Peace in My Sadness

A little over a month ago, I took a pregnancy test at home because I was feeling dizzy, hungry, sick, and well, pregnant. The test was positive but things didn't seem quite right so I made a doctor appointment right away. After several tests and a couple weeks of waiting, the doctor told me that it was a "nonviable pregnancy" and I was going to have an early miscarriage. Then, I just had to wait. When you know something sad, a loss, has a high probability of coming but it's not there yet, what are you supposed to do? Do you start grieving and grieve until the loss actually happens and then grieve some more when it finally does? Do you sit in fear of what might happen? Do you close back all emotions and just wait? Do you go about life as normal and pretend nothing is happening? Or do you dare to hope? Do you hope that the inevitable doesn't happen after all? Do you hope for a miracle? If you dare to hope, are you just setting yourself up for worse sadness and grief later? If you start grieving or feeling sad then does that mean that you don't have faith in God that He can heal?

I think if we have faith in God then we must believe that if He chooses, He can heal and He can stop the loss from happening. But we also must believe that He may choose, in His infinite wisdom, to allow us to experience the loss. In our humanness and in our finite knowledge we will experience emotions with all of this. We will experience hope, peace, joy, sadness, grief, hurt, heartache and that's okay. God created us to be emotional beings. We must not allow our emotions though to control us or to cause us to be angry at God for these things that happen to us. He knows what's best. He has a plan. Somehow, our sorrow and grief, our hope and joy, our peace through it all, fits into His plan. His plan, this time, was for this baby to join him in heaven and not be here with us on this earth. Even though that makes me sad for the moment, I trust God that this is for the best in His big picture of things.

As I go through this loss, physical discomfort, and the emotions and uncertainty of the unknown then my prayer is that God would be glorified through it. My prayer is that somehow, through my pain and sorrow, someone that is far from God, can be brought closer to Him. If that is how God chooses to use me, then despite my human emotions and physical discomfort, I am honored to be used by God.

I believe through times like this, I can become more Christ-like. After all, isn't that what Jesus did for us? He came to this earth to experience pain, discomfort, and loss so that we could know that He cares for us and relates to us. Hebrews 4:15 says, "This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin." Maybe God can use my experience of sorrow, sadness, or physical discomfort to help me relate to someone who needs to know that God loves them. Maybe I can be a light to someone that otherwise I couldn't have connected with. Only God knows and I choose to trust Him. I pray that in my sad moment, I can be an encouragement to someone else.

Recently, a friend shared some scripture when she was going through a hard time. She didn't know that I was going through a hard time too but God used her to encourage me. The verse was in Habakkuk 3 verses 17 through 19:

"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights."

The Connecting Challenge

We all want to connect with others. We all desire friends--people we can do life with. Making new friends as an adult though, seems more difficult than it was when we were kids. After moving several times in my adult life I have discovered some simple ways to make new friends and get connected into a community.

1. Live by the Golden Rule. Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." Too often, we use this verse only to stop ourselves from doing something bad when really, it should be motivation for us to initiate good things. We all want friends but in order to gain friends, you must be a friend. How many times have you walked out of church or another social interaction thinking, "That person didn't say hi to me today." That other person is probably thinking the same about you!

2. Make the first move! Be the first one to be a friend--say hi and smile. Promote yourself. Hand out your name and phone number. I know that sounds crazy but it works! When we moved to a new town eight years ago, I was determined to not be stuck at home, lonely, with my toddlers and baby. I found someone with kids my kids' age at church and handed her a paper with my name and phone number. I said, "I just moved here and I need some friends, can we get together sometime?" I was scared to death but many of my lifelong friendships resulted from that one introduction.

3. Keep your door unlocked. Invite people to come over to your house--yes, even people that you don't know very well! Make your home an inviting, comfortable, relaxing place. (That doesn't mean it has to look like you have a professional interior decorator.) 

4. Assume they like you and want to be your friend. Don't waste time wondering what they think of you and if they want to hang out again. Make the second move and ask them out to coffee or a play date with the kids. Be who God made you to be and don't worry about what others think! (As my husband says, "People don't think about you as much as you think they think about you. They are too busy wondering what other people think about them."

