Tim and I have been working in the barn and yard, shoveling in ditches, shoveling dirt, shoveling.... Now I am not a person used to hard manual labor, aka shoveling, so I have had quite a few aches and pains in areas that haven't been worked a whole lot.
A couple of days ago, I was laying on the floor, trying to get a particularly painful back to settle down.
Eli thought it must be play time since I was laying on the floor. So, he proceeded to try jumping and climbing all over me. After a few feeble attempts to protect my already sore back, I finally sat up and explained I was not there to play, as much as I would like to, but my back was hurting pretty bad.
The next thing I knew, he was behind me, leaning into my back with his hands on my back saying, "Dear God, thank you for making Mommy's back all better. In Jeelas name, amen." and then he took off again.
I was so happy to be able to tell him an hour or so later that I felt just fine- no more back pain. The power of prayer is amazing!!
A few weeks ago- the weekend just after we started the barn, Tim was trying to get some time off work on Monday so he could be here to help lift the rafters. It was a great time to learn a lesson in prayer.
On Saturday, when Tim was at work, Eli and I prayed that Papa would find someone else to work for him on Monday. I was then able to explain to Eli that God ALWAYS answers prayers. Sometimes He says, "Yes!" Sometimes He says, "No." and sometimes He says, "Not yet."
I didn't want him to be too disappointed and think God didn't hear his request if Papa had to work cause he couldn't find anyone to cover for him.
Imagine our excitement when Papa called a little later and he had someone to work for him! We were so excited to see such a tangible answer to prayer.
Thank you God for always hearing us when we talk to you. Thank you for the character you are developing in us in the areas where you've said, "Not yet." or "No." Thank you for all the times you've blessed us with a yes :)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
August
Wow. It has been quite a month!! Our biggest project, by far, started on my Mom and Dad's anniversary- Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!! Tim's dream is finally becoming a reality as the finishing touches are just waiting to be done on the garage (barn) he's always wanted.
Here are the stages... We had a local Amish family do the work- and they did an incredible job. They started in the afternoon on the 12th and got all the beams set...
Tim was able to use his Dad's post hole digger- good thing- this is some of the rockiest soil we've ever seen!
Day 2- They got the side pieces all set and ready for the roofing to go up. The 2 gentlemen in charge brought their 6 and 5 year old sons- and boy did Eli have a blast playing with them on his playset!
Day 3- they got everything ready to put the metal on :) Bruce Welsh came and he and Tim helped with the rafters and by the end of the day the building was ready for the metal to be put on :) The boys came back, and Cheyenne and Wesley came over and the kids all played and had a great time together!
Day 4- They got the roof almost done and metal up on the sides. This was such a fun day. The whole family came, and I got to meet Elizabeth- the mom. We had a great time- for lunch I took down some food and they had some food and we all were going to eat together. Just as we started, the heavens opened and it poured for a little over an hour- almost an inch!! It was such a great time of fellowship and getting to know this neat family even more.
Of course, Eli has to prove he is a normal little boy- as the rain started to die down a little, he takes off across the yard.... and starts pulling his pants down to pee on the rocks. Fortunately, I caught him before he had exposed himself to any of the ladies. I was afraid Cheyenne would die on me from mortification.... :) Ah, little boys :)
Tim had to leave for work just before 6 (he had taken the first 12 hours off so he could be there for the rafters). I was chatting with Elizabeth when we saw Roman pulling the buggy down, with a big grin on his face. We both went over to see what he was up to. He said, with a huge smile, that I could tell Tim that he was the first one to park in our garage.... :)
The Amish are uncomfortable with pictures being taken of them, but they let Eli sit up in the buggy so I could get a shot of our first "car" parked in the garage. Eli liked the "motor" a lot!
Day 5- Putting in the door and finishing up on some of the trim. You can see on the left side we have quite a bit of fill to put in- about 3 feet :) One of the disadvantages to living on a hillside :)
Day 6- They are all done- the wood is wrapped, the metal all on. Now comes our part (well, Tim's part :)) We have some log siding left over from the house, so he is going to put log siding on the front part, so from the road, the barn will match the house in looking like it is a log barn, also. This is actually a few days after they left- if you look closely- you can see Tim in the building, riding on the backhoe moving dirt and starting on trenches to put in gas, electric and water.
