"Common Ground": my little corner of the blogosphere where I talk (a lot-wink) about the things that matter most to me: My relationship with my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ, homeschooling, adoption, homemaking, parenting, "spousing." (yeah, yeah....I know that's not a word.....I made it up-it’s my blog-I can do things like that! Ha!)

Since my life isn’t all that different from yours, hopefully we can find some COMMON GROUND & learn from each other. Please share your thoughts!

Through the Lords’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness!
Lam. 3: 22 & 23

Click on pics to see us up close & personal! :)


Thursday, February 26, 2009

Natty's Special Day.....

A year home…..

You know, I was thinking the other day-
Natty came home a year ago,
& Ruthie joined our family 2 years ago.

Ana seemed a part of our family as soon as we found out we were expecting her,
in September of 2000.

(Yes, Dave was one of those dads who started talking to her LONG before she was born-& even reading to her! He read all of “Watership Down” to me at nights so she would be born knowing his voice-& you know I think she did!!)

There were two ways our kids joined our family-
Ana was born with our name…..
& the babies were chosen by God to have our last name.

Both routes tied heartstrings together.

& now, they are all just “our kids,” you know?

Each special in their own ways,
& all unique, yes,
but they are all also the same,
because they all share the same people who love them.

& that’s what makes a family-love & commitment.

Here's a picture & a video from Natty’s first “Gocha Day” celebration-
February 23!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was such a crab!!!
It was almost funny!
We were celebrating his homecoming
& he just screamed at us until I picked him up
& fed him his "Frijoles Negros!"

Thursdays Before the Throne........

This is kinda a long story......but such a powerful one!

*HAIRBRUSH EXPERIENCE OF BETH MOORE AT THE AIRPORT *

For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she is an outstanding Bible teacher, writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of two daughters.

This is one of her experiences:

April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting toboard the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you.

You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is your ego.

I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.

The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him.

Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.

I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no,God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please,Lord!'

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it....'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.'

The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainier. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man.'

Again, as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.'

I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?'

God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)

I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?'

'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.'

At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.'



Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.'

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I-for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.

The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.

I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?'

He said, 'Yes, I do'

Well, that figures, I thought.

He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it.

Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.


I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?'

I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!'

And we got to share.

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way .. all because I didn't want people to think I was strange.

God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Confession......

I was a grumpy mom & a gumpy wife today.......(Monday)

Can I just blame it on "Monday?"

I don't know what it was, but I wanted to BITE SOMEONE'S HEAD OFF!!!!

Fortunately, I realised the direction I was headed before anyone's head was separated from their necks!!! Ha!!! Ha!!!!!

(oh, & can someone please give me some feedback from yesterday? Can't believe I haven't gotten a single comment on that post! That little guy cracks us up!!!)

Monday, February 23, 2009

Funny boy!!!! (& Can't hardly BELIEVE you've been "ours" for a YEAR!!!)

This boy makes me laugh every day!

Here was a day last week.

I discovered he had thrown his new leather shoes into his diaper pail.
Guess what they smell like now?!?!?

Fortunately, I discovered his deed BEFORE the trash went out.

Now, as to whether or not we will ever use them again…..that remains to be seen!

Depends on how much of the smell can be removed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then, the same day he put the shoes in the trash, Dave went to wake him up from his nap
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And discovered him, sheet & mattress cover off one end of his bed.

Head under the sheet & mattress cover…..
sound asleep cuddled up on the sweaty, plastic mattress.

Goofy boy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Look how far we’ve come in a year’s time!!! Remember this????

Tune in tomorrow for pics of our little celebration!!!!

Friday, February 20, 2009

My last 24 hours........have been spent in bed.

Allrighty….I really had to dig to find a way to post something that fit the theme this week.

We have all been sick….(seems like the story with almost all my blogger friends-& even a lot of my IRL ones!!!)

