Miscellany 3.17.09

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  There.  That's my St. Patrick's Day spirit.  I think I forgot to even tell the kids.  Which brings me to the first of my many completely non-related thoughts...

Homeschooling is going great.  Nathan is blending, doing simple addition, proficient in lots of household tasks... however.  I'm feeling a little adrift right now.  Each day is simply a continuation of the lessons from the day before, but there is no connecting theme at all.  For instance, the Spring holidays?  Haven't even mentioned them.   I have grand intentions, then I realize CRAP.  It's St. Patrick's Day and I forgot to tell my kids.  Oh well, I suppose it's a learning experience for me too.  And it's not like we won't have another chance to wear green next year.

This week has been particularly strange.  Saturday, we found out that Brian's grandmother, whom I adored, had passed away.  We're trying to figure out if we can make it home for the services, but flights are outrageous right now.

Also on Saturday, I ran into Blake Lively, the star of the show Gossip Girl, in Whole Foods.  She was squatting in the aisle, and I said "excuse me" to get by her, and when she looked up at me, I instantly became useless for the rest of the trip.  I had no idea what I needed, and I would stand there staring at a shelf thinking Blake Lively is in this store right now.  I admit that I am way more interested in celebrity culture than I want to be, but I really thought if I ever ran into one, I wouldn't become a moron.  I clearly think too highly of myself.

We're considering moving across the river.  Between our very loud neighbors who leave radios and televisions on all night and the lack of a yard, we think it might be a good time to go somewhere else.  Also, there is a possibility of shortening Brian's commute and paying less rent.  But we are still totally guessing at how long we'll be here (Brian mentioned last week that they are so behind that we should plan on just closing out the job, which has a contractual end-by date of June 2011).

We've actually had several social engagements over that last couple weeks, a few of them with boys from Nathan's Sunday school class.  It's been awesome, and has served to remind me that I am, in fact, an introvert.  I just want to hole up in my house and not talk to anybody for a while.  It has also made me really, really miss friends who know me.  Ladies who will not think I am a nutter when I stick my foot in my mouth twelve times in the next two and a half minutes.  Because I will, that's a given!

Okay, I feel better now.  Thank you!

Much Loved

Dorothy May Stewart

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned, 

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:18

I don't think this is how it was supposed to go...

Tonight my big boy disobeyed just before bed and got sent to the bathroom for a little come-to-Jesus talk. I asked him if he knew why he was going to be disciplined; he did. I informed him he would have a swat. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth commenced.

I delivered the swat... on top of two inches of cloth diaper (nighttime is still a challenge) and the wailing and gnashing of teeth continued. I knew that it couldn't possibly have hurt him, but there was no way he was going to give up his edge.

I waited for a moment, trying to figure out if I needed to address the DRAMA. What the heck. I went for it. I told him, "I know it didn't hurt you. So why are you crying?"

"I don't know."

"Nathan, why are you crying when your bottom doesn't hurt?"

He looked at me with those huge blue eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks...

"Because it's fun."

Um.... "What?"

"It's kind of like a game."

I almost bit my tongue off. Don't laugh. Do not laugh. DO NOT LAUGH! I totally laughed.

I guess I have his number now.

My Boys are Teething!

Nathan lost his first tooth today! He's so proud!

 

This is the size of the teeth making their very painful entrance into Isaac's mouth.

I made this little bag for him this evening, to put under his pillow.  He picked the color scheme!

I wonder if he'll be able to fall asleep tonight!

Brian just told me he said he's going to fall asleep AS FAST AS HE CAN tonight so the Tooth Fairy will come!

Because I Want to Remember

I've been wandering around today, singing In Christ Alone as our church sings it, with On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand as the bridge.

On Christ the solid rock I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

Nathan was doing school work at the table and asked me, "what is sinking sand?"  We had a fun conversations about it.  He was concerned that one might stumble upon sinking sand at the beach.  I told him about how fighting to get out of sinking sand makes you more stuck; you need another person to pull you out while you relax.

How perfect is this song as a word picture of a relationship with Christ?

I tried to explain the picture, and the idea of word pictures to him.  Jesus is strong, like a rock.  He is unbreakable, solid.

The things we place our faith in, ourselves, our skills and abilities, our money, people... they are sinking sand.  They look like you should be able to rely on them to safely cross, but they are not infallible.

He asked, "what is faith?"

My heart is in awe at the simple conversations... God, give me the right words, to communicate, to make it simple, to help him understand.

"Faith is believing in that which you cannot see.  Come here," I told him.  "Turn your back to me and put your arms out.  Can you see me?  I want you to fall backward, and I'm going to catch you.  Do you believe that I will catch you?"

A silly grin, a fun game. "Yes".

"So you have faith that I will catch you, because I told you I will."

He fell backward, moved his feet.  "Try again, try not to move your feet."  Again, he moved his feet.  Over and over he fell backward, moving his feet, until finally, he knew that I would catch him.  He put his faith in me.  He stopped stepping backward to catch himself.  He flew backward into my arms, over and over.

We stopped, he giggling, me smiling proudly.  And now, the teaching moment.  Please, Lord, let me get it right.  "Nathan, I have faith in Jesus.  He has promised to be with me, to be there when I fall.  Not with a body like a person, I'm not going to fall over right now, because I would fall on the floor!  But when things are hard.  He's with me, and in me.  He said he would be, and I have faith that he is."