Here he is discussing "stuff" with Uncle Scott and Papaw, while standing next to the "digger." As you can imagine, Eli has been in Seventh Heaven with all this stuff going on- first the horses,, then all the heavy equipment.
Here is the yard with the trench from the house to the new barn...
So, this is what the yard looked like yesterday when I left for work. Pipes are all in, trenches filled back in- now just need to level it all out, dump in screenings and then Papa will have a nice new barn with a great concrete floor. Yeah!! Isn't it neat to watch as dreams for some really do come true?
Well, this has also been a busy month for us in many other ways. I have been working twice as much as I was before, so it seems I've lost a lot of time I used to have around the house.
And the harvest is coming in. I have put up a lot of corn and green beans, some pickles, and, possibly, hopefully, I'll be able to do some tomatoes soon.
Here are some pics from the last month of Eli enjoying the summer months....
Here he is showing us he can eat cherries and spit out the pits, just like a big boy!
He had Tim and me laughing so hard, we couldn't eat our own cherries...
Soooo very serious, making sure that pit doesn't go down his throat....
Ahh, success!!
Now, where is that dental floss?
Then he discovered, on a very hot day, that playing in the water bucket next to the house yard hydrant is a cool way to have fun....
(What a great look- kinda 70's, don't you think?)
As is rinsing his feet off, shoes and all!
Great big splashes are the best- we had to jump back, he was getting us all wet- we had to see through our tears as we were laughing so hard.
Ahh- our cool, sweet boy :)
Here you can see my bowls in the background on the table. As I was snapping green beans and preparing them for canning, I had him set up with watercolors on his little table next to me.
But, it was a really hot day, so he soon tired of painting and we got his pool set up so he could splash and play while I was there with him :) Ah- the wonderful days of summer!
Then, on day 4 of our barn being built, Eli and I left really early for Eli's first cleaning at the dentist office. We had checked out a great book at the library a few weeks ago, all about firsts- this one was my first trip to the dentist office. It was his favorite for several weeks. We practiced, and he went with me to my cleaning and sat on my lap and watched as they cleaned my teeth. Here he is laying back watching Diego.
He got a little squirmy, but soon was connected again. Here is Dr Wells letting him feel the "tickle brush" that was going to shine his teeth.
He sat soo still while she was cleaning his teeth. She was so impressed. She didn't think he'd make it through his first cleaning- most kids his age don't. But he did fine!! He loved the water straw and even knew how to "spit" into the suction tube. I was so proud of him!
Here he is with Dr Wells, Ms Wendy showing off his new toothbrush, toothpaste and sticker for being such a good patient. Good Job, Eli!!
We also had our family production at church of KIDSTUF. Pretty cool stuff!! Here is Gordo, dressed as a French Gardener. He was learning about forgiveness and that his mom loves him even when he messes up.
Eli calls him Papa Gordo, and was seen here helping him remove his costume, as he was laughing.... :)
Last night, I worked kinda late, so I met up with my boys and we all went out for a date to Tom's Ice Cream Bowl. Yummy!! Here is Eli and Papa as we waited for our food. What a nice time to be out.
Wow!! August was a full month, wonder what September will hold?
Here are the stages... We had a local Amish family do the work- and they did an incredible job. They started in the afternoon on the 12th and got all the beams set...
Tim was able to use his Dad's post hole digger- good thing- this is some of the rockiest soil we've ever seen!
Day 2- They got the side pieces all set and ready for the roofing to go up. The 2 gentlemen in charge brought their 6 and 5 year old sons- and boy did Eli have a blast playing with them on his playset!
Day 3- they got everything ready to put the metal on :) Bruce Welsh came and he and Tim helped with the rafters and by the end of the day the building was ready for the metal to be put on :) The boys came back, and Cheyenne and Wesley came over and the kids all played and had a great time together!
