Throughout this whirlwind we call life, thoughts fly by me, sometimes bumping into my brain as if to say, “Hey, blog this!” And then the whirlwind picks up again and away the thoughts blow. If my brain had been getting more sleep, it might have been able to keep up with the thoughts and catch them. Today, it had a lot of iced tea to accommodate said lack, so …

5 Reminders to Self

1. Looking at my bed still unmade at 2:00 in the afternoon, should not illicit a sigh of frustration or feelings of lack of accomplishment of yet one more thing that I didn’t get done this morning.. . but rather, it should illicit a sigh of happiness and contentment that I was blessed to be able to spend one more morning of care and play with my children. I’ll have plenty of time to make my bed, to fluff the pillows and straighten the comforter when the kids are grown and no longer want me to play cars with them or need me to help them use the potty.

“… children are God’s best gift … how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children!” Psalm 127:3-5

Which brings me to #2. (no pun intended)

2. Potty training might bring untimely interruptions to life (why is it ALWAYS when my lunch is inches away from my mouth that my daughter needs help to use the bathroom) … but potty training – and learning other life skills – is a must. Any waves of exhaustion during these training days are ridden out on a board of thankfulness to my own mother for taking time from her agenda when I was little to help me learn life skills, to take me through obedience drills, to build character… Thanks, Mom!


(Thanks, Mom, for all the great birthday cakes! Remember this one - 3rd birthday! Thanks, Aunt Donna for celebrating with us!)
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
(I wonder if “go” in the Greek includes the “go” of potty training. I’ll take it.)


3. Potty training apparently also brings a change of character in the life of the trainee. This morning while my trainee was intently absorbed in an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I quietly slipped out of the room in hopes of having just ONE minute of private bathroom time. Some sort of invisible alarm went off inside the trainee – who usually has to be pried away from the TV with a proverbial crowbar – and within seconds she appeared at my bathroom door and came over to “help” me use the bathroom by holding my hand and telling me “Good Job. Can I see it? Is it yellow?” Which, of course, are all techniques I’ve used to help HER use the bathroom. So I had to be polite and thank her (and then send her on some made-up errand in the house).

“… your right hand has held me up.” Psalm 18:35

4. Having a baby around the house who is just 3 months old means that not too long ago, my husband and I were in the midst of Baby Name Negotiations. I was reminded again today while observing my 3-year old daughter that choosing a child’s name is very critical, serious business. Tessa’s name means “Servant,” and servant she is. Sometimes at naptime, she is allowed to take her cup of water to bed and place it in her bookshelved headboard. Today’s chosen cup is a polar bear that Meme & Papa bought her last summer at the zoo. It’s very cute but also very prone to spills, as is what happened today. However, this little servant-in-training insisted upon cleaning it up herself. What a blessing.

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches…” Proverbs 22:1

5. There are doors on a closet for a reason. Sometimes it’s good to close them (same reason to skip making the bed). Today, mine got left open and bared quite an organized mess. Piles of clothes on the floor and empty hangers on the rack. Makes perfect sense in a world where Maternity Clothes are too comfortable but no longer appropriate and Regular Clothes used to be comfortable and are appropriate but only fit the hangers now. This weekend all Maternity Clothes were banished – some returned to their rightful owner, others given away to a new owner – and the Regular Clothes begin their journey from the floor back to the hangers. Hopefully they’ll stretch as much as I have.

“To appoint unto them … the garment of praise…” Isaiah 61:3

So it's been a loooong time since i've blogged - it's not like i haven't thought about it or started writing something, but because of this blessing....

... i have been running low on brain power, -- well, low on all energy that goes towards anything other than feeding my kids, feeding myself, getting my kids to sleep, getting myself to sleep, changing their diapers, ....

But thanks to this blessing....

... i have a spark of energy -- and am not bothered by the fact that my toddler isn't napping but is instead tearing up her room! At least i get to eat these delicious candies in peace and quiet!!! (notice the low ratio of chocolate eggs to jelly beans - thank you, Cadbury!)

As if i could have forgotten what valuable lessons this season of life that i've reentered -- "Hello New Baby, Good-bye Sleep" can teach, now it's packed with a double whammy thanks to the whirlwind seasonal occurances of my toddler, aka, "Miss Independent."

God has taught me several lessons during the course of the last several days, but as my brain seems to have disappeared along with my waistline and as the fact that these chocolate eggs are wearing off fast, i'll just recount one "episode" during which i had a meeting with God.

The other morning, the kids and i finished our shopping at SuperTarget and headed out to the car --- Daniel sleeping blissfully in his carseat in the seat of the cart and Tessa (Miss Independent) sitting in the little kiddie seats in the front of the cart. As soon as we got to our car, which was parked next to a empty cart return, Tessa took off to walk through the cart return, to crawl under it, to run away from me to walk and crawl through the cart return on the other side of our parking space.

She responded to my calls to return to me just about as well as a husband responding to his wife's suggestion to stop and ask for directions --- a laugh and a continuation on the same dangerous course. Glancing from my 3-week old infant boy to my 3-year old defiant girl to the mom in the minivan next to me who had her sweet, obedient kids already tucked into their government-approved carseats, i decided i had to momentarily leave the cart and go after Miss Independent.

It only took a matter of seconds before i had her back safely beside our car, but those seconds ticked by in beats of fear, alternating with anger and disappointment that she would do something so dangerous and so disobedient! I thought we had already covered this topic of running away!

What God must think when i do something He's already showed me is dangerous and against His perfect will for me!

Needless to say, once we got home, the discipline came. For her. And, yes, for me, it always does when i speak to my kids -- i hear God saying the same thing to me!

But really, my moment with God that day came when hours later at the dinner table, Tessa and i were finishing our dinner alone, as Dustin was at church and Daniel asleep. I had finished my meal (Pastor Susan's yummy lasagna, which i had frozen pieces of for such a time as this) and Tessa had refused hers. Did i mention she has an independent streak?

The disappointments and struggles of the day broke away as i pulled up on my laptop a YouTube video of "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord," and Tessa began to sing the words along with me. We even made up our own actions, lifting our hands to praise Jesus ...

The presence of God was there at that table in the hearts of two of His daughters who aren't perfect but who are made perfect in Him.

I might not be running and crawling through the cart returns at SuperTarget, but there are times i try to run and do things on my own -- instead of running to Him.

Yet He is so faithful to show up and to shower down His love.

Simply amazing how a dining room table can be the setting of more than just a nourishing meal. If your toddler won't eat anyway, might as well serve them something that will sustain them better than anything SuperTarget has to offer!