But, finally, today, after a full two weeks of fighting off something, I told my hubby as I groggily began to face my day, “I ‘ink’ I meed to go to the dr!” You know how your voice even sounds bad ‘cause you’re so plugged up!

But, I know you’re all dying to know how I fit into the theme, right? (Ok….even if you’re not-just pretend you are! Please!!! Ha!! Ha!!)

I finally decided that I have been FAKING being the mom the past 24 hours!

My wonderful hubby worked from home, took care of the kids, & sent me to the dr.

He (& Ana) have been the real “moms” around here!

Ana has faithfully taken care of me all day….& even entertained the babies for a while when Dave was busy with work!!!!

Here is one thing she got them to do:
(Now, that I really look at it, Natty does NOT look happy with the arrangement!!!)
Dave went out & got pizza…..& took the babies & left Ana at home.

She came & checked on me in bed about 5 times….
& told me she made herself a list of chores she should do for me
& she was checking them off!!!

Awww!!!!! What a great kid!!!
She even brought me cheese, chocolate, & apple juice!!!

The dr told me that I have a sinus infection, & I was put on a LOVELY Z-pack!!!
I am soooo thankful I am rarely sick!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more FFF, run on over to Sarah's blog!!!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Thursdays Before the Throne.......driving & a massage!!!!!!

Isaiah 40:11

He will……gently lead those who are with young.

I have not felt real good for at least a couple weeks. (some cold that just won’t quit!!!)

As a result, my time in the Word has been a bit less than normal….& right now, I can’t remember ANYTHING I have read all week.

But, this verse came to mind as I rocked Natty & fed him his bottle.

The Lord always gives me what I need…..& only requires of me what it is possible to give.

So, tonight (as I sit on my couch & write this post),
I am thankful that I don’t ALWAYS have to leave my kitchen spotless as I head to bed.

The babies will survive one night with out me brushing their teeth.

The laundry can sit-WET-in the washer overnight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, I drove through MY intersection for the first time.
Nobody was with me.

I saw the black marks of my van on the median.

As I drove through it, I thought, “I STILL can’t believe I NEVER saw that SUV!”

I shook a bit, but I made it through!

God gave me the peace of mind (& no other cars around to bother me) to make it through without falling apart-or shaking so badly I had to pull over.

I was really dreading that first time, but I knew that I HAD to do it,
& today it was the easiest way to get where I needed to go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, today, I had my first EVER massage!

I wasn’t sure I would like it.

But, my primary doctor prescribed 20 for me as a result of the accident.

Know what? I LOVED it!!!
(Although I did hate my nose trying to drip-due to my cold- on the pad as my head was face down in that face-holder thingie!!!! Please tell me other people have had such funny things happen to them when they feel a bit vulnerable!!!)
Oh, & have I mentioned anytime recently,
that I'm SOOOO thankful the accident was ruled the other guy's fault!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I had the COOLEST thing happen to me on Saturday!

I had a list of errands to run, & no kids with me to slow me down.

One place I had to go, was a school supply store here in town.

I LOVE these stores!

I don’t know what it is about them……
but there is just SOOOO much to help you be a good teacher.

Posters (which I never buy-don’t want my house decorated in school posters)
Workbooks for everything under the sun
Educational toys
Reward chart/prizes
Teaching aides

Ahhhh-for the teacher in me-that place is heaven on earth!

BUT, on Saturday, I found something even better than that.

I discovered that one of the employees used to teach 2nd Grade!!!

COOL!!!

Do you think I asked her a ton of questions? You bet!

She spent probably an hour with me, showing me various things in the store…..& helping me come up with ideas to help Ana in the two areas I had asked for her help in.

One of them was how to help Ana learn to write.

Here is a result from yesterday:


I know, I know….spelling is far from perfect & we might need a few paragraph separations…..but, the overall plan of her paper, she came up with on her own, & she wrote all the sentences!

I am THRILLED & super excited.

