Follow Up on the Baby

Remember when I had a minor meltdown about our baby and "God, why don't you just fix the problem already!!"?? (Lessons in Patience)

Today God answered our prayers, and the problem is GONE. In the five weeks since the last ultrasound, I've prayed and also let go of my worry. I've let go of the problem and I'm trusting the Lord that everything will be fine. Today the doctor told me that the placenta is far enough away that we don't need to be concerned about that anymore. But she wants me to come back in three weeks for another ultrasound because he's big. According to their measurements he currently weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces. But there's a margin of error of 14 ounces, so he could only be 6 and a half pounds. Still, babies gain about a half pound a week and we've got six weeks to go... This boy is going to be big... Well, I guess I could worry about that but once again I'm faced with a choice - hang onto the worry and fear (seriously, I'm afraid of having a big baby, every ounce bigger just means more pain, doesn't it?), or let go. Let God take care of us and trust that everything will be fine. Even if its not "fine" by my definition, it WILL be fine because God will take care of us and bring us through it.

Thank you Lord for answering our prayers and fixing the placenta. Thank you again for a healthy baby. And thank you for whatever size he's going to be, because he's in your hands and we know that you're working it all for the best!

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
~Colossians 4:2

Party Weekend

On Friday we left from work and drove to the farm. I told the kids that we wouldn't be spending much time there and they were pretty disappointed that they wouldn't get to play. They were pretty excited when I was wrong! We had a great evening with Tim & Penny, the kids played with Aunt Penny's toys and the cat and weren't ready for bed at 11:00 but fell asleep quickly anyway. On Saturday morning Farmer Tim asked the kids the big question... "Are you helping me with chores?" Within seconds both kids had their shoes on and stood by the door waiting for him to join them outside. He looked at me and said, "I guess I should have asked you first if that was ok." Oh well, too late now, they're off! Two and a half hours later they were back in the house and we were trying to get out the door, only to be further delayed by Aunt Penny treating the kids to cookies and chocolate.
(Kids are wearing Holmesville Dairy sweatshirts because we had limited clothes with us, since I wasn't expecting them to be doing chores on this trip.)

We finally made it to Bloomington around 1:00 for Grandpa's barbeque and it was fantastic to see our family all gathered together and enjoying each other's company. The best part was seeing how happy Grandpa and Grandma were to be surrounded by family and friends. Archer and Shelly played with Uncle Kim and Aunt Jill quite a bit. And the amount of fun they had showed up on Archer's pants, soaked and muddy up to his knees, its a good thing we had extra pants with us for the trip home!

Singing Praises

Tonight as I was making supper and the kids were playing outside I was singing along to some praise and worship music. I stopped singing to think about what it might be like when we get to heaven, will we even sing with words? Words never seem like enough to come close to expressing who God is and what He does in our lives. I thought maybe we will sing praises with no words, just letting our hearts speak without the constraint of language. This led to wondering what our Father thinks when He hears us now, on this broken planet with our simple means of expression. At first I thought that maybe He sees us and looks down with condescention, like "oh, that's a nice try kids, but I've heard so much better..."

And then I had this flash of my children hugging me and telling me that I'm the best mom ever. Or showing me something that they made just for me. Today Shelly spent a big chunk of time working on cutting little bits of paper and gluing them together into a big glob of sticky scraps. And then she said, "This is for you, Mom." Does it matter what it looks like? To her it does, but not to me. When the kids want to tell me a story that makes no sense at all does it matter that there's no literary revelation at the end of the story? No. It matters that they love me and want to share their creative ideas. They want to share their hearts. And through those moments God has shown me that my singing doesn't matter, my heart does. Singing is my way of reaching up and saying, "See? I love you!" Even if He has heard something a million times prettier than my voice, what He hears from me is my feeble attempt at showing Him my love. In my attempts to get the kids to make "nicer" artwork, they've taught me that the way it turns out really doesn't matter.

Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.
~ Proverbs 23:19

Another Perfect Day

Over the summer I frequently heard Archer say, "This is the best day EVER!" And recently he's started another phrase, "this is the WORST DAY ever!" David likes to assure Archer that he'll have many days that are much worse than whatever minor thing happened today. Which is true, but also sort of a cryptic promise... Anyway...

I often think back at the end of the day and feel like we had a perfect day. How many perfect days do we get to have in our lives? I'm not sure, but I know if I keep my standards within reason its easy to have lots of them. Today was another perfect day. The only thing that would have made it better was if David had been home enjoying it with us, because he's gone for a few days and I always feel a tug on my heart when we're separate.

This morning Archer and Shelly each graduated to their new classes at Sunday School and all went VERY well. I helped out in Shelly's class and I was AMAZED at the difference in atmosphere from the two year old room to the three year old room. They let the kids have play dough!!! Much less crying when kids were dropped off, less chaos, more attentive listening at story time, all very impressive. I'm excited for Shelly to be moving up and learning more. Archer's teacher gave me a glowing report as well. The kids worked on memorizing a Bible verse and when another kid in his class said, "I can't do it!" Archer chimed in with, "Yes you can, just keep trying!" Wow! I love that he is an encourager with his sister, but to hear it happening with other kids is awesome too.

After church we went to State Fair Park to visit with Aunt Patti and watch the horse show. On our way there I talked to the kids about not running or screaming or yelling no matter HOW excited they were to see our family. I reminded them of all the horse safety rules they learned at family camp and they took me pretty seriously. I was then able to spend the next five hours visiting with Aunt Patti and Mom and Dad without the kids causing any trouble at all! They talked with us, entertained each other, wandered around (but never too far) and watched the horses. I am so proud of them, I only reminded them once of the "no running, no screaming" rule. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with family, catching up and relaxing.

On our way home we stopped at the grocery store and the kids were great. When we got home they got cleaned up and had supper and they were great. We read stories, brushed our teeth and went to bed with no arguing or complaining. There was a moment when I thought it all might fall apart - Archer asked if he could play outside but there was no time for it and I expected a meltdown. Didn't happen. They were such a joy to be around today. So many moments that made me smile that God has blessed me with such a family, too many joys to count. There's no possible way I deserve it and yet He loves us and pours on the blessings.

9/11

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
~ Psalm 147:3
Today I tried to explain to Archer about what happened nine years ago on this day. As I told him in simplified, vague terms about what happened that day I realized that he can't understand and may never fully understand it. I don't think I even fully understand. Can any of us, really? Those who lost friends and family, yes. Me, a thousand miles away and knowing none of those 2,977 victims, no. I don't think so. What grieves me is thinking that to Archer and Shelly this will be a history lesson, a page in a book and that's it. I didn't tell Archer about the planes being hijacked because early tomorrow morning David is leaving on a plane to go to California. I didn't tell him about mothers and fathers being killed and more than 3,000 children being left without a parent. I didn't talk about the children who died. I didn't tell him about going home from work that day and seing the pictures on tv and crying for what had happened to our country.

How do we share our experiences, our history, with our children? How do we show them what a huge effect that one day had on our country's culture, mindset, history? Will they ever be able to understand that horrible day and how it changed us? Will they ever be able to relate to that strange feeling of seeing an airplane flying over our city after passenger planes were allowed to fly again? This is why historians write, why we value photographs and video and try to keep remembering, that our children might remember with us. But ultimately I wonder if anything other than our own experiences truly changes us.



