Beans

The highlight of my Saturday was most definitely the memorial service for Beans. Beans, you ask? Yes, Beans. The dead frog that Li'l B found in the creek. In an effort to get him to resist playing with the dead (and rather smelly, I might add!) frog, I suggested burying him. While at first that idea was met with great resistance (after all, the ants live underground! They would get him for sure!), I managed to win B over by bringing out a small box and offering to help give him a proper burial. :-)



Brandon has only been to one funeral, but he remembered enough about it to know that graves need "signs" next to them, and that graves need flowers around them. He suggested that we "make up" a birthday for Beans, and that he and Beans should be the same age. Therefore, the paper gravestone we made for Beans records his birthday to have been February 13th.



B then asked me what people do at funerals. After giving a few ideas, B stood next to the graveside and offered up these "nice words" about Beans: "Beans loved to jump. He loved to hop. He loved the creek. And I loved Beans. Rest in Peace, Beans." (yes, I did coach him with the last line. I couldn't help myself!! And actually, the first time he got it wrong and said, "Rest in Beans." It was all I could do not to lose it. This was a very serious moment after all! :-D)



He ended the service by singing an adorable and sincere version of "5 Green and Speckled Frogs." :-) (After all, isn't that a most appropriate song for a froggy funeral?!) :-D



After the "service" was over, B would come periodically and check on me: Mom? Are you still sad about Beans, even though you don't have any tears? I told him I was ok, and to which he replied, "Oh, I am, too. I am still sad, though." The events of the day also spurred questions such as, "Where do animals go when they die? Do they have souls? Do they have spirits?"



In addition, the pre-service digging spurred the rest of the afternoons activities: digging holes for rocks, digging holes for leaves, digging holes for pinecones ... well, you get the idea. :-) Of course since I had shown such proficiency at digging a grave for Beans, I was invited to join in the digging fun. As I sat there digging in the dirt with my boy, he randomly said to Ellie and I, "I'm so thankful that I have a Mommy. And I'm SO thankful that she plays with me." As if my heart hadn't melted several times over already, he set me off again. What a sweetheart.

Could having a 5 year old boy be any more fun?!

Could I be more richly blessed?

R.I.P., Beans... :-D :-D

Whirlwind month!

Eek, almost a month between blogs. That's just how it goes sometimes I guess. What can I say? It's been a great, busy few weeks. Here's a quick recap...

*We enjoyed a week long visit with Matt, Kristi, and the kiddos. What a blast! The kids are quickly becoming sweet friends, spent many hours playing outside (yay for spring in February. I love the south!!!), and the adults fit in lots of  talking, teasing, and fun as well. Aaaand, I totally forgot to get Kristi's pictures from her camera, so photos from that great week will have to wait.



* The day after Matt and Kristi left, we enjoyed a visit from Grandmama and Grandpapa Barr. :-) They took Brandon and Ellie on several fun adventures, babysat all three so B and I could have a date night, and joined us for Brandon's 5th birthday party. Our time with them literally flew by! Ellie insisted that they should just stay here "forever!" :-) So sweet.



*Saturday we threw a bowling birthday party for our big 5 year old! What fun to get a little group of kiddos together to bowl together. Too cute. One of my favorite moments was watching a ball go down the lane in slow motion (no joke!), take FOREVER to arrive at the other end, and then, somehow, create enough force to cause a strike!!! :-D We all just burst out laughing.

*Brandon and Ellie also had their first dentist appointments this week! Since you never know for sure how your kids will react to new things, I tried to prep them as well as I could and just hoped all would go well. :-) They did wonderfully ... opened their mouths wide like alligators, let the dentist "count" every tooth and then polish them clean, opened and closed their mouth for "Mr. Thirsty" (the water sucker thingy;-)), sat perfectly still for x-rays, and even attempted to rinse with flouride. I felt like a bit cheesy coming in with my camera, but I just had to get a few pictures of their first dental adventure. We love our dentist here!!!

[caption id="attachment_127" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="I told Ethan to smile...:) Love that kid!"][/caption]



*On top of our family adventures, Brandon is very busy with the course he is in and is under a lot of stress. We are learning daily to surrender the pressures, stresses, and busyness to the Lord. He has sustained us thus far, and it's neat to see Him continue to provide and in the midst of the stresses give us opportunities for growth and ministry with those He's placing in our path.



So there's a quick recap. I will try my best to make my next post a bit more witty, catchy, and creative. :-) For now, this is all I've got. :-) Sending love! :-)

Babies don't keep...

Cooking and cleaning can wait 'til tomorrow,

for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow;

So quiet down cobwebs; dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

Babies don't keep...

Cooking and cleaning can wait 'til tomorrow,

for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow;

So quiet down cobwebs; dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

Our Little Man

I couldn't help myself at being a bit sentimental today every time I looked at Li'l B. Today is his last day as a 4 year old...and he knows it. He is over the moon excited to be turning 5!  :-) As I watch his excitement, I just can't believe how quickly the time has flown since that little 9 lb bundle was placed in my arms, and I began the journey of motherhood. I can't believe that sweet little baby boy has moved from bassinets and exersaucers to riding a two-wheel bike and learning to skateboard.

Time is such a peculiar thing - that somehow it can make me feel as though our son has always been in our lives and hearts while at the same time making me feel that it was just yesterday that I caught my first glimpse of his sweet face.