One other thing-I was thrilled & super excited about was-I purchased a pencil sharpener that actually works…..& some pencils that are supposed to be the BEST ON EARTH! So far, so good. Not one comment today like this: “MOOOOM….I don’t have a pencil!”
Pencil

Oh…..& another completely new topic.

I am through the first two areas of my home-
I am LOVING IT!!!

I can’t wait each day, to tackle a new section, majorly de-clutter & re-organize.

I know-I might have a disease! (just kidding!)


Monday, February 16, 2009

He Has Slowed Me Down.......

I used to have "My Agenda,"
which I wanted my kids to follow.

For some reason, though,
child #3 just
sloooooooowed me
waaaaaay down.

He was crabby in the middle of the night the other night.
We had had a babysitter-which we wish we did more often,
but, in reality almost never do.


Around 11pm, he started crying & just wouldn't stop.


The babysitter had told us he'd been kinda cranky, so I was expecting it a bit.

Anyway, turns out......he was all out of sorts for quite a while,
& I finally went in & picked hime up to feed him a bottle.

I rocked & fed him.......& wonder of wonders......
He fell asleep on my shoulder.

I sat there in the dark for a while & enjoyed that soft breathing coming from my baby.......& THANKED GOD.......He knew just what I needed.

I needed to SLOW down & enjoy my kids-
I guess with three-you kinda HAVE to slow down or you'll go insane!

(no comments from the peanut gallery about whether or not I am insane-ok!?!? Ha!!! Ha!!!!)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

LOVE.......such a HUGE topic for one little blog post!

But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

Romans 5:8

Love=action
Christ’s action?
He (the perfect Man)
Died for me (the sinner)

His love gives me power to love others.

Loving others is something that I sometimes struggle with-yes,
even the precious gifts of the family He has given me-
shocking, I know!! Wink!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, really……these family members make me smile every day-
& who wouldn’t love that?

You know what I mean-sometimes your heart just nearly bursts with love-
& with the privilege of BEING loved!

~The LOVE Ana shows by sweeping the floor without being asked.
~Ruth lavishing hugs on me.
~& “Brother’s” (as he’s affectionately known around here)
open-mouthed “besos” on my cheek!

& of course my hubby, who gives me way more love than I deserve!


But, mostly, I need to say again, that today, I am thankful for Jesus Christ’s love for me!

Have you accepted His free gift of Love?

Signing off……& “Happy Valentine’s Day” to all of you!
For more "LOVE" pics, head on over to Sarah's blog!

Thursdays Before the Throne.....

As I have been doing a study on HOPE in the Bible,
this song has been running through my head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.



2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
(Refrain)



3. His oath, His covenant, His blood
supports me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
(Refrain)



4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in Him be found!
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne!
(Refrain)


Refrain:
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
Christ is, indeed, our HOPE (a SURE thing!)!
& Heaven is as well!!!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Compare & Contrast.....just for fun!

Ana & I sat down this morning
& spent time looking at one of her baby books.

When she was a baby, I had time to do all those creative things.

Now, I feel guilty since neither Ruth nor Natty has anything so fancy….but, I remember my mother bemoaning the same thing, & I guess it’s natural. The more kids you have, the harder it is to keep up on things like scrapbooking.

Anyway, she & I had a bunch of fun, looking at how tiny she was & how cute she was, too. The neat thing was, as we were looking through it, there were so many expressions I now see in Ruth or Natty. Or, we noticed how they all gravitated to the same toys.

It reminded me that so much debate is placed on “nature v. nurture,” but in our case, all three kids seem to prove that “nurture” perhaps has more pull than “nature.” Our younger two have just seemed to learn “Dillon” behavior.

Ana really got excited to see clothes on her that Ruth wears now….
& Ruth even recognized a few dresses she now wears.

FUN!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

&, in other news, Ana informed us last night, that she is ready to adopt again!

YIKES!!!! HEAVEN help us!!!!!

