favorite things!
School time & the Air Show!!!!"

I am planning to use the fantastic blog I just found today, 

Totally Tots,

for planning a little weekly class we are going to do.

I mean, check out the "c" class ideas.

I am so blown away by the adorableness of this!

They are doing these great lower case craft cards.

I am going to use this the year.  

Not every letter has a full lesson plan, like "c" does.  

But, they have a plethora of ideas around the site to help out.

Hopefully I can share with you some of what we do each week!

Plan on it, okay!

(But, we aren't starting the "class" for a few weeks yet...)

The problem with Maternity Jeans

Maternity Pants.
Why can't they make ones that fit?
This time, I purchased some Oh Baby jeans, that supposedly have a "Secret Fit Belly".
When I tried them on in the dressing room, with three fussy kids at my feet,
I thought they fit great.
How could they not?
The Secret Fit Belly was patent pending.
Alas.  Now that they are home, & I am trying to wear them during my daily activity,
they are awful.  The keep falling down.
I have to hold them up.
The secret fit of the belly is that it is not tight or constraining.
Isn't that great?
The other secret is that due to the looseness, they just fall down, once you move a few inches.

What about the mid belly fit?
Those stay up alright.  But, they do the unfortunate dig into the swelling abdomen.
It's like the equator line, right down the middle.
If you have any extra fat there,
this fit of maternity jeans makes sure everyone can see;
as the northern hemisphere hangs over the equator line.

The lower belly fit maternity pants are my favorite.
But, if they are not just right, they can be bad news.
Jeans that I loved in prior pregnancies are too stretched,
to now stay up in earlier pregnancy.
But, it seems all my tighter lower belly bands are too tight.
During the first trimester, the squeeze is intolerable,
making the nausea feelings even worse.
They just squeeze me sick.
Now that I feel better on that front,
they still are squeezing in the wrong place - my bladder.


Maybe there is an answer.  Maybe the really expensive pants do actually fit.
I'll probably never find out.

One Size Isn't Going to Fit 'em All

No one child is the same.  We know that, right?
We all know everyone is unique,
just like flowers & snowflakes & leaves &
God is so creative like that.

But, when it comes to tailoring our training &
mentorship of our kids to them each individually,
it can get tricky.
What about fairness & equality?
We don't want them to believe we are favoring one over the other.
And there is the truth that we are all human & have much "sameness".
They are all made in God's image.
They are all sinners, in need of a Savior.
They all need to be taught the Truths of God's Word.
They all need to be loved & provided for.

I know many people read this verse differently, but,
my pastor said he believes that when
Proverbs 22:6 says
"train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it."
It is saying to train your child toward his own individual way, his natural bent.
We should understand our particular child &
encourage them in their God-given strengths.

Scott & I have been reading The Connected Child.  

It is written particularly to adoptive or foster parents.  

It talks about reaching a traumatized child.  

It offers help in how to bond with a deeply wounded child, 

who has seen a lot of pain.

It's a great book.  We are trying to soak it all in.

But, learning about all the special needs for the orphan is a little intimidating.

And, it has caused us to rethink some things.  

We cannot parent a wounded child the same way we parent a nurtured child.

What will that look like?  

I worry a bit that it will cause tension between the children.  

But, the truth is, no two children are the same.  

One size does not fit all.

And, each one has their own special needs that need to be met.

The big thing that we have been rethinking is spanking.  

By posing these questions, I am NOT trying to say that spanking is always wrong.

But, if spanking is not appropriate for a traumatized child, 

then there are things to rethink.

Do you believe that spanking must be done, 

in order to train your children according to the Bible?

I did.  This article made me see things a little differently.  

Not that spanking is always bad.  

But, that it is not necessary to parent Biblically. 

The thing that got me even thinking in that direction is this - 

If Christians believe that spanking is necessary to Biblical parenting, 

than how do the Christians fit into the adoption & foster parenting world?

If the Church teaches that spanking is the only way, 

then who should parent the abandoned & abused child?  

Are we really going to leave that for institutions?

Or only to non-Christians?

God calls us to stand up for the fatherless.  

He says that it is pure & undefiled religion to care for the widow & orphan.

This doesn't mean that all Christians should be adoptive parents.  

But, everyone has a part.

Each member of the body should stand up for the fatherless 

in the way they are called.

If the concern of having a "different" child in your life is a concern, 

I challenge you to rethink that.

If you think spanking is "the only way", therefore, you can't adopt,

I would encourage you to rethink that.

One size isn't going to fit all.  

(Speaking of fitting, why don't maternity pants ever fit right?!  

I am so tired of tugging them up.)

Sunshine Makes me Tired

I took my kids to the beach today.  

We live on the coast.

But we hardly ever go to the beach.

This was our first time in months.

Moira was content to play & dig in the sand for hours.

Gillian was a little unsure of the waves.

She required someone to hold her hands "really tight".

Peyton wanted to be held in the waves at the beginning.

But, after a while, he wanted to go into the waves, 

without even hand holding.  Eek!

And, he wants a boogie board for next time.

Yeah right!

Being in the sun too much makes me tired!

I'm gonna lay down.