Some recent pictures of the rugrats

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.