Day 4- They got the roof almost done and metal up on the sides. This was such a fun day. The whole family came, and I got to meet Elizabeth- the mom. We had a great time- for lunch I took down some food and they had some food and we all were going to eat together. Just as we started, the heavens opened and it poured for a little over an hour- almost an inch!! It was such a great time of fellowship and getting to know this neat family even more.
Of course, Eli has to prove he is a normal little boy- as the rain started to die down a little, he takes off across the yard.... and starts pulling his pants down to pee on the rocks. Fortunately, I caught him before he had exposed himself to any of the ladies. I was afraid Cheyenne would die on me from mortification.... :) Ah, little boys :)
Tim had to leave for work just before 6 (he had taken the first 12 hours off so he could be there for the rafters). I was chatting with Elizabeth when we saw Roman pulling the buggy down, with a big grin on his face. We both went over to see what he was up to. He said, with a huge smile, that I could tell Tim that he was the first one to park in our garage.... :)
The Amish are uncomfortable with pictures being taken of them, but they let Eli sit up in the buggy so I could get a shot of our first "car" parked in the garage. Eli liked the "motor" a lot!
Day 5- Putting in the door and finishing up on some of the trim. You can see on the left side we have quite a bit of fill to put in- about 3 feet :) One of the disadvantages to living on a hillside :)
Day 6- They are all done- the wood is wrapped, the metal all on. Now comes our part (well, Tim's part :)) We have some log siding left over from the house, so he is going to put log siding on the front part, so from the road, the barn will match the house in looking like it is a log barn, also. This is actually a few days after they left- if you look closely- you can see Tim in the building, riding on the backhoe moving dirt and starting on trenches to put in gas, electric and water.
Here he is discussing "stuff" with Uncle Scott and Papaw, while standing next to the "digger." As you can imagine, Eli has been in Seventh Heaven with all this stuff going on- first the horses,, then all the heavy equipment.
Here is the yard with the trench from the house to the new barn...
So, this is what the yard looked like yesterday when I left for work. Pipes are all in, trenches filled back in- now just need to level it all out, dump in screenings and then Papa will have a nice new barn with a great concrete floor. Yeah!! Isn't it neat to watch as dreams for some really do come true?
Well, this has also been a busy month for us in many other ways. I have been working twice as much as I was before, so it seems I've lost a lot of time I used to have around the house.
And the harvest is coming in. I have put up a lot of corn and green beans, some pickles, and, possibly, hopefully, I'll be able to do some tomatoes soon.
Here are some pics from the last month of Eli enjoying the summer months....
Here he is showing us he can eat cherries and spit out the pits, just like a big boy!
He had Tim and me laughing so hard, we couldn't eat our own cherries...
Soooo very serious, making sure that pit doesn't go down his throat....
Ahh, success!!
Now, where is that dental floss?
Then he discovered, on a very hot day, that playing in the water bucket next to the house yard hydrant is a cool way to have fun....
(What a great look- kinda 70's, don't you think?)
As is rinsing his feet off, shoes and all!
Great big splashes are the best- we had to jump back, he was getting us all wet- we had to see through our tears as we were laughing so hard.
Ahh- our cool, sweet boy :)
Here you can see my bowls in the background on the table. As I was snapping green beans and preparing them for canning, I had him set up with watercolors on his little table next to me.
But, it was a really hot day, so he soon tired of painting and we got his pool set up so he could splash and play while I was there with him :) Ah- the wonderful days of summer!
Then, on day 4 of our barn being built, Eli and I left really early for Eli's first cleaning at the dentist office. We had checked out a great book at the library a few weeks ago, all about firsts- this one was my first trip to the dentist office. It was his favorite for several weeks. We practiced, and he went with me to my cleaning and sat on my lap and watched as they cleaned my teeth. Here he is laying back watching Diego.
He got a little squirmy, but soon was connected again. Here is Dr Wells letting him feel the "tickle brush" that was going to shine his teeth.