Being Brandon's mom has taught me incredibly more than I could ever have imagined I needed to learn. I have to be honest that going into parenthood, I thought I had a lot of the answers. In theory, it seemed so easy. You discipline, they obey. You lead, they follow. You train, they fall in line. :-) It didn't take long for me to realize that parenting is not nearly that black-and-white, and while there are certain principles to follow, many areas of parenting instead fall into many shades of gray. It didn't take me long to realize that parenting takes every ounce of energy, wisdom, and strength I can muster ... and then some. And it certainly didn't take me long to realize that only God can take my efforts and cover them with grace to make them effective.

Being Brandon's mom opened my heart to loving in a way I had never before experienced, as though my heart magically grew and took shape outside of my body. I love every ounce of that kid, and have ever since I laid eyes on him. Brandon is a big ball of energy, a kid with spirit, a boy with strength and a vivid imagination. He keeps me on my toes, he makes me laugh often, and he keeps life very interesting. He's also extremely tender hearted and loving, and has often touched my heart with his gentleness. He has so much potential.

I hope I never forget how much fun he is right now. How he starts almost every conversation with, "Mom, can I tell you something?" :-) How he tries to fill in for Daddy whenever Daddy is away - like today when I came into my room to find him struggling to make my bed "so that I wouldn't have to." :-) How he's learning to make jokes, knows when he's funny, and gives me that mischievous grin accompanied by a giggle whenever he's being goofy. How he loves his siblings and wants "at least 3 more babies in our family." (haha!) How he's starting to ask difficult questions like, "What is my soul? What does it mean that our spirit goes to Heaven when we die? How do you know God is talking to you?" How fun it is to watch him learning to read. How even though he's my "big" boy, he still asks me to hold him and cuddle with him before he goes to sleep.

I am so incredibly thankful that 5 years ago tonight, I was preparing to meet my first born son for the first time. While he can't wait to open a gift or two tomorrow, having that child entrusted to me was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I love you, Brandon! Happy 5th birthday, little man!

I Timothy 6:11-12

¹¹ But you, Brandon Robert, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

 

Super Bowl

Well, this post is a little late, but I've really been meaning to get to it all week. Unfortunately, we've been assaulted by sickness the last few days. Sick kids needing lots of extra lovin' leave little time for mama to do blogging. :-)



So back to the topic at hand, I honestly don't have a whole lot to say about the super bowl itself. We were decidedly underwhelmed by the super bowl this year. Actually, we both forgot it was super bowl Sunday until one of the 4 yr olds in the Sunday School class we teach shared with us excitedly about the super bowl party he was attending. :-D Since neither of us really get into pro football, we normally watch the super bowl so we can laugh at the commercials. This year several of the commercials contained sexual humor that we found inappropriate and unentertaining. After two of those, I totally checked out.



I had a great deal more fun watching the kids play football with Daddy. I have to say that this is most definitely not a safe indoor activity - safe, that is, for all of the pictures and knick knacks I have around the house. ;-) It was a great deal of fun, though, and Li'l B stayed decked out in his football gear for days after our little family super bowl game was over. :-) He certainly won the best dressed award, since Ellie suited up with a hockey helmet and Daddy with a baseball helmet (on backwards of course.) ;-)  ;-) Ethan definitely wanted to join the fun, but he had a slight wardrobe malfunction that most definitely impeded his progress. (it might help if he had a rear end to hold up those pants! ;-) ;-).) He took care of the pants problem quickly...

And since I forgot about the Super Bowl, the snack foods came a day late, too. The kids were only too happy to help me taste test...errr... make a batch of cookies. ;-) And I suppose the snacks weren't all that late anyway, considering the fact that round 2 of the family football continued on Monday night... ;-)



And so I think perhaps this was my most enjoyable super bowl Sunday to date. :-) I love this crazy family of mine!

Sacred Parenting

This past fall, Brandon and I were a part of a class at church on Wednesday nights that read through the book Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. Sadly, Brandon missed most of the sessions because of his training schedule, but that book has now topped my list as the most profound and challenging marriage book I've read to date. You can imagine how excited I was to find that Gary Thomas also has a Sacred Parenting book - and that there was going to be a class on it at church this spring.



This past week was our first week, so I'm only two chapters into the book, but already I have been incredibly moved and challenged by the excellent Biblical Truth articulated in this book. Incredible. Both the marriage and the parenting books focus on how God created the family unit not to make us happy, but to produce in us a holiness that mirrors Christ. The book shares how our spouses and our children are a mirror that reveals who we really are and what we really value.

I feel like God has been working in my heart recently regarding our parenting - not necessarily the "how to's" of parenting; we all have different personalities, different styles, and different approaches. The challenge for me is learning how to go beyond mere behavior modification to addressing heart issues. The challenge is making the parenting and discipline of my kids a way that I communicate the Gospel. God has been challenging my heart regarding my mission in parenting, my ultimate goals, and my definition of success in parenting.



I find myself asking what legacy I'm building into the hearts of my kids. When they grow and look back on their childhood, what will they say my priorities and passions were? How they answer that question will reveal so much about my heart and what I really lived for. Let's face it - those little eyes are always watching, ever perceiving. How we interact with them says a great deal about what we value.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the tasks of life: the cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands, and endless to-do lists. Sometimes I go for days without really considering how the activities of my day had eternal impact. I'm having to learn that only when I allow God to redeem and fill those daily tasks can they have eternal significance. I can teach my kids to be obedient, prompt, respectful, and tidy without ever impacting their hearts or filling their souls with the rich Truth of the Gospel. Or I can make those things a means by which I make God's Heart known to them, a means in which God's Heart is reflected through me.



One thing is for certain - parenting tops my list as one of  the most challenging, rewarding, and sanctifying journeys of my life. How thankful I am for these beautiful treasures in our care!