On the car ride to the girls' sitter today, we were able to have a little Bible lesson. One of the AWANA verses that Little Miss was supposed to have memorized for last week was "All have sinned." We talked about sin, but I wondered if she was really connecting it. So, on the drive, she was being a grump; she all of a sudden said, "You're naughty, Mommy." It caught me off guard for a minute, and I was about to reprimand her (as is typical when she's trying to say things to be hurtful or draw extra attention). I waited, though, and it hit me...yes, sometimes I am naughty. So, I replied, "You're right, Little Miss. Sometimes Mommy is naughty." She didn't quite know how to respond except for with another, "You're naughty, Mommy." So, I reiterated my statement. Then I said, "Do you remember your A verse? 'All have sinned' is what it says. Well, sin is just another way to say that we're naughty. All of us do naughty things. All of us are naughty. So, yes, Mommy is naughty. Little Miss is naughty, too. We all are."
It's amazing how something that normally would have sent me into a lecture on how we don't say things like that because it's not kind turned into a God moment. God completely opened the eyes of my heart at that moment, saying, "She speaks the truth." And, He gave me the words to help me begin to convey it to Little Miss.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Family Fun and Milestones
I swear, these days Little Miss is acting more like a hormonal teenager than a toddler. Her mood swings are ridiculous. But, the good moods are really great!
We've had a huge aphid population swarm our city in the past couple of weeks. It's been awful, because you can't go out to enjoy the beautiful weather without getting completely covered with the wretched little things. I have a major problem with bugs, so I stay as far away from these little critters as I can. So, needless to say, we haven't been doing too much playing outside. Late last week, Baby Girl and I went next door to visit with our neighbor for a few minutes. While we were there, Little Miss came home from her little excursion with daddy and joined us at the neighbor's. Dark had settled in when I decided that I should head home, and I had to coax Little Miss to come with me. While we were walking across the yard, this strange urge to spin around in circles hit me. I spun and spun while holding Baby Girl, and Little Miss, quick to join in on anything that remotely looks like dancing, started spinning along. We were getting dizzy and laughing joyfully; Little Miss would get so dizzy that she would fall down time after time. After we spun separately for a little while, Little Miss grabbed my hand, wanting me to spin with her. I was having so much fun with my girls that she didn't have to ask me twice. We spun together, and, as the neighbor across the street came home from somewhere, we all laughed together (including the neighbors). It was so much fun! Finally, I needed a break to get my bearings, so Little Miss proposed a new game--walk on the brick edging flapping our arms like butterfly wings and barking like Boxer (our dog). What a crazy idea! Of course, we did exactly as she proposed, laughing all the way. This activity wasn't nearly as fun as spinning, though, so Little Miss quickly lost interest. When daddy came out to see what all the noise was about, we ALL started spinning around the yard. The giggles were fantastic! The next suggestion that came from Little Miss made it even more apparent that she is just like me--"Hey, lets lay down and look at the stars!" So, there in our front yard, we all laid down on our backs and looked at the stars, pointing out different pretty ones that we saw.
You know that night would have been great if the story would have ended there. However, it got even better. After we all came inside and I got Baby Girl to bed, Little Miss and I sat together in the big, comfy chair in the living room. As we sat there cuddling, we learned Bible verses. Little Miss is old enough for AWANA now, so we were trying to get through her Cubbies work. But, it was just so sweet, because we were hiding God's word in our hearts, but we were also affirming to each other that even though we both lose our tempers, we still love each other very much. I truly have to say that I don't know that I remember having a Friday night as good as that night.
Baby Girl figured out tonight that she can stand all by herself tonight. We were at a friend's for dinner, and, after dinner the babies were playing together in a little ball pit. Little Miss was cruising around some, and let go all of a sudden. I happened to be watching, so I clapped and made a big deal. Once she realized that she got all that praise for standing, she practiced over and over again until she was standing unsupported by anything for a minute or more. I was so proud of my Baby Girl! She's getting so big!