He sat soo still while she was cleaning his teeth. She was so impressed. She didn't think he'd make it through his first cleaning- most kids his age don't. But he did fine!! He loved the water straw and even knew how to "spit" into the suction tube. I was so proud of him!
Here he is with Dr Wells, Ms Wendy showing off his new toothbrush, toothpaste and sticker for being such a good patient. Good Job, Eli!!
We also had our family production at church of KIDSTUF. Pretty cool stuff!! Here is Gordo, dressed as a French Gardener. He was learning about forgiveness and that his mom loves him even when he messes up.
Eli calls him Papa Gordo, and was seen here helping him remove his costume, as he was laughing.... :)
Last night, I worked kinda late, so I met up with my boys and we all went out for a date to Tom's Ice Cream Bowl. Yummy!! Here is Eli and Papa as we waited for our food. What a nice time to be out.
Wow!! August was a full month, wonder what September will hold?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A comedy of errors
Let me start off by saying I had a great day today!! Always something new to learn and experience.
Eli woke up early this morning- before 7. I got up and went up to get him out of bed. My own feet were dragging, as I was up till the wee hours finishing up 18lbs of fudge for the fair.
I got up to the top of the steps and Eli informed me he had a poopy diaper. Uck!! I guess the 3 tacos he ate yesterday from Chipotle's finally had to come out. So, after changing, cleaning and dressing my little guy, I threw on my clothes for work today and then went downstairs to let the dog out.
There was a specific odor as I walked down the steps to the basement that gave me a forewarning of things to come. Uck!! Dog vomit and poo- liquid. Peeeeyeew!!! it stunk soooo much!!
Got that cleaned up, started breakfast- Tim got home from work and- oops- already time to go to work!! So I scooted off down the road.
I took the road less traveled and it made all the difference. a few hundred feet from the end of the road where it dumps onto the main road- aprox 5 min from work- there are orange cones and a stop sign. OOPS!! Road closed- for several hours- so, back the way I came- backtracking several miles.
When I finally got on the main road- I know this is unbelieveable- everyone was traveling at the speed limit!! Finally turning off onto the next main road, I had clear sailing :0) Until a garbage truck pulled out in front of me..... Urrgghhh..... But I was able to laugh about it with Tim- and that made all the difference!
I stopped at the Dr office to have him check my toe. I had landed with my full weight on it a month ago and it seems to not be any better. HHHmmmm.... broken, he thinks. .. Xray tomorrow :0) I've never had a broken bone. Oh- and the tonsilectomy- for sure- needs to be done.
Tim had the same problem with unmarked road closure until the very last minute on the way to the dentist, and then an almost 2 hour root canal.
I got home and realized I forgot to pack Eli a lunch for today, for when he went to stay with Aunt Paula while we were both away.
Yet, all in all, it was a wonderful day. The crappy morning (pun intended- and literal sense) was not able to ruin my day. God is amazing!!
We got to eat dinner together tonight as a family- and had some yummy corn. Isn't this time of year great to eat all this fresh produce from the garden?
Eli woke up early this morning- before 7. I got up and went up to get him out of bed. My own feet were dragging, as I was up till the wee hours finishing up 18lbs of fudge for the fair.
I got up to the top of the steps and Eli informed me he had a poopy diaper. Uck!! I guess the 3 tacos he ate yesterday from Chipotle's finally had to come out. So, after changing, cleaning and dressing my little guy, I threw on my clothes for work today and then went downstairs to let the dog out.
There was a specific odor as I walked down the steps to the basement that gave me a forewarning of things to come. Uck!! Dog vomit and poo- liquid. Peeeeyeew!!! it stunk soooo much!!
Got that cleaned up, started breakfast- Tim got home from work and- oops- already time to go to work!! So I scooted off down the road.
I took the road less traveled and it made all the difference. a few hundred feet from the end of the road where it dumps onto the main road- aprox 5 min from work- there are orange cones and a stop sign. OOPS!! Road closed- for several hours- so, back the way I came- backtracking several miles.
