Wednesday, April 30, 2008

got milk?

today harper, calvary, kyle's mom, and i went for a walk and found a couple of caterpillars. on the way home i teased harper for not letting the caterpillar crawl on her and she replied, "if calvary was a caterpillar i would let him crawl on me." sweet? i'm not sure. i then told her that caterpillars turned into butterflies and she asked how such a thing could be possible. i tried to explain that when a caterpillar knew it was time to change they would wrap up in a really tight blanket called a cacoon and inside they would change into a butterfly. we continued our drive and as we passed a pasture full of cows harper asked, "do you know where milk comes from?" she then continued to explain that when a cow pees it wraps itself up in a tight blanket called a "catcoon" and changes itself into milk and "then we drink it." oddly enough...even believing that milk is actually created from the process of urine metamorphosis she shows no signs of disgust for the product...


got milk?

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

birthdays and blogs....

calvary turned 2 almost two weeks ago.

there was cake. (all talent credited to the ooey gooey bake shop!)



there was presents. (much appreciated by the little man!)



there was even blue sand!!!


and most importantly there was a lot of love for the cutest 2 year old boy ever. (all cuteness credited to his creator, God)



every moment i spend with my children i become more excited thinking about the summer months we have ahead. of course we have days where we drive each other crazy, but nothing in this world is comprable to the yearning i have to be with them. i sometimes do not understand how often times i have spent my life seeking what i cannot have...when i was single, i wanted someone to love; when i was dating, i wanted to be left alone; when i was married; i couldn't wait to have children; when i had children; i wondered when i could go to the bathroom alone... but even now, if kyle and i have time away from harper and calvary we usually end up missing them and going back to get them early...i think i want peace and quiet but if one of the children is out everything seems so strange and less eventful that i beginning longing for the chaos that having two children brings---all of this makes me think and understand why people want to have so many children...i used to hold vehemently to my claim that people should only have more than 3 kids if they own a farm and need the help; but now i realize how wonderful it would be to be surrounded by a loud, exciting, chaotic family. we have quiet a while to have peace and quiet...
and right now i would not exchange the chaos i have wrapped tightly into two little bodies for anything!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

train them up...don't beat them up...

monday, april 14th is Calvary's 2nd birthday. somedays it seems as if 2 years has flown by, but other times it seems as if calvary has been here forever :) i am actually really sad about this birthday. i was sad about harper's 3rd and i think watching her turn 3 has made me sad about how quickly all of this truly goes. the strange paradox of parenting is that each stage has its storms that no parent enjoys, but each stage also has perfect, quiet joys that will can never be recreated. i like to keep up with harper and calvary's funny little statements because i know that as time passes, as it already has, that i will forget these treasures.
in the car, i was listening to a cd with the song "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and a line within the hymn that really captured my heart was "this is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus." in that moment it hit me that nothing that i have ever done is to my own glory...no good that i have done has been my own...every bit of the right that i have done is a direct result of the redeeming blood of christ. anyone that has played a board game, cards, tennis, or really any other competitive sport with me really knows how genuinely far from righteous i truly am. however, with parenting i pray every day that God will be honored through the way in which i parent my children. just as the scripture instructs our children to honor and obey their parents, it also instructs parents not to exasperate their children.
we have been beyond blessed with most amazing people that care for our children while kyle and i work. the white family provides not only an instructional environment that has been largely responsible for the scholastic growth of my children, but they also provide an environment that enriches spiritual instruction as well. this has been priceless...i told her one day that she not only takes care of my kids but she also takes care of me. we were talking today about submissive and instructional attitudes and she made the comment that the bible instructs us to "train 'em up, not beat 'em up" and i thought to myself how often we forget to correct bad behavior and remember only to punish it.
regardless of whatever parenting stage i am at i can only say that i only learn how to parent that stage effectivley right as that stage ends... also, any and every bit of my righteousness in any area of my life is "nothing but the blood of Jesus..."