Leap Frog... played solo?

I kept hearing Sunshine thumping in the hallway, so I asked her what she was doing.

"Playing Leap Frog!"

This I had to see. She was alone. How do you play it alone? Well, I'll tell ya. With a rock. LOL, yup. A rock.

She was laying the rock on the floor, leap frogging over it, then pretending it was jumping over her (she didn't just move the rock, it actually had to go up in the air over her body). Then she'd repeat. And when she got down to the end of the hallway, she yelled, "I WON!"

What a goof.

Oops, this is my 103rd post

I think you are supposed to do something fun for your 100th post. Oops! I suppose it's still not too late.

Got any fun ideas? To do 100 things about myself seems a bit too time-consuming. Or I guess it'd be 105. Because I'm about to make post #104, lol.

Military rules

There are a lot of "rules" if you are military. One being: Get it in writing. Close behind it is: Don't count on it until it happens.

That is our situation here. See if you can follow me here. Specifics are out, but I'll try to give clarity.

We received orders not long ago to go to Location A. We were told that we'd only be there a year, though, and then it'd be on to Location B. However, within days we were informed that after Location A, we'd actually be moving to Location C. And now... we were told today that Location A is being skipped altogether, and here are four choices: you can keep location C, or you can pick Locations D, E, or F.

Aha.

Now, to my hubby, Location D and E were not favorable. Both meant a one-year tour away from us, and seeing how we've been apart for 13 months (just about), he said no way. (That is another post, which I will be making as soon as I'm done with this one.) So it came down to Location C or F.

He chose Location C. Not that it matters to you, lol, as you have NO idea what I'm talking about... lol!

So now our moving dates are changing a bit. We are expecting to be here until early June. Just a two week delay in the plans, so not that big of a deal.

Then again, it could change again. Who knows? Afterall, Locations A, B, and C were in writing, so, honey, don't count on it until it happens.

Mommy, can God pick up a...

Some very interesting things get discussed in our van. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that we spend a good part of the like this:

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Mom?"

"Whaaat?"

"MOM!"

"WHAT!"

"Can you turn on the radio?"

"What?"

"Can you TURN on the RADIO?"

"Sure."

"What?"

"SURE!"

"Ok."

"What?"

"OK!"

Today was no different. Our topic was what can God pick up? How strong is He? Sunshine asked all sorts of things like could He pick up cars? houses? mountains? Earth? (Of course, we repeated ourselves many times over the din of the highway.)

The question that made me laugh the most was, "Mom, can God pick up the road? Like a giant sticker?"

Well, now. That is some real visual imagery for ya.

Some days I just don't know

Yesterday we were on our way back from a wonderful time with a friend in a nearby town, when from the back of the van I heard Sugar-n-Spice cry out, "Mommy, stop driving!"

I look back and there she is, in tears.

She repeated it, "Mommy, stop driving... you're hurting my nose!"

Huh? Don't ask me... I'm just as clueless as you are.

Well, music to someone's ears...

I don't know about you, but my kids seem to hate my singing. If I sing a song in the middle of the day - do you know what I hear?

"I like it better when you whistle, Mom."

Or...

"I like it when you hum."

Or Sweetheart will cover his ears and blurt out, "No zhing. NO ZHING."

Why, er, thanks. LOL

During our family devotional time, they are fine with my singing. Of course, they sing, too, so they probably don't pay much attention to me then. But at bedtime, they sincerely ask me, and even sometimes plead (believe it or not) for me to sing. Go figure, lol.

In fact, we have this tradition that I'm not really sure how it started, but I sing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" to them. I sing it many times, each time inserting a different child's name instead of "Bonnie." They really love it. If Sweetheart is crying and not liking bedtime, it instantly calms him down. He asks for it by saying, "Back. Back." Let me tell you, it took me awhile to figure out what on earth he was wanting, lol!

But really, music is such a big thing for me. I love music. It is such a boon to my spirits, my attitudes, and my perspective. Do you find the same to be true?

I find so much strength in singing praise songs! It gets my focus off whatever is troubling me, and puts it back on Him, which is where my eyes should be. In my most troublesome times, singing songs of His goodness and His provision are a constant support. Praying relieves the need to vent or get it out, but praise fills up those spots with something else, something better. Something fulfilling!!

And what's better yet... God doesn't mind hearing my voice. (wink)

What are your long-term dreams for your family?

Or to put it another way: what is your vision for your family? What do you hope for your children?