5. Be real. Be open and honest about who you are. We all have our talents and our faults. Don't be afraid to live life with your new friends and let them see the wonderful person God has created you to be. He is working on all of us and He uses us to sharpen each other. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." This also makes you and your home a safe place for your friends to be authentic.

6. Don't get offended. Assume that everything that new friend says or does is out of love for you. Don't take things personally! Never assume the worst--always assume the best.

7. Communicate! Don't just assume that you know what your new friend is thinking or that he/she knows what you are thinking. There is no such thing as overcommunicating! (Spell check even puts a red squiggly line under the word!)

It all goes back to that Golden Rule--Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. Be the kind of friend that you want others to be to you.

Crystals

Last school year we made chemistry science fair projects and presented them at the science fair one afternoon afternoon. What a crazy week we had but so much fun too! One of our projects was growing borax crystals. We put the saturated borax solution into three jars and then put one in the refrigerator, one in an ice bath, and one at room temperature. The hypothesis was the the one in the ice bath would grow the fastest and we were correct! Yay! I like it when that happens.

As we examined the crystals though, we noticed how the crystals that grew in each environment looked different from each other. The crystals from the ice bath were more white and dense. The crystals at room temperature were clear and we could see their geometric shapes a little more clearly. The crystals in the refrigerator were somewhere in between having some characteristics of each of the other crystals.

So, why am I talking about these crystals from a year ago? Thinking about our crystal project made me think about us as Christians. In some ways we are like these crystals. We all come from different backgrounds, different environments, and different families. Yet God created each of us and loves each of us. Even though our environments and backgrounds have shaped us all a bit differently, God has made us each beautiful and wants to use our unique traits. When we are all together worshipping Him and living our lives to bring Him glory, it makes a beautiful picture.

Find iPhone

Do you know that frantic feeling when you can't find your cell phone? You retrace your steps, look under furniture, dig through your pockets and purse, and you still cannot find it. This scenario happens way too often in our household mostly played out by myself. It reminds me of some stories in the Bible. For example the parable of the lost sheep or the parable of the lost coin. I think if Jesus had lived today and was telling a parable about the lost sheep it might be about the lost cell phone instead.

Since the garden when Adam and Eve sinned and hid from God, God has been searching for us. Beth Moore said, "God wired us to look for Him because He is pursuing us continually." I love that! Just like I pursue my phone using the awesome Find iPhone app that makes my phone beep for me until I find it--God is pursuing me. I am seeking God but He loved me first. God has done everything that He can to find me and have fellowship with me. He created an "app" that connects us continually. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. He is pursuing me and has found me. All I have to do now is jump into His open arms and remember to stay there daily.

Change

Change. This word alone incites an array of feelings in different people. In fact, this word causes many feelings in just one person. When I hear the word, I feel both excitement and apprehension. I know it seems like they would be antonyms to each other but I have learned it is possible, however disconcerting, to feel both simultaneously.
Like most people, I find comfort in the certainty and predictability of my routine. Changing things in that routine is hard because it brings uncertainty and unpredictability. I balk at change. I know it's going to be difficult--and lets face it, we humans don't like to do anything difficult. You can see this through history and even the stories of the Bible. God asks someone to do something different and they argue, sputter, and test God until they finally obey Him. Take the stories of Moses, Gideon, the Israelites, Jonah, the Pharisees all as examples of us humans resisting change--and these are all changes being made by God himself.

Change is also exciting. It's new and we like new things. Sometimes I start feeling bogged down in my same routine, almost like my routine controls me. In these times, change can be refreshing.

Our family is going through a huge change right now. My husband has a new position as the lead Pastor of a church in Montana. So, we are in the middle of packing and moving from Washington, where we have lived for the past fifteen years, to Montana. We are saying goodbye to lifelong friends and our daily routine and I am feeling this mixture of feelings--excitement and apprehension. When people ask me, "How do you feel about this change?" I think I must give them a blank look as all of these feelings swirl around inside me. How do you answer a question like that? It's definitely not a one word answer!