When I finally got on the main road- I know this is unbelieveable- everyone was traveling at the speed limit!! Finally turning off onto the next main road, I had clear sailing :0) Until a garbage truck pulled out in front of me..... Urrgghhh..... But I was able to laugh about it with Tim- and that made all the difference!
I stopped at the Dr office to have him check my toe. I had landed with my full weight on it a month ago and it seems to not be any better. HHHmmmm.... broken, he thinks. .. Xray tomorrow :0) I've never had a broken bone. Oh- and the tonsilectomy- for sure- needs to be done.
Tim had the same problem with unmarked road closure until the very last minute on the way to the dentist, and then an almost 2 hour root canal.
I got home and realized I forgot to pack Eli a lunch for today, for when he went to stay with Aunt Paula while we were both away.
Yet, all in all, it was a wonderful day. The crappy morning (pun intended- and literal sense) was not able to ruin my day. God is amazing!!
We got to eat dinner together tonight as a family- and had some yummy corn. Isn't this time of year great to eat all this fresh produce from the garden?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Dental days
Tim and I both had appointments with the dentist this week.
Eli went with me today to watch as my teeth were cleaned. He had a blast. They brought out the alligator with huge teeth and a big tooth brush and Eli sat on my lap brushing the alligators teeth while watching my teeth being cleaned.
He was sooo very good- talking animatedly with the staff and asking questions. They were great, showing him the tooth tickler (polisher), and he named all the pieces he remembered from his visit at the beginning of the year to fix his back tooth.
He has a cleaning in a few weeks- so I was glad he got to see first hand how simple and easy it is to sit back in the chair and watch as your pearly whites become sooo very shiny :0)
Eli went with me today to watch as my teeth were cleaned. He had a blast. They brought out the alligator with huge teeth and a big tooth brush and Eli sat on my lap brushing the alligators teeth while watching my teeth being cleaned.
He was sooo very good- talking animatedly with the staff and asking questions. They were great, showing him the tooth tickler (polisher), and he named all the pieces he remembered from his visit at the beginning of the year to fix his back tooth.
He has a cleaning in a few weeks- so I was glad he got to see first hand how simple and easy it is to sit back in the chair and watch as your pearly whites become sooo very shiny :0)
Pure economics- or not so pure....
Disclaimer:
The words pee, poo, potty, potty training and toilet are used in this post. If you will be offended at reading about these words and what they represent, please skip this post and come back later :0D
So, when we first met Elisha- now almost a year ago, it was love at first sight- actually even before we met him, we felt we knew him.
Imagine our excitement when we went back a few months later to bring him home and the very first night at the hotel, mere hours after picking him up, he poops on the potty!! We were overjoyed that we wouldn't have to work so hard on the potty training, since he seemed to have it down.
Then, after several months of diapers and pull ups, we realized he was potty-timed at the baby home, not potty trained. And there is a huge difference.
Potty trained children understand their body talking to them- that discomfort in the belly that they have to pee or poo- and they go to the toilet and relieve that pain.
Potty timed children are put on the potty several times a day at strategic times- like a puppy-upon awakening, before and after meals and snacks and then again before bed.
A potty timed child is perfectly potty trained- as long as his/her parents are able to get them on the potty at just the right time.
Unfortunately, this has seemed to make our potty training time last FOREVER.
I am so thankful that he has no problems going to the bathroom on the potty----- but, he doesn't seem to be bothered by wet underpants either.
Thus my economics dilemma. I decided 2 days ago that we were not going to do pull ups anymore. All cloth underpants. This in hopes that he would learn to wake up if he had to pee, as well as save the world by not putting more diapers in the landfills than absolutely necessary.
Maybe I should give it more time. But doing a small load of laundry after nap and bedtime, seeing that the "pee-proof" plastic of the mattress pad isn't so much, spraying down the mattress hoping it doesn't start smelling........
I'm thinking purely economically that I am much more green with 2 little diapers a day than I am with 2 incomplete loads of laundry, (washing and drying) the time lost- Oh yeah, mostly the fact that he soaked through everything last night and still was completely sound asleep!!!!