I've been mulling over this. So far, this is what I've come up with:
1) I want them to have first-hand experience with the provision and love of God.
2) I want them to love reading.
3) I want them to be independent workers, both in academics and in work.
4) I want them to be servant-hearted.
5) I want them to know how to take care of all aspects of the home, no matter what their sex is. (What if they don't marry or become widow(er)s?)
6) I want them to think things through before acting - maturity and wisdom are buzz words you could attach to that.

Ok, so then it kinda dawned on me the other day... if I want them to exhibit those traits THEN, I have to begin training those traits NOW.

1) How much time in the day do I spend SHOWING them how He provides for our family and loves us? Must have conversations about this. This is why I started a prayer journal with them, but it must be talked about daily and often.

2) How often do we read books together? A few times a week - not even every day. It would be better to do it every day. It was every day at bedtime when we were doing chapter books. I need to get another book for nighttime reading, but we also need another time in the day to snuggle and read.

3) I have to start weaning them off my constant supervision when they are given jobs. Which means... I have to start with the basics: teaching definitions of "diligence" and "faithfulness" and "initiative" and then rewarding them for such characteristics, even if they did them for 30 seconds before slacking off. Memorizing verses on this character traits would be good.

4) I have to exhibit a servant's heart and have them do it with me. Taking a meal to a family? Kiddos, get in here and help. Have them make cards. "Suzy is sad lately; Sunshine, I was going to call her, but how about if you make the call first and then I'll talk?" And what about within our own family? I can teach them to look for ways to help each other, to serve Daddy when he comes home at the end of a day, to anticipate needs of others. Also, I should have them memorize verses on serving others.

5) This means that I won't let my son slide when it's time to do the laundry or mopping. It means when I start teaching my girls how to sew on buttons later, he'll be in there learning, too. It also means I will be expecting my girls to take out the trash, mow lawns, etc.

6) Hmmm, this is gonna mean lots of talking about decisions, about other's decisions, about what-does-the-Bible-say about the subject at hand, "why did you do that" and "what should you have done" and "why should you have done x-y-z."

That's all I've got so far.

What are your goals/dreams/visions for your children? How do you plan to get there? I'd love to glean from you!

Attitude check!

When I was in high school, I was in a group called FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). If you know me personally, this is highly entertaining, as I am soooooooo not athletic!! Why was I in the group? Well, because it was the only Christian group at school, and well, ahem... there was this... boy. Ahem.

Anyway.

When we would see each other in the hallway, especially if we saw each other looking grumpy, we yelled, "ATTITUDE CHECK!"

To which the person would have to respond, "PRAISE THE LORD!" Loudly. In a hall full of teenagers. In a public school. Funny stuff.

I've decided to do it with my kids. Minus the screaming at the top of our lungs, of course. (wink) This will be good for them and good for Mommy, too.

We already have memorized Phil. 2:14, "Do all things without murmurings or disputings." (Which we talk regularly about what those "big" words mean.) And it works. But I think we'll add something fun, something silly to get those smiles back.

So, what is going on today that has you bent outta shape? ATTITUDE CHECK!

Thank You, Lord

For little chubby cheeks

For little chubby smiles

For beautiful sparkly eyes

For the sound of tiny voices saying "mommy"

For tiny toes feeling the grass

For giggles when being pushed in a swing

For moments to talk about You

For little clothes to fold in the laundry

For those little eyes peeking up over the edge of the bed

For cuddles

For the sound of sucking thumbs

For long eyelashes resting on cheeks

For that silly game of "Drop It and See How Many Times Mommy Will Pick It Up Again"

Little Hoppy didn't make it

Poor little Hoppy (the rabbit we found in the back) died yesterday afternoon. I wonder if he didn't have internal injuries of some sort (remember, Dad had been working in the yard and forgotten they were there), as he was eating and peeing/pooping just fine.

I went to get him out of the nest we had made for him to give him another feeding, when I found him cold. Poor little guy.

Thankfully, I had prepared the girls for the idea that he just might not make it. They were a bit sad, but mostly disappointed in general that we don't have a pet. We had to put down the cat earlier this year, so now they've lost two animals.

Perhaps when we get to the new house we'll get a guinea pig or something.

Got a pet by accident, literally!

(And we need help with a name!)

A week or so ago, my dad found a nest of rabbits in the backyard. The kids oohed and ahhed over them and were obsessed about rabbits for a few days.

Then today we went outside to play. Sunshine went to check on the babies, then came running over to me. "Mom, one of the baby rabbits is out of its nest and its not moving." So I went to look.