The one thing I can say that I feel during this change with a certainty is peaceful. Yes, there is chaos, uncertainty, apprehension, and excitement all at different moments and sometimes within the same moment but blanketing all of these emotions is peace: Peace that I know we are on a path on which God has placed us--peace that I can allow God to work out the details. Through this whole huge life-change journey, I've been sitting in God's huge, loving hand and allowing Him to move me forward in His perfect timing. I watch the path in front of me shrouded in fog but revealed just enough to move forward one step at a time. I know, as I sit in his hand, that he's worked out all the details ahead of me, even though I can't see them yet. Peace. Our verse for this time in our life has been Proverbs 3:5,6. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." We have truly seen God keep this promise to us and we are excited to see what lies ahead.

My Fight with the GPS

Have you ever argued with your GPS about which way is the best way to get where you are going? Recently, my GPS and I had our biggest argument ever! I usually listen and just go the way it's telling me to go but this time I knew what road I wanted to take and my GPS was insistent that I go another way. I wanted to take the main freeway and not the old back highway. The problem was, I was in an unfamiliar place and had no idea how to get to the freeway I wanted. I tried all sorts of tricks and finally used my iPhone. The whole time I followed my phone, my GPS kept "recalculating" and trying to turn me around. Finally, it looked like my GPS and phone were giving the same directions so I turned off my phone and started following the GPS again. By this time, it had been about a half hour ordeal and I was feeling quite triumphant that my way worked. Then my GPS took me right back to where the whole thing started. I was so frustrated. Angrily I waved the white flag of surrender and followed the dark back road which the GPS insisted I take. It worked out fine. I got home safely. If I had just followed the GPS in the first place, it would have probably been a faster route than my way.

How often do we treat God the way I did my GPS? We come up with the greatest plans. Plans that sound safe and make sense to us; but God presents a different plan. Instead of immediately surrendering and following Him, we debate, argue, connive, and try to make God see our point of view. We try to make God see why our way makes the most sense. We even try to go our way despite hearing God whispering or maybe even shouting to turn back around. For some reason, we forget that, just like the GPS has knowledge of all of the roads around us and where they lead, God sees the big picture of our life. He knows what's best for us even if we don't understand it in the moment.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV), "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths." The Message says it like this: "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track."

Following the Same Conductor

My husband recently took a business trip for six days. The kids and I missed him but we sort of fell into a different routine of things than normal. We were like an orchestra that was suddenly missing an instrument. We stumbled around for a day or so but then, like good musicians would, we changed the beat a bit and fell back into a rhythm of sorts.

I noticed, at first when my husband returned, we were playing to the beat of different drummers if you will. I had to step back a bit and let my husband take on the responsibilities that he usually carries. It always takes me awhile to adjust to this. It's like that musician jumps back into the orchestra still playing to the same beat as when he left and the rest of the orchestra is playing something different. We all regrouped, of course, and started playing our beautiful Geer family melody but it took some adjusting for sure--perhaps on my part more than anyone.

There are some things that my husband and I do to stay on the same page when he travels that I think help make this adjustment period easier and quicker. One thing that I do is I text or email him pictures and updates about the kids and I throughout the day. Now, of course this isn't a constant stream of information to the point of being annoying--I only do that when I'm really trying to make a point--but I give him enough to still feel connected with our normal everyday life. Another thing we do is talk on the phone every evening if possible; even if it's just a quick, "I love you, good night." The most important thing that we do is that, despite playing different songs or variations for awhile, we follow the same conductor. We stay close to God even though our routine has been disrupted. When we come back together, it's easier to get back into sync because we are both looking at the same conductor patiently moving his arms to the beat of the song. This is not to say that we don't stumble around a bit at first during the song change of course but because we've stayed connected, we can look at the stumbling with a bit of humor rather than frustration.

I love my husband and I love that we can stay close even when he's far away. Kevin, I'm so glad to have you home. :)

Everyone Has A Story

Today, I went clothes shopping for my husband and daughter. I took my two-year-old with me and made sure to put a package of fruit snacks into my purse to pull out at just the right time. We went through the Starbucks drive through (thanks to a gift card from my husband). After that, we proceeded to the one department store that was closest to home and then the consignment store to look for a "spinning dress." When the shopping was completed, I came home, made lunch for myself and four kids, and then encouraged them to finish their jobs and school work. That put us at about 1:00 and the day continued in more details and comings and goings.