I think I will continue with the advice from my sister-in-law. We have been going up just before going to bed and putting him on the toilet several hours after he's gone to sleep. I think I'll try going green again when he wakes up because he is wet, instead of continuing to sleep so peacefully.
For those who have been there, done that, have the tee shirt and wrote a book- if you have any advice that worked for you- please feel free to share. Denise- the cheerios work to help make sure everything is out- but he was having fun hitting the big hole in the bottom of the toilet before, anyways.
He continues to be a blessing to us and so many around us!!
The words pee, poo, potty, potty training and toilet are used in this post. If you will be offended at reading about these words and what they represent, please skip this post and come back later :0D
So, when we first met Elisha- now almost a year ago, it was love at first sight- actually even before we met him, we felt we knew him.
Imagine our excitement when we went back a few months later to bring him home and the very first night at the hotel, mere hours after picking him up, he poops on the potty!! We were overjoyed that we wouldn't have to work so hard on the potty training, since he seemed to have it down.
Then, after several months of diapers and pull ups, we realized he was potty-timed at the baby home, not potty trained. And there is a huge difference.
Potty trained children understand their body talking to them- that discomfort in the belly that they have to pee or poo- and they go to the toilet and relieve that pain.
Potty timed children are put on the potty several times a day at strategic times- like a puppy-upon awakening, before and after meals and snacks and then again before bed.
A potty timed child is perfectly potty trained- as long as his/her parents are able to get them on the potty at just the right time.
Unfortunately, this has seemed to make our potty training time last FOREVER.
I am so thankful that he has no problems going to the bathroom on the potty----- but, he doesn't seem to be bothered by wet underpants either.
Thus my economics dilemma. I decided 2 days ago that we were not going to do pull ups anymore. All cloth underpants. This in hopes that he would learn to wake up if he had to pee, as well as save the world by not putting more diapers in the landfills than absolutely necessary.
Maybe I should give it more time. But doing a small load of laundry after nap and bedtime, seeing that the "pee-proof" plastic of the mattress pad isn't so much, spraying down the mattress hoping it doesn't start smelling........
I'm thinking purely economically that I am much more green with 2 little diapers a day than I am with 2 incomplete loads of laundry, (washing and drying) the time lost- Oh yeah, mostly the fact that he soaked through everything last night and still was completely sound asleep!!!!
I think I will continue with the advice from my sister-in-law. We have been going up just before going to bed and putting him on the toilet several hours after he's gone to sleep. I think I'll try going green again when he wakes up because he is wet, instead of continuing to sleep so peacefully.
For those who have been there, done that, have the tee shirt and wrote a book- if you have any advice that worked for you- please feel free to share. Denise- the cheerios work to help make sure everything is out- but he was having fun hitting the big hole in the bottom of the toilet before, anyways.
He continues to be a blessing to us and so many around us!!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Through the years with Gordo...
Gordo is such a wonderful young man in our Kidstuf ministry. Just thought we'd give a little background.
He always was an enterprising young man. Even as a child, he was very involved in the world around him. Here, he is measuring the new playset.
And such a pleasant personality.
His only problem being the vision difficulties he experienced at an early age....
He grew into such a fine young man- and looked so nice for his first day of school.
Doesn't he look happy?
With such a quest to quantify the world around him....
And here he is today- having many adventures in the clubhouse with his friends at Kidstuf.
What a fine young man he is!! Congratulations, Mrs. F. on raising such a beautiful young man!
He always was an enterprising young man. Even as a child, he was very involved in the world around him. Here, he is measuring the new playset.
And such a pleasant personality.
His only problem being the vision difficulties he experienced at an early age....
He grew into such a fine young man- and looked so nice for his first day of school.
Doesn't he look happy?
With such a quest to quantify the world around him....
And here he is today- having many adventures in the clubhouse with his friends at Kidstuf.
What a fine young man he is!! Congratulations, Mrs. F. on raising such a beautiful young man!
