I wonder...

So, I'm standing in the women's bathroom today and someone
I barely know asked me how old my youngest child is.  After I replied,
with a smile on my face, "10 months," she looked me up
and down and said, "looking pretty good!"

Made me wonder- when did it become ok for
people (women in general) to say things about
your appearance after having a baby.

I wonder what this 40 year old woman would have said if I asked her,
"How old is your youngest?"  and after she told me, I looked
her up and down and said, "looking good!"

How long after you have kids is long enough to stop
commenting on what other women look like?
seriously.

The Iciest Day of My Life- Gracie Childs

Gracie set out to pull icicles off the trees,
play in the trace of snow on the ground,
and take pictures of things she saw.

This is Gracie getting ready to go:

 

(yes, her goggles are fogged up!)

Here is Trey watching her from the window:

Then, Gracie came up to the window to show him icicles:

You might be able to see the teeny tiny icicle:

And then peek-a-boo:

 

Goofy faced Gracie:

(man... someone needs to wash those windows!)

  

She took the camera outside to take pictures.  Hello!!

 

Trees with icicles.

 

sleet/leaves/cat poop/mud

Esther

Recently we went to Grace Community Church.
Oh, how I love to hear Dave's sermons.
I LEARN things from him.

I've never heard the story of Esther in the Bible.
I've heard OF Esther, just never read the book of
her, or heard about what made her so great.
Did you know that she was chosen out of a TON of
women to be the new queen after the king dethroned his
previous wife?  Coincidence?  No.  God knew what he was
doing, even if Esther didn't.
Can you imagine it being against the law to
approach your husband without being invited to do so?
Good thing the king saw how special she was.  He not only
allowed her to speak to him, he told her she could have
anything she wanted- even up to half his kingdom!  After
two nights of  feasting Esther talked the king into changing a law
that would kill her people-the Jews.  Pretty impressive, don't you think?
Of course this story wouldn't be complete without a villain.
The man who tricked the king into setting a day where all
Jews would be killed was hung in the end- because of
Esther and her cousin (Mordecai).
Everything was set in place for God's people to win
in the end.  And He sent a heroine to make that happen.

I've thought so much about this story the last few weeks.
What are the plans God has for me?
A verse that I keep thinking about is Jeremiah 29:11-
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to
give you hope and a future."   The Message says, "...I'll
show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you
back home.  I know what I'm doing.  I have it all planned out-
plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you
the future you hope for.

I have some big decisions to make in the next few months.
That verse is heavy on my heart.
What are the plans He has for ME?
Am I to be as great as Esther someday?
What if I fail to choose what He thinks is best for me?

sea of green

I got slimed today. 
Big time.

 

This is my very large leg with a very large amount of snot from Trey's nose.

gross.

I saw green today.  Mostly coming from his nose.  

I took care Jada- who had a fever.

Poor girl.  Her cough is getting pretty bad.

Gracie had a good day- got to play outside

for the first time in .. forever ago.  It was cold.  

She had to come in twice to warm up her hands.

(I even put her gloves in the dryer so they would

be toasty warm!) 

And then about 30 minutes after she came in for the

last time (because there were too many arguements

from the neighbor kids), part of the living room floor

looked like this...

BOTH dollhouses and all the furniture, dolls, horses, you name it, 

came out.  You can imagine how much Chad loved this

surprise when he got home!  :)

However, it entertained the girls for a long time.

It helped me relax for a minute.

It was quiet enough for Trey to sleep a little longer.

And they could put whatever they wanted to on the floor

for the whole 45 minutes they played there!

Did you know...?

Did you know...


*that Valentine's day is tomorrow at school and I don't
know for sure what my plans are?  (Beki and other moms
of students in my class... you didn't see that.)


*that Chad and I have given up our own bed all week
for the girls to sleep in because it's just been easier for
lots of different reasons that I won't go into here?


*that today when we got home from school Gracie announced
that it was Mother's Day and that I should rest while her and Jada
"pick up the house."  ("No really, mom.  Dad is fixing supper tonight.  
Go sit down!"  Guess who got up to fix supper because Dad was still 
at work and didn't know anything about this!)


*Jada likes to dress herself.   Exhibit A (from today)

 

*that Bethel College teamed up with Numana and boxed over 

221,000 meals for people in Haiti!

*our dog is getting old, and I have said several times that 

I'm not sure she'll make it through winter.

*that Trey can crawl around and be out of your sight in just

a few seconds?  I caught him with a very small toy in his mouth

yesterday and of course freaked out!

*that Jada calls Trey a "real boy" when his hair is wet and actually stays down

instead of sticking up like this when it's dry? (some of the top part blends in with the background in this picture)

knock knock

The girls have been thinking up lots of "jokes" lately. 
Here is one that Gracie told us at the supper table tonight.

Knock knock.
(who's there?)
Cheetah.
(Cheetah who?)
Don't CHEETAH your test!


*which is usually followed by, "Get it?  ..... and then an explanation
comes afterward of why it's so hilarious.

Here's another one Jada loves to tell us.