Here is one picture of Ana at 10 months.
Ruth now wears the same dress.
At 2.5 years!!!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Never a Dull Moment Around Here!

Ok….trying to share a funny story,
but I am a bit high on NYQUIL at the moment,
so who knows how the story might turn out!

(Yes, I am writing this Sunday night-
I’m not stupid enough to take Nyquil in the daytime when I have three “littles” depending on me-ha!! ha!!!)
And, yes, I am sick-which may account for
why my brain thought Ruth could actually be trusted in the following situation!

So……I went to the store on Friday,
& I came home with several necessary items,
among them a spray bottle of “Goo Gone.”

Yep…..you can already see where this story is going, huh?

Also purchased that day-seat covers for the new van,
& a tiny, hand held vacuum to plug in-in the van.

While helping Dave install these aforementioned items (I felt better then than I do now, obviously!), I mistakenly left the bags from Wal-mart on the steps inside.

I swear, I only stepped out in the garage for a minute-
just to see how things were going…..

And came back in to:

Ruth…..casually holding the bottle & looking at me with a huge grin on her face.

“Mommy, I eat it!”

WHAT!!!?

She did WHAT!?!?

I didn’t even know she knew how to open those things!

I bent down to smell her breath, which, sure enough,
smelled suspiciously like oranges (the scent of the “Goo Gone.”)

I frantically looked for the phone number of poison control,
(which we haven’t had to use since Ana was a baby)
& couldn’t find it anywhere.

Just in case you’re wondering, it is also IMPOSSIBLE to find in the phone book as well.

Finally, (really, it was probably less than 5 minutes),
I brilliantly remembered the Internet!

I found the phone number…..went to grab the phone & found that we had affixed the poison control sticker to our security system-right under the phone jack!

Isn’t that always the way?!?!?

Anyway, the good lady on the other end of the line re-assured us that “Goo-Gone” is not usually a problem if ingested! (Thank the LORD!)


Ruth is fine now-& I am going around the house making SURE everything she might be remotely tempted to eat is “child-proofed away!” (You like my word I made up?!?? wink!)




Friday, February 6, 2009

Melting.....


Melting……

Here we were….last summer, melting in Kentucky……
& right now, all I wish is that we could be melting again! I’m tired of winter!!!!

I couldn’t help but think every time I considered what to write this week of the part in “The Wizard of OZ,” where the witch says, “I’m melting!! I’m melting!!!”

Growing up in Kansas, we watched a lot of that movie…..
& you know, I have never really liked it that much.

I don’t know if it was the monkeys, or the wizard…..or what.
None of it appealed to me much.

Anyone else agree with me?

New topic:

Ana has become a social butterfly, apparently!

She has two “overnights” planned for this weekend.

Do you do overnights?
I know some people that never let their kids spend the night anywhere.

(Now, we are super careful about where she does spend the night-
lest you think she can go anywhere she wants-ha!!!)

I had so much fun as a kid when I got invited to “spend the night/have a slumber party” as a kid-well, except for those few where a bunch of girls who didn’t get along stayed up WAAAAY to late & got cranky! Ha!!! Ha!!!

How do you decide which of these activities your kids are going to do?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thursdays Before the Throne....


I have started a study on hope this year.

Just in case you wondered….I seem to need reminding where my hope lies!

One thing you need to know is-hope,
in the Bible isn’t hope in the sense that we use it in English today .

We would say, “I hope I can take a trip soon,” meaning it may or may not happen.

HOPE in the Bible is something that we desire that is guaranteed/promised us.
I need to trust that these promised things ARE coming about.

This is a verse I read the other day:

“That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God.”
Psalm 78:7

The word “Hope” in this verse is translated “confidence.”

Hope/confidence comes from seeing God’s good works in the past-& that gives us confidence/hope for the future.