What I didn't think much about today, is that everyone else had their own stuff going on at the same time as I did. Somebody somewhere woke up in a hospital this morning. Somebody was clothes shopping at the same time and place as me. Somebody didn't have a gift card and so couldn't go through the Starbucks drive through. Somebody received a promotion today. Somebody celebrated a birthday. Sometimes I live my life so self-focused, I'm afraid I miss out on a lot.

It's easy for us to get wrapped up in our own lives and not notice those around us. It's easy to forget that everyone has a story when we are so involved in our own. Jesus is a perfect example of living His story while at the same time, paying careful attention to other people's stories. In fact, His mission, the purpose for His story, was to impact other people's stories. As we become more Christ-like, shouldn't that be our mission too? Unfortunately, we tend to get buried in the pages of our own sadness, happiness, or routine and forget to interact with others.

Here are some questions that I am asking myself:

1. Am I so wrapped up in my own story that I am not a part of other's stories?
2. Is my routine so busy that I am not taking time to see other people around me and listen to their stories?
3. What can I change in my schedule, routine, or attitude so that I can better appreciate and enter into other people's stories?
4. If I am a part of other's stories, am I a having a Christ-like impact on them?
5. Whose story can I intentionally become a part of?

He's Changing Me

One of my favorite books at present is a book that my friend gave me, entitled Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. It is the fictional story of a woman named Katherine written in the form of her journal. The entries begin the day she is sixteen years old and continue until after she is married and has children of her own. Though it is fictional, it is written with the purpose of the reader learning life lessons from it--not solely for entertainment purposes. One thing that impressed me about this book is the way the character grew and matured in the Lord. As a reader, and someone looking at the whole picture, I could see a huge change in her from the time she was sixteen to the time she was married with children. Yet, in her journal entries, she often lamented her immaturity and lack of spiritual growth.

I find myself often doing the same thing. I get so frustrated when I repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Discouragement can come easily when I dwell on my many shortcomings but reading this book gave me another perspective. If I step back and look at my life from the time I was sixteen until now, I have grown, matured, and changed drastically. It is an encouraging reminder that God is continuing his work in me--constantly teaching me and molding me into the person that He ultimately wants me to be. Until I reach heaven, I will not be that completed person and that's what this life is, my journey towards heaven to be with my Lord, Savior, and Friend.

"So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT

*If you're interested in reading the book, there is a free audio-version here http://librivox.org/stepping-heavenward-by-e-prentiss/ or here http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/stepping-heavenward-by-e-prentiss.

Best Friends

I love being married to my best friend. Are you married to your best friend? Because people are always changing, learning new things, and in different phases of life it is easy to lose that friendship and just be living two lives side by side--especially with the busyness of children and their activities, work, bills, pets, house upkeep, other friends, and the list continues.

My husband and I are intentional about staying best friends--here are some of the things that we do:

• We find things in common that we like to do, and we make time to do those things together.
• We stay interested and engaged in each other's work lives. So if my husband is reading a book or going to a conference, I try to join him. He stays engaged at home with me and the children and loves it when I send him updates throughout the day of things that are happening.
• We talk about deeper things than the weather and not just about our children, though we do talk about them a lot! For instance, we might discuss politics or our Bible reading for the day.
• We learn new things together like a game or a new hobby.  Recently we've started geocaching which is a fun whole family activity. Now we are on the hunt for a new board game.
• We give each other space to have our own individual hobbies.
• We pray together.
• Sometimes, we read a book together--and I do mean we read it out loud together! It's been awhile since we've done that one but it was a great experience that we will repeat.
• We have date nights and actually get out of the house without children.
• We laugh together.

What are some things that you do to intentionally stay best friends with your spouse?

A New Year--A New Hobby

I have never been successful at making New Year resolutions. A few years ago I finally made it my New Year resolution to NEVER make a resolution again because they just made me feel like a failure. I have been successful at that one but I still feel like I am missing something when I don't make a resolution.

This year, following my wonderful husband's example, I decided to take the opportunity to learn something new. For some reason, I've been wanting to learn how to knit. My mom gave me a book, DVD, and starter kit for Christmas. I bought some cheap yarn at Walmart (which I probably won't do once I learn the basics) and I started.