Knock knock.
(Who's there?)
What's gray and goes around in circles?
(What?)
An elephant in the washing machine!

too cute.

Boo.

Recent events have me thinking about Chad.
What would I do without him?
Could I do it without him?
I can't imagine what my friend, Traci, is going through.
As I was sitting there at the funeral, I started thinking
about what she might miss about Josh.  Being held by
him, just talking with him, getting cute texts from him.
Then, my thoughts went to Chad.  I would miss
being held by him, just talking with him, getting
cute texts from him.  Even though I get
annoyed with it, I would miss him asking me to
rub his head or back before he goes to bed.  I
would miss the way he jokes around with the girls
when they are already on the verge of a tantrum.
I would miss the quirky songs he makes up about
his white-t, or buckling his seatbelt.  I hate how
something so awful like a friend losing her husband
makes me wonder about what it would be like to
lose mine.  I honestly can't imagine it.  So my goal
is to appreciate him more.  Talk with him more. I guess
it's good timing with Valentines day- but that's supposed
to be more about me, right?

 

my boo

 Baby Cora.

If you don't know this family, you should.   They love each 

other.  They aren't prideful... or loud.... or looking for 

attention. Such a strong connection.  And most of

all they have this amazing love for the LORD.

This amazing couple lost their 11 month old 

a year ago to a horrible fight with cancer.  

It's been a really tough year.  

Baby Cora was their first child- and you know 

what it's like to have that first child.  

Imagine only getting to experience her for 11 short months.  

Jessica has a wonderful blog you should go to:

http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/
You can read their story on the blog.

You can also see pictures of their newest
addition- Baby Levi.  Born last month.
His name is so appropriate-
Levi means "joined." He's God's glue
sticking Jess and Joel to Cora up in Heaven.
What a lucky little brother...

 

We love you Cora.

big sister

Gracie was such a perfect big sister today.
The girls were filling out their Valentine cards for next week.
Jada wrote the names are her's for the first time, this year.
When she wrote Benny (for Penny), Broby (for Brody), and
Nasb (for Nash), Gracie would say things like, "Wow, Jada!
You made a really good A!"
So sweet.
Gracie is really great at filling Jada's bucket.
Such a fantastic big sister.

totally

This is Jada's favorite word today. 
When I told her and Gracie that they could roller skate in
the house, Jada's response was, "Totally rock the house!"
Then later when the girls decided they wanted to
take a bath before bedtime, Jada said, "Totally awesome!"
Jada has her four year old moments, but she is
totally adorable.

 

Pray Hard

A friend at work lost her husband last night
in a dune buggy accident in Texas.
She's pregnant with twins.
They just found out yesterday the twins
are girls.
So sad. 
Her parents live in Moundridge, so at
least they are close. 
I just can't imagine what she's going through.
Makes me wonder:  Why?  Why now?

Slow Down!

Do you ever feel like you must have missed a few weeks
when you look at your children?
All of a sudden they are doing things they couldn't do
just a few days ago.  
How does that happen?

Tonight as I was rocking Trey to sleep I
remembered how I used to hear, from more experienced
moms, that you should "relish every moment 
with your child- they grow up so fast!"  
I believe them.  With all my heart.

So, when Gracie was tiny I would try really hard
to just be in the moment.  
Just think about her.
Pray for her.
Hug her.
Hold her until her body would twitch, and
that's how I knew she was asleep.

Then came Jada, and again, I tried really
hard to do that same thing.  
I'm not perfect.  I forgot sometimes.
But, I would just think about her.
Pray for her.
Hug her.  
Hold her until her she wanted to be put into
her crib to snuggle up with her blanket and
fall asleep.

 

And now with Trey.  It's even harder to remember
to slow down.  Not worry about what's going on
outside his bedroom.  Are the girls brushing their teeth?
Why are they talking so loud when I asked them to be
quiet?  Wasn't there an email I was going to send to someone?
But, tonight.  I remembered.
I thought about him.
I forgot to pray for him (remember... I'm not perfect.)
Hugged him.
Held him until he was done with his bottle, and then
put him in his crib on his side, and covered him
with his red blanket (ahem... Gracie's red baby blanket), 
and then his KU blanket, and left the room.

I told Trey tonight he can't grow up so fast.  In the last two
weeks he has:
learned how to crawl normally (instead of the army crawl
he's been doing.  We say he pulls his lame leg behind him.);
started "traveling" after he's pulled himself up to something;
learned how to play ball (roll the ball back and forth);
learned to play Pattycake;
learned to wave goodbye;
learned to say, "AMEN!" while raising his hands in the air-
Chad's version of "SO BIG!"  

Thank you- you more experienced moms- for teaching
me to make time for cuddling my Childs; for making it
just a time for her/him and me. 

conferences

I'm at school- having conferences. 
So far, no crying (which usually happens
after I get home from at least one of the conferences).
But, I did have one parent
say I would put their child
in the corner and let everyone
else watch if she's bad at school.
Seriously?  The corner?
No, I wouldn't do that.