We've had a huge aphid population swarm our city in the past couple of weeks. It's been awful, because you can't go out to enjoy the beautiful weather without getting completely covered with the wretched little things. I have a major problem with bugs, so I stay as far away from these little critters as I can. So, needless to say, we haven't been doing too much playing outside. Late last week, Baby Girl and I went next door to visit with our neighbor for a few minutes. While we were there, Little Miss came home from her little excursion with daddy and joined us at the neighbor's. Dark had settled in when I decided that I should head home, and I had to coax Little Miss to come with me. While we were walking across the yard, this strange urge to spin around in circles hit me. I spun and spun while holding Baby Girl, and Little Miss, quick to join in on anything that remotely looks like dancing, started spinning along. We were getting dizzy and laughing joyfully; Little Miss would get so dizzy that she would fall down time after time. After we spun separately for a little while, Little Miss grabbed my hand, wanting me to spin with her. I was having so much fun with my girls that she didn't have to ask me twice. We spun together, and, as the neighbor across the street came home from somewhere, we all laughed together (including the neighbors). It was so much fun! Finally, I needed a break to get my bearings, so Little Miss proposed a new game--walk on the brick edging flapping our arms like butterfly wings and barking like Boxer (our dog). What a crazy idea! Of course, we did exactly as she proposed, laughing all the way. This activity wasn't nearly as fun as spinning, though, so Little Miss quickly lost interest. When daddy came out to see what all the noise was about, we ALL started spinning around the yard. The giggles were fantastic! The next suggestion that came from Little Miss made it even more apparent that she is just like me--"Hey, lets lay down and look at the stars!" So, there in our front yard, we all laid down on our backs and looked at the stars, pointing out different pretty ones that we saw.
You know that night would have been great if the story would have ended there. However, it got even better. After we all came inside and I got Baby Girl to bed, Little Miss and I sat together in the big, comfy chair in the living room. As we sat there cuddling, we learned Bible verses. Little Miss is old enough for AWANA now, so we were trying to get through her Cubbies work. But, it was just so sweet, because we were hiding God's word in our hearts, but we were also affirming to each other that even though we both lose our tempers, we still love each other very much. I truly have to say that I don't know that I remember having a Friday night as good as that night.
Baby Girl figured out tonight that she can stand all by herself tonight. We were at a friend's for dinner, and, after dinner the babies were playing together in a little ball pit. Little Miss was cruising around some, and let go all of a sudden. I happened to be watching, so I clapped and made a big deal. Once she realized that she got all that praise for standing, she practiced over and over again until she was standing unsupported by anything for a minute or more. I was so proud of my Baby Girl! She's getting so big!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ashamed
I'm sitting on my couch, trying so hard to get my grading done, but with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. I've always known that I don't deal well with pain; I tend to take it out on people around me. That's one reason why I didn't do natural childbirth with Little Miss. Come to find out, childbirth is my exception. But, that's a rabbit trail. This evening, I was putting Baby Girl to sleep in our room, in her pack 'n play. Our room has two doors, and both were wide open. I went across the room to close one of the doors, and as I was closing the door, I started paying more attention to remembering to grab the Barbie that was on our bed than to actually closing the door. Wouldn't you know, in my distraction, I shut my fingers in the door. I had the bearings to at least bury my face in the bed before I screamed, even though I still startled Baby Girl. Hubby came running in, but I payed him no mind; I just continued to keep my head buried. So, when I finally walked out of the room, with Baby Girl screaming behind me and Little Miss standing in front of me, I was a little bit irrational in my thinking. Little Miss asked me what happened, and I told her that I had smashed my fingers in the door because I was thinking about remembering to grab her doll. Now, although that was the truth, it came out as very accusing towards that sweet little girl who was not the least bit to blame. She immediately said, "I sorry, mommy," and went into the living room to finish her ice cream. When I joined her in the living room a few minutes later, she came over and asked if I was okay, I said yes. Then she replied with, "It's my fault; I sorry, mommy." Oh, the horrible guilt that settled over me then and hasn't left yet. I brushed her hair out of her face and told her that it was not her fault at all; mommy is just clumsy. But, how do I erase that from her little head, especially when I was the one that planted it in there with my accusing words? Oh, Lord, please forgive me for my sin of misplacing guilt on that sweet child. Please help me to control my tongue at all times, but especially when my children are the ones at the receiving end. I am so ashamed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