Originally, there were 6 babies. We found 5 of them, 4 of which were dead. But one little one was hiding under something nearby. The best we can figure out is that when Dad was working in the yard, he accidently killed the babies. He totally forgot they were there, poor little things. I wonder where #6 went?

I have made up a wee box for the rabbit to sleep in, complete with the grasses and fur from the nest its mama made. I tried to feed the baby rabbit with a dropper, but it refuses it so far. I think I saw it swallow twice (watching the tongue through tiny slits between its teeth, lol), but I can't be sure. I stroked its wee throat to encourage swallowing, but I am not sure how much good that did.

So what do we name this wee rabbit? It fits in my palm, and is a normal rabbit color - various shades of dark and light brown. We need something that can go either way with gender, as we have no clue what sex it is.

Also, assuming this baby will eventually eat and not die in our care, what do we do with the baby when it is able to eat on its own? Let it go outside? Will it know what to do for itself? Guess I need to do a search on baby rabbit care.

Moving again - that's military life, y'know

We finally got dh's orders, so we know where we are going and for how long.

The good news: moving just 3 hours away! I'll still be near my family, so the kids will have a slow withdrawal from the grandparents.

The other news: we'll only be there a year. The entire unit will be relocating together to another military location. Military reorganizing and such. So then we'll move... again.

Like I mentioned, we'll still be decently close to family, so we won't have to go months and months without seeing my parents. By the time we move, we will have lived with my parents for 13 months. Sweetheart doesn't remember our old house, I'm sure, so to his little mind this is the only home he's known. What will he do without his "Papa?" He barely remembers Daddy. And I'm sure that if it weren't for Daddy's occasional visits, then he'd not remember Daddy at all. But I'm sure my parents will have the worst time: they've been with Shortcake from her birth, and they loved it. Mom already cries at the thought.

So I'm working on getting our stuff put back into storage so we will only have to take the moving truck to one location. This kind of moving will be a bit easier. By far, most of our things are still in boxes in the storage unit, so that is easier on me. I can handle this small amount of packing!

I am very eager to get into our own space again. I've been very blessed to have such a great situation with my parents. Truthfully, I anticipated difficulties, but things turned out rather nice. Not bad, especially considering my parents went from a household of 2 to 7.

I think my dad will really miss my cooking, though. LOL He and Mom work so many hours that Mom rarely cooks, so they will go back to sandwiches and snacking, mostly. Dad says he gained weight after I arrived, and since I won't be cooking for him anymore, he figures he'll lose that weight. Guess they'll have to come visit us now and again, eh?

I will be closer to my own grandparents, which is going to present some challenges. Pray for that, if you think of it. We ran into the issues a bit while living this close to them where we are now, so with being closer, I expect the situation to be more intense. Hopefully, though, that won't happen.

Whew - close call with Shortcake

Last night she started choking on something small that we really don't know how she got... anyway, she started choking and couldn't breathe. She was doing one of those high-pitched wheeze things. It felt like my heart stopped for a few seconds. Time felt kinda surreal while we were trying to get it out. Looking back, it was only maybe 10 seconds, but it felt long.

I'm so thankful God allowed us to get it out so quickly. That gal is such a joy! Life around here would NOT be the same. She makes us all giggle and adore her.

Did I tell you she is crawling now? Anywhere she wants to go, she goes. And she's been pulling up on things, too, as well as experimenting with holding on with only one hand. Where does the time go?

God's provision saved my son

In the last few days of March two years ago, something was very wrong with my (then) almost-four-month-old baby boy, Sweetheart. I'd taken him to two different ERs in 24 hours, and each set of docs and nurses passed his symptoms off as multiple infections that would pass in a matter of days. All I knew was that he was very sick and not at all like himself. I was instructed to follow up with his doctor in a couple days. I did, but when I arrived at the office, I was told the doctor had moved on to his new assignment (military doc), and we would be seeing his replacement. My heart sank, because even though the doc and I had trouble communicating (he had a thick accent and I often misunderstood him), at least he knew my son.

Our new pediatrician was an "older" doctor, in her fifties. She looked Sweetheart over, took detailed notes as I relayed the events of the last few days, even noting what day certain newer symptoms appeared. She sat and thought and thought, and started pulling out her huge medical books. I had very mixed feelings... I felt like I was finally being seriously listened to, and it was nice to see she had an idea what it could be, but it was also intimidating to see her flip through the pages, muttering names of diseases.