So I started a list of His good works in my life:
~He spared our lives in our car accident.
~He spared us from major injury.
~He gave me the dream life I now lead.
~I was a very sick child on death’s door more than once-& God spared my life then as well.
~He brought both my sisters to Colorado Springs to live!!!!
~He provided the means/need for a BRAND NEW VAN-in the color I have always wanted-
BLUE!!! (Well, I really have always wanted a purple car-but I don’t thing they will ever make Honda Odysseys in that color! Ha!!! Ha!!! Blue is the next best thing!)

What would your list of His good deeds in your life include?

As you look at your list, don’t be surprised if it gives you reasons to hope for your future!!!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Amazing!! Truely a "Wordless Wednesday" post!!!


Happy Birthday to.......

My wonderful hubby!
I'll try to put into words some of why I love you!
~You work hard every day so I can stay home with our precious kids!
~You come home & jump right into parenting, if need be!
~You love our kids.....& you laugh at all their antics!
~You tell me you love me at least 3-4 times a day!
~Mostly, you love me in spite of all my flaws
(& there are plenty, my blogger friends!)
Happy Birthday, hubby of mine!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Confession: I have an addiction..

Did that get your attention?!!?

It’s ok….this one’s a good addiction!

It’s the show “Adoption Stories,” on Discovery Health.

(See, I told you this addiction is alright!)

I know why I like it, too.

I can soooo relate to many of those peoples’ stories!

The agony of loosing a baby…..& the agony of month after month of no new baby on the way. Those were some of the hardest times in my life.

When they shed those tears of happiness as their new child is placed in their arms-
I just know……I KNOW that feeling.

And as I thought about it, I remembered that after Ana was born,
I did a lot of watching “A Baby Story,” on TLC.

I realized that I like both the shows because it helps me to REMEMBER how I felt after becoming a mother each time.

I think it’s important to remember……
I never want to forget (in each of my childrens’ cases)
how that feeling of relief/joy felt….

Do you have ways you use to REMEMBER the emotions of those life-changing moments?

Monday, February 2, 2009

Ana “wakes up” her mother....

Ana has begun to voice an opinion about things like hair
(who authorized her growing up enough to CARE about her hair ANYWAY!?!?!)

Since she now cares about it, we have many discussions in front of the bathroom mirror about what matches her outfit, how she wishes she had curly hair & how she is tired of the one small ponytail on top (“Mom, can we PLEASE do something else?!?!”)

So, a few mornings ago, I was brushing her hair
…..preparing to head out on one of our many “mom taxi” outings.

Running the brush through her hair (while Ruth stood on the toilet trying to get to the sink & Natty clung to my legs) we were having our usual discussions.

& she pipes up, “Mom, can we cut bangs for my hair? Then it would be just like yours & I would like to be just like you. I want to be just like you, Mom!”

WHAT?!?!?

Run that by me one more time!!!

She wants to be just like me!

Oh, my!

I had better watch my steps!


Made me think of a poem given to me by my sister in law,
back when Ana was a newborn:

"The Little One That Follows Me"
Author: Unknown


A careful woman, I ought to be;
Some little ones now follow me.
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear they'll go, the self-same way.

I cannot once escape their eyes,
For what they see me do, they'll try.
Like me, they say, they're going to be,
These little ones that follow me.

They think that I am good and fine;
Believe in every work of mine.
The bad in me they best not see;
My life, to them, should an example be.

I must remember, as I go,
Through summer's sun and winter's snow,
I'm building for the years to be,
Those little ones that follow me.


She emphasized the point to me by requesting that she & I go out on a date
“since I usually do that with Dad, Mom, & I think you & I should go out!”

So, today, after church, she & I headed out to the new “Golden Arches” by our house-& you know what? As I sat there at one of the “high tables,” & conversed with her about the other kids at the restaurant & anything else her random stream of consciousness brought up, I realized……” I AM building for the years to be!!!”

Oh, dear Father in heaven…..grant me wisdom as I raise these precious gifts from you!!!



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