So far, I have learned how to cast on, knit stitch and cast off. I am now making a practice scarf just so that I can learn the knit stitch really well before learning the purl stitch.

Surprisingly, it's sort of addictive. There is a therapeutic rhythm to knitting. There is something calming about the repetitive motion; the organization of it. It is almost mentally relaxing--definitely not physically relaxing though. My shoulders tend to stiffen up and I've discovered muscles in my wrists and hands that I previously didn't know existed.

Knitting is a detailed process. It takes time, creativity, and thought, especially when making something with a detailed pattern. I love the picture of God knitting me together. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13 NIV) He has a plan and though I am not a completed project I trust Him that His pattern for me is perfect. I'm excited to see the way He's daily changing me and looking forward to someday being the finished product.

Learning something new has been a fun approach to the idea of a New Year Resolution and I already feel successful! Here's a picture of my practice scarf so far.

Yes, I know I'm using the wrong yarn for the pattern. It's not bulky enough for the pattern and the size of needles that I'm using. I know there are some holes where I dropped some stitches--don't know how to fix that yet. It's definitely a work in progress (just like me) but it's good practice and my daughters will be vying for it no matter how it looks.

Little Blessings

I know that children are blessings from God. I have four of them and they are incredible! Sometimes though they are an incredible challenge. In those challenging moments with my children, it is hard to remember to be thankful for them and the blessing that they are. Because of this, I decided to think about each of my children that God has given me and look closely at what God really gave us when he added that child to our family.

When He gave us our first child, Morgan, he gave us responsibility, routine, amazement, self-reflection, sweetness, and consistency. What a lot of things to add in to our lives! With Connor came strength, honesty, creativity, playfulness, and an unquestioning love for God. Meara brought us laughter, unexpected surprises, more hugs and kisses than we could have ever imagined, and overflowing joy. Then came Kyla. She brought wonder into our lives just when we thought we had everything figured out. She added abundant energy and activity and, amazingly enough, more laughter.

Looking at this list, I see how full our lives are. Each child really is a blessing from God. The next time I am cleaning poop off of the floor, telling them the third time to do something, breaking up an argument, or fixing another scraped knee, I will remember to thank God for my blessings.

Summer

Ha Ha! I have to laugh at myself. I was just messing around with my blog page and the settings and all that stuff and accidentally published my post with just a title. I guess that's one way to work through writer's block--I sort of feel obligated to say something now.

I do love summer. It is a busy crazy time for our family but the sunshine just makes everything seem more bearable. I was raised in eastern Oregon which is sort of desert area but right next to the Columbia River. There is wonderful sunshine all year around despite the temperature. Even after living in Northwest Washington for most of the past 16 years, I still have not found a love for the rain and the constant cloud cover that we endure for the majority of the year. I rejoice when the sun shines and and absolutely love traveling and experiencing 90 degree weather. My children, on the other hand, have lived here in the Northwest all of their short lives and when the sun shines and it's barely 70 degrees, they are eating Popsicles and looking for shade--it's hilarious.

I will enjoy the sun this summer but as the Northwest fall and winter approach, reminding myself to depend on the Lord to be my sunshine, is an important thing to do. Habakkuk 3:4 says, "His splendor was like the sunrise: rays flashed from his hand where his power was hidden." Psalm 84:11 says, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Not to say I won't enjoy the sun fully at each opportunity but, this summer, fall, winter and spring, I need to remember to focus my attention on God and not worry about the clouds in the sky so much.

God's Promises

Traveling through the Middle Ages with my children this year is an exciting adventure but it is also becoming a faith-building one. Because we were learning about Mohammed, we went back to the Bible, our Truth, and found the story of Abraham and Ishmael. Even though Ishmael was a product of Abraham's impatience, God promised to bless him and turn him into a great nation. Today, we see God's promise being fulfilled. God keeps His promises even when we are impatient and untrusting. God keeps His promises even when we stubbornly attempt to do things our own way. It's amazing to see.