As I watched a documentary with survivors' stories there was more news along the bottom of the screen with the tragedies that have happened around the world today. When, Lord, will you put an end to it? Thank you for your grace and love to our broken world. For loving us despite the things we do.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son...
~ John 3:16

The Little Stuff

I just read something that reminded me that what I'm doing isn't for me, for my daily entertainment or satisfaction but for something much bigger. So often I look for the moments in my days that will say "you're doing the right thing," or "its all worth it." Well, of course those moments are important but so much more of my time is spent doing stuff that feels pretty mundane. And useless. Because no matter how much laundry I fold or dishes I clean or how often I sweep crumbs off the floor I'm going to have to do it all over again tomorrow. Or maybe even five minutes from now. Ugh! I know we ALL do this, its what life is when you're a grown up. And that's fine, we just do it and try not to think on it too much, right? Well, there's a purpose to every moment and God sees it even when we don't. So thanks to the author of this blog who reminded me of that today.

http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/blog/small-things/

Who despises the day of small things?
~Zechariah 4:10

Day Three is Done!

Our first week of school is over and I'm so happy that things are going well. Archer came home in a great mood, singing and dancing around. Shelly spent the day in the kitchen with me making salsa and taking breaks from that to practice using scissors and cutting along a line. She sat at Archer's desk and pretended to be in school. It warmed my heart when she told him what she was doing and he encouraged her and told her "great job!" I love these kids and love when they show each other compassion and encouragement. Isn't the Lord so amazing to have blessed me with these beautiful children and a wonderful husband? I'm not sure I could be any happier and more content in life than I am right now.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
~ Psalm 92:4

Lunch Money? Gone?

Yesterday I gave Archer $20 for his hot lunch account and told him to give it to his teacher. The envelope was among a big batch of other paperwork and envelopes for various school fees, I figured he would just hand the WHOLE BUNCH over to his teacher and all would be well. I under estimated my son's willingness to decide for himself what to do with the paperwork...
Today the hot lunch person was claiming that they never received the payment. This really bothered me because since last school year I have been contesting what we owe them for Archer's lunches. (They say we owe $4.00. I say we already paid it.)

So tonight, just to double check, I said, "Archer, are you SURE you gave your teacher ALL of the envelopes?" (PTA membership fee, book rental fee, LUNCH MONEY) and he said "Yes... except for the one for lunch money." WHAT? Why didn't you give it to her? Where is it? "In my desk. Cause I brought my lunch box." So I then explained that the breakfast he had at school also costs money and he said "But the envelope says LUNCH!" The boy may be getting too smart for his own good. Or for MY good, since aparently I didn't count on him taking matters into his own hands!

Nap Time? Maybe?

Shelly spent most of this morning talking non-stop to herself, her toys and me. She has a story for everything and is constantly adding new characters, new events, new rules to the games. She suddenly got quiet and I looked over to see her lying on the floor in a pile of blankets and pillows with her toys surrounding her. I was wondering if she's too old for naps or if I can still enjoy a little "Mom time" in the afternoons, this may be my answer. She seems to be putting herself down for a nap. Although, she is still whispering... wait... eyes are closed, she's breathing more deeply... sshhhhh...

First Day of First Grade

Today my boy headed off to First Grade. Last night I cried and told David that Archer's supposed to be home with me, not going off on his own. I was happy to see on Facebook this morning all the accounts of other moms who had similar feelings. Yesterday I asked Archer how he felt about school starting and he said "Happy. Why did you ask me that?" I told him some people feel nervous and that's ok. He said he did feel a little nervous but mostly happy.

This morning it was raining so we drove to the bus stop instead of walking and when it was time for him to get out of the car I asked if he wanted me to come with him. "No. Have a good day, bye!" "Wait!" I called after him, "Give me a kiss!" So he did and I asked him again if he wanted me to go stand at the bus stop with him (in case he had changed his mind in the last 30 seconds) and he said no again and walked off without me. He turned around and waved at us but that was it, he was busy greeting the other kids at the corner and then the bus came and they were all gone.

And just like that, its back to school, Shelly and I are on our own without Arch and Dad and now we get to wait around for our men to come home to us in the evening. I can't wait to hear how it all went!

For a little trip down memory lane, here's my thoughts from Kindergarden and 4K (can you believe he's already in his third year of school?).