Great Book
We were at the library again this last week and I found just an amazing book.
Go Found Us You
What an amazing book. I laughed. I cried.
I remembered our long wait and the longing in my heart.
Nice job!! I think I'll have to go and buy a copy for myself that I can keep.
Go Found Us You
What an amazing book. I laughed. I cried.
I remembered our long wait and the longing in my heart.
Nice job!! I think I'll have to go and buy a copy for myself that I can keep.
The things kids say...
Yesterday was a rather difficult day for Eli and me.
It started off on a rather whiny note, and soon became a full ensemble of whines. It did not mesh with the headache and lackluster feel I had on my own part.
So, last night, as we were rocking before bed, I was holding him close and said, "Do you think Mommy doesn't love you when I get upset with you? " I had been doing my mental review and felt bad that I was a bit shorter with him all day than I usually am, and wanted to make sure he felt secure in my love- and not that a bad day could change my deep down feelings for him.
He said, probably from past discussions about this topic, "No Mommy. I know you luvs me."
"That's right!" I said. We had checked out a book from the library several weeks ago called I Love You All Day Long. It has become kind of a catch phrase with us.
So I said, "I love you all day long- even when I do feel like I want to rip your head off..." We chuckled a little and he told me I was being silly- I wouldn't rip his head off.
Then he looked at me and said, "Let me tell you something. Let me explain this to you. When I am mad at you, I don't lufs you anymore. You understand? Let me tell you. When I get mad at you, I don't luvs you anymore. "
I am so thankful that God let me see his child's heart and the ability to love that we have as a youngster. A while back hearing that from his lips would have crushed me. Now, I think it is really funny.
"Oh really," I said, through my smile.
I then reaffirmed him.. "Well, let me tell you something. I love you no matter how I feel about what you are doing. I love you when you are good. I love you when you are bad. I love you all day long and all night, too!!"
I find myself thinking that must be how we sometimes react to God. We love Him when He does what we ask. But when we don't see Him doing it the way we think it should be done, we don't really show Him love anymore.
I look forward to watching his love ability grow. I know mine has become so much greater, deeper, higher and broader than I ever thought possible. What an opportunity to watch the sweet spirit in my child grow. When he can admit that even though he is mad at me, he still loves me.
To be continued over the next several years.........
It started off on a rather whiny note, and soon became a full ensemble of whines. It did not mesh with the headache and lackluster feel I had on my own part.
So, last night, as we were rocking before bed, I was holding him close and said, "Do you think Mommy doesn't love you when I get upset with you? " I had been doing my mental review and felt bad that I was a bit shorter with him all day than I usually am, and wanted to make sure he felt secure in my love- and not that a bad day could change my deep down feelings for him.
He said, probably from past discussions about this topic, "No Mommy. I know you luvs me."
"That's right!" I said. We had checked out a book from the library several weeks ago called I Love You All Day Long. It has become kind of a catch phrase with us.
So I said, "I love you all day long- even when I do feel like I want to rip your head off..." We chuckled a little and he told me I was being silly- I wouldn't rip his head off.
Then he looked at me and said, "Let me tell you something. Let me explain this to you. When I am mad at you, I don't lufs you anymore. You understand? Let me tell you. When I get mad at you, I don't luvs you anymore. "
I am so thankful that God let me see his child's heart and the ability to love that we have as a youngster. A while back hearing that from his lips would have crushed me. Now, I think it is really funny.
"Oh really," I said, through my smile.
I then reaffirmed him.. "Well, let me tell you something. I love you no matter how I feel about what you are doing. I love you when you are good. I love you when you are bad. I love you all day long and all night, too!!"
I find myself thinking that must be how we sometimes react to God. We love Him when He does what we ask. But when we don't see Him doing it the way we think it should be done, we don't really show Him love anymore.
I look forward to watching his love ability grow. I know mine has become so much greater, deeper, higher and broader than I ever thought possible. What an opportunity to watch the sweet spirit in my child grow. When he can admit that even though he is mad at me, he still loves me.
To be continued over the next several years.........
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