These conversations are hard for Nathan.  This whole idea of Jesus being in his heart.... well, where? Jesus is a person, right?  So I've realized I need to be careful to explain that the Holy Spirit is who lives in us, in our hearts and minds, and the Holy Spirit has no body.

"Is he in me?"

"Have you asked him to be?"

"No."

"Then I guess not."  Oh, that was hard to say.  But I decided some time ago that I will NOT pressure my children to accept Christ.  I will explain and offer, explain and offer, but I will not pressure.

"Why not?"

"Nathan, Jesus is not going to make you accept him.  He wants to live in you, very much, but he won't come in unless you ask.  He won't make you choose him.  It has to be your choice."

The conversation continue a bit; Nathan thinks very deeply, and always wants to know more.  We talked about what makes something a choice, and more about what it means to have a relationship, a friendship with God.  That piqued his interest, I'm not sure I've ever told him that our relationship is a friendship.  Nathan is all about friends!

"Nathan, God will not force you to choose him.  I will not force you to choose him."  And he smiled and skipped on back to the playroom.  It's not time yet.  That's okay.  In this moment, I get to see the stepping stones that will lead to a faith that I think I might envy someday.

In Christ Alone My Hope is Found.

Alright. So it ended up being two carseats, a booster seat, three suitcases, a garment bag, a diaper bag, a backpack, a purse and five jackets. And three children.

After a whirlwind visit, we're home from California!  It was a fun, but very busy trip.  We had something going on every single day, and since three of the five of us got sick, we'll need to rethink some things next time!

Some highlights (or lowlights, depending):

Brian and I were surprised by how comfortable it was to arrive in New Orleans; I guess that means we've settled in.  This morning after a breakfast of bagels (the only thing in the house, thank goodness I remembered to pull them out of the freezer last night!) we made a beeline for the grocery store.  Must have half and half.  I had my first cup of coffee at 11 this morning.  Not Good.

*****

The flight out was amazing.  The best part was that an angel sat in the seat next to Nathan.  This kind, kind man entertained my five year old for FOUR HOURS.  He pretended to be scared when Nathan yelled BOO! (in his ear, over and over and over and over).  He made faces and pretend reactions when Nathan called out animals, (i.e. SKUNK! in his ear, over and over and over and over).  He let Nathan lean across him to look out the window to see the clouds and snow and whatnot.  Talk about a gift from God.  Amazing.

*****

Brenna's trip highlight:  "Nana lets me crack eggs!"  Mama is not so brave.

*****

We stayed in a hotel for a couple nights in Concord (it was VERY hard to visit and not go home to our house!) and the kids LOVE the breakfast buffet.  It's the joy of their hotel experience each time we're in one. They are not particularly fond of Mama's rule that you can only fill up one plate at a time.

*****

There are a variety of reasons I love Brian's annual meeting; one of them is the drive.  All that time in the car to talk WITH NO CHILDREN!  I think we get more complete thoughts out in that drive than in the rest of the year combined!   

*****

Somewhere around Benecia, Brian informed me that if I die before he does, he's going to announce in my eulogy that I drool like a labrador in my sleep.  Just thought I should let you know that my funeral might turn into a tell-all.

*****

We had a great conversations about women and body image.  Just a heads-up, ladies, but men really hate it when we blow off their compliments.  They feel belittled by it.  

We talked about having a healthy body, and what that means, as well as different body types.  I tried to explain (in my own neurotic way) why a woman might not believe her man finds her attractive.  It was interesting and eye-opening to me to hear Brian's perception of my own ups and downs.  I guess it's probably obvious that he's not as hard on me as I am :)

*****

Lots of moms have told me horror stories about their kids' lack of tact.  Nathan is really a sweet kid, and I really thought we had mostly missed that phase.  GUESS NOT.  In the airport, while waiting for our plane to board, Nathan asked, "MOM, ARE THOSE PEOPLE TALKING SPANISH?"  He was referring to a couple sitting facing us about four feet away.

Hoping that a short answer would satisfy, I just said yes.

"WELL WHY DON'T THEY GO BACK TO THE STATE WHERE ALL THE PEOPLE TALK SPANISH AND NOT COME HERE?

Are you mortified for me?

So we had a little impromptu conversation about how it's okay to ask questions about things that are different, but could you PLEASE, PLEASE ask me politely in my ear, not while dancing in the aisle between us and said couple?  He asked a few more pointed questions, so we had to briefly cover the concept of discrimination, a wonderful conversation to have in the airport, made all the more poignant by the fact that the people sitting back-to-back with us could surely hear every word and, I'm pretty certain, "talked Spanish".

*****

Fifteen minutes later, as we sat in our seats on the plane, a woman with a pronounced birthmark on her neck and jaw placed her bag in the bin above our heads.  Once again, my sweet boy felt the need to question me at top volume.  Rinse, repeat.

*****

Brenna had the flu for the last three days of the trip.  You know what is no fun?  A three year old who is too whiny and weak to walk on her own two feet through an airport when you have a bazillion bags to carry.  Anyhoo, she's over it today, and all the words she didn't use for those three days came out this morning.

No coffee + TOO MANY WORDS = grouchy mom

*****

Man, I always get to the end and have no idea how to close.  So, ummm...

Bye.