She found the page she wanted, and let me read it with her. She mentioned the onset of different symptoms my son had and how they had progressed... she gave me a name: Kawasaki disease. Yup, just like the motorcycles. Basically, it's the inflammation of the blood vessels, and it can result in death, especially if untreated. But if caught in enough time, the child will have no lasting damage to the heart.

She made a few calls, and very quickly, we had an appointment at a nearby hospital with a team of doctors. They looked him over, had a conference, and decided our son had to be hospitalized. He stayed a total of four days, during which he was given an IVIG, which is an intravenous dose of immunoglobin. He had a whole team of doctors that regularly had conferences during those four days to discuss his progress and to see if we had any concerns or questions.

Over the next year, Sweetheart had to have periodic exams of his heart to watch one particular artery. He was also put on lose doses of aspirin for 3 months. We got really chummy with the pediatric cardiologist. And Sweetheart hated those ultrasounds and EKGs.

God had His hand alllll over that whole situation. He gave us the perfect doctor who didn't dismiss the symptoms. The team of doctors at the hospital was also military, and several of them had just returned from assignments in Hawaii in the weeks prior, where KD is much more prevalent. These men were quite experienced, and they, too, arrived at just the right time.

Sweetheart was given a huge green light a year ago: the artery that was affected by the KD is fine now, and you cannot tell that it ever was.

So today I hug him a bit tighter and praise God that my fella is so healthy! I could have easily lost my little boy, but God took care of him. Even by moving military doctors around the world to be at the right clinics and hospitals at the exactly right time. Isn't God wonderful?

Psalm 1 - an oldie and a goodie

Psalm 1:4, 6

1 - "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 - But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 - And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 - The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

6 - For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."


You may remember me sharing that I was struggling with contentment and being angry over being in the military. And how I am not able to surrender this alone, that my help must come from God's word. I talked about the verse in Job about how he counted God's Word more important than his daily food. This is an extension of that, and I know it's no accident. (grin!) Like I said, God kept bringing me back to it and back to it.

Verse 1: I do pretty well at being careful who I seek counsel from... I search the Bible, ask older and wiser Christians whose walk I've watched for years, etc, and pray pray pray, etc. But the next part got me for the first time, really. "nor standeth in the way of sinners" - If I'm standing, I've quit moving. Growing spiritually doesn't happen by accident; it must be done on purpose. But notice... not standing in what I know to be right... standing in the way of sinners, standing in sin again, the way we sinners all do. I'd stopped doing what I knew to be right, and fell immediately back into my old familiar habits: thinking of self first and only. And once I stopped to stand... I wound up sitting in the seat of the scornful - I'd parked my tuckus to scorn. Scorn means means "open dislike and disrespect or derision often mixed with indignation" - eeek!! That was completely my attitude!! Open dislike and disrespect for my husband's decision to enlist and (oh my...) was there indignation. "How can he do this to me?" But God says I'm blessed if I *don't* do those things. I was missing out on His blessings because I'd let myself "stand" and "sit" spiritually.

Verse 2: There it is again - the reminder that to change my attitude, to truly surrender it and mean it, I've got to meditate on His Word constantly - "day and night!" And I must delight in His Word, in His rules, in His leadership. Delight means "a high degree of gratification" - wow. I must find a high degree of gratification. What is gratification? "reward, satisfaction or pleasure"

Verse 3: I love God's word pictures. A tree by the river is always hooked up to the source of water. The water makes the tree come to life, thrive. There is no chance for the leaf to wither because it is never without that refreshing water. My attitude can't wither or wander if I'm constantly hooked up to The Source by meditating on His Word day and night!! If I do start to wither, it's because I pulled away from Him.

Verse 4: Chaff - "the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain, something comparatively worthless" It's dry and brittle, mere fragments that are dead and crumbling. And that is what God says the ungodly are like. They aren't hooked into the Source. And just like the chaff, I quickly become dry spiritually when I am not hooked into Him. What a neat comparison - be lush and fruitful with God, or dry and crumbling without Him. We are totally dependent on Him!

Verse 6: And here is my reminder: Lily... "for the Lord knoweth the way," girl. Notice the comparison... "but the way of the ungodly shall perish." It isn't those who trust in Him who perish. He knows the way, and it isn't the way to my destruction. He isn't going to send me out to my doom. He's got His own map, and it's a whole lot more detailed than mine! But why do I tend to tuck my map in my back pocket and at the first sign of something that isn't kosher with me, I whip it out to say, "Hey, uh... that's not on my map!" I need to burn that map in my back pocket. And perhaps rip out my pockets. LOL