Even in my own life, I have seen God keep His promises to me. A little over a year ago, my husband was diagnosed with RA. He was in so much pain for awhile that he couldn't move. We were, thankfully, able to control it with medication continued praying for complete healing. Not long after his diagnoses, a person that I just met, handed me a handwritten note. I did not keep the paper, but the message stuck in my heart. I can't even remember exactly what it said but he had written that God had heard my prayers and he had answered them. I struggled with this for a few days. I wanted to believe this message but the human doubts crowded in, "I don't even know this guy. Maybe it's about something else. What if I believe this, and then my husband is not healed?" These doubts and questions swirled around in my head mixing with guilt for feeling the way that I did. Why couldn't things be simpler? Why after all the things I have seen God do, would I doubt?



I finally thanked God for his promise and continued to pray for my husband. I decided to quietly believe and wait to see what God would do.



One year later, my husband went off his medication to see what would happen and to readjust his medication. He had no RA symptoms and his blood tests showed no evidence of RA. Some people will say that in rare circumstances this happens but I say, God healed my husband. He kept His promise to me despite my nagging doubts and questions. My God is a good, loving, compassionate, loyal, amazing God. I am humbled and so thankful that he has blessed us with this miracle.

Nothing Profound

I am sitting here at my computer trying to make my brain think of something profound that I can blog about. Nothing is happening. I am tired tonight and my mind is completely blank. I think the best cure for this condition is sunshine. That is what I desperately need. I am ready to pull out the summer clothes and the flip-flops but the sun is playing hide and seek.

Though I do appreciate any sunshine I can get at this point, I sometimes think it would almost be better if the sun just didn't shine at all. When I get a glimpse of the sun for a couple hours and then more rain, it is almost more dissapointing than if it had just been rain. Every time the sun teases me and peeks out from behind those clouds, my hopes rise and I think, "Finally, summer is here..." only to be let down a few hours later when the rain clouds again dominate the sky.

I know, I shouldn't complain, and really I don't think I am. I am just saying that I am ready for summer. Aren't you?

One Crazy Day

The following story contains a diaper and the stuff that happens in a diaper. If you have an aversion to poop and pee and things like that, please read no further. If you do continue; consider yourself warned.


For some reason, I decided yesterday that it was a good day to take all four kids shopping at Winco. Winco, for those of you who may not be familiar, is a large grocery store with cheaper prices--yay! The downside is that you bag your own groceries. (And trust me, when shopping with four kids, this is definitely a down side.) On our way we drove through the Starbucks drive through and I got my grande, extra hot, nonfat white chocolate mocha with no whip. The kids got ice waters. By the time we got to Winco, the ice waters were empty and the bladders were full so our first stop inside was, of course, the bathroom. Waiting outside the restrooms with Kyla, my 12 month old, in the cart, I realized that I should probably check her diaper too. She had a painful diaper rash so I was trying to keep her dry. The older three kids finished and then waited for Kyla and I right outside the bathroom with the cart. I went into the large stall that contained the changing table and proceeded to change Kyla's diaper. Okay, so this is my fourth baby, she's a year old--you would think this would be pretty uneventful...unfortunately, it was quite dramatic.


Kyla was upset the moment she saw the changing table. She despises having her diaper changed any time and the painful rash tripled the normal protest. I laid her down, talking to her gently, trying to calm her. When I opened the diaper, I saw that she was not just wet and it was not just normal poop--it was the kind that sticks in little tiny pieces to the bottom and does not want to wipe off.


As I was cleaning her as gently as possible, she was screaming in pain and literally writhing trying to stand up and get away. I finally got her cleaned up but by the time I was finished, she was standing on the changing table, leaning against me, still crying in pain and anger. When I laid her back down to put the clean diaper on her, I realized that the changing table was wet--she had peed while standing up. So I quickly picked her up so that I could dry the changing table. While I was doing that--she peed some more, this time on my leg. So I held her away from me and she peed more on the floor. Then I finally laid her back on the changing table and she peed more on the changing table. She just kept doing it in little squirts--screaming the whole time! By the time I was done, the changing table, her pants and shoes, the floor around the changing table, and my leg were all wet with pee. Somehow, I succeeded in getting a dry diaper on the baby, though I have no idea how I did it. Then, I grabbed an antibacterial wipe from the diaper bag and cleaned the changing table and the floor and got out of the bathroom as quickly as possible mumbling apologies to the mom who was waiting to use the changing table.

The rest of our shopping at Winco was quite dull compared to this beginning, so I'll spare you those details. We succeeded in filling the cart with canned goods, frozen food, and produce and then spent an eternity at the check stand while I bagged it all. We resorted to two carts to take out the groceries and filled the back of the Suburban. As we headed for home, we made two other stops for science fair project supplies. We are studying biology...but that's a story for next time.

Enjoy the Moments

Time seems to fly by so quickly. My newborn baby is now one year old. My oldest daughter is soon to be 9. Wow! When did this happen? I am so glad that I have taken time to enjoy the moments along the way instead of constantly looking forward to what is coming next. I will never be able to get these moments with my children back again. I know it sounds cliche but the reason we have cliches is because they are so true. In fact, here are some cliches that have proven true in my 9 years of parenthood.

Take time to smell the roses.
Don't cry over spilled milk.
All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of yesterday.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Every rose has a thorn.
The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
Like father, like son.
For everything there is a season.

I hope you enjoy my cliche advice and take it to heart. Time flies when you're having fun--Enjoy each moment!

Parenting

Right now, the most important thing I am doing is parenting--which includes constantly building a relationship with my husband and my children. Lately, I have been reminded often that my kids learn from everything I do. When I kiss my husband and tell him I love him--they are learning. When I clean up the kitchen and do the laundry without complaining and sighing--they are learning. When I lose my temper and yell at them for losing their shoes again--they are learning. When I apologize to them for my wrong behavior--they are learning. When I am frantically looking for my shoes (Ha Ha!) after yelling at them for losing theirs--they are learning. So, in the hustle and bustle of every day life, the VERY MOST important thing that I can do, is to stay close to Jesus so that in every situation, I can reflect Him to my children. Sometimes, I try to do things the very opposite of that and my relationship with the Lord gets put on the back burner because I am so busy with everything else. If I do that though--my kids are also learning that. What a responsibility parenting is!

Lord, thank you for my husband and my kids. Help my husband and I to stay close to each other despite the busyness of life. Help me to teach my kids to love you with their hearts, souls, and minds. And Lord, please protect my kids from my mistakes. :) Thank you for being my best friend and Savior.
In Jesus Name,
Amen

Elohim

Our kids are memorizing a Bible sound off for school and we are studying Genesis right now. Here is the statement that they have memorized (even Meara my 4 year old). "God is Elohim, the mighty God, who created everything from nothing. When he speaks, things happen just as he says." Wow!

The creation story is one that many of us have heard and read for many years. We know that God created the world in 6 days and then rested on the 7th. It's so easy to read this story about God creating light and separating light from the darkness, then God creating land and sea, and so forth but have you really ever thought about all that God created in that one spoken word? Think about when we study chemistry and learn about all of the atoms that make up everything. Think about the molecules and how they are different in solid, liquid, and gas forms...It would take me a lifetime to try to understand it all and I still wouldn't get everything! Yet, God is so mighty, that in one spoken word he created everything from nothing. When He said, "Let there be light" God created white light which is made up of all the other colors of light. When He created the moon, sun, and stars--just think about what they actually are! All the details that make our world work the way it does, He created in just 6 days.

I can't begin to comprehend a God who can create so much perfect detail in one spoken word. I don't even know how to explain the wonder and awe that I feel at the overwhelming thought of it all. Yet, this mighty God, Elohim, who created the whole detailed world, created every detail of me. This mighty God, Elohim, loves me. This mighty God, Elohim, died for me. Wow!

Tuesday Tip--Legos

Wow! It has been too long since I have blogged. Life has been just a little crazy around here. Well it's Tuesday so I thought I would blog about another little tip.

This one's about Legos. My son has quite a collection of Legos started but all of the direction booklets and magazines were spread throughout his bedroom and the rest of the house getting ripped and lost. To remedy this, I found an old three-ring binder and filled it with pocket sheet protectors. Then in each one, I slipped a direction booklet or magazine. Now, my son can flip through his binder to find what he wants and I am not finding Lego booklets and magazines all over the house. It worked great and actually made him pay a little more attention to them now that they are organized. However, we have discovered that holding the notebook upside down does create a small disaster...