May 18, 2012, at 10:03 pm | On a walk through a local park the other weekend, Jim decided it was high time the girls climbed their first tree.
Becky took to it like a monkey.
Susie was a bit more cautious – koala-like, perhaps?
I have a feeling my little turkey won’t be left on the ground for long!
May 17, 2012, at 10:53 pm | Both Susie and Jimmy love their “minky” blankets more than anything else, and never sleep without them. Those kids are my inveterate thumb suckers, too. One of these days I’ll tackle that habit, but for right now, it makes for happy kids – and a happy mom!
May 16, 2012, at 10:34 pm | It may have been cloudy out the other day, but these gals were bright-eyed!
May 15, 2012, at 10:46 pm | My climber (Becky loves to scale park structures and see how high she can get):
My diggers (Susie and Jimmy are happiest when they’re in dirt or sand, digging to see how deep they can get):
My favorite place to take the kids – the park!
May 14, 2012, at 9:53 pm | I asked the girls to help me fold the laundry this afternoon.
I guess I needed to be more specific about what to DO with the laundry once it was folded!
May 13, 2012, at 10:33 pm | Motherhood is more than a collection of tasks (wipe this chin, make that bed, soothe those tears), more than a way to fill my days (get kids up, changed, dressed, fed, repeat), and so much more than an important role to play in a young life (teach this concept, mold that character). It’s a gift I’ve been given. My children are hand-picked for me, whether they are biologically related to me or not. My children are perfectly placed in my life at just the right time and in just the right way, whether they are pre-term, full-term, healthy or disabled. My children are entrusted to my care for as long as God sees fit, whether they are with me for hours, years or decades.
This gift of motherhood is one I must unwrap moment-by-moment. I can’t fully appreciate my newborn while he’s screaming for a midnight feed, nor can I fully appreciate my preschooler while she’s throwing her third tantrum before breakfast. It takes being present every day and noticing the little steps, the growth on a minute scale. With each day, I can peel off a little more wrapping and get to see a larger glimpse of the developing personality beneath. Sometimes I wish I could rip the whole package open and know what’s in store, both to steel myself for the inevitable trials but also to encourage myself with a view of the God-designed finished product. But God doesn’t operate that way. Sometimes He gives me a sneak peek, like when I see my girls tenderly and voluntarily sharing with each other, and I breathe a little easier knowing that toddler-esque selfishness doesn’t last forever. Sometimes the gift feels heavier than I am capable of lifting, like when my children are sick, or when their disobedience tries my patience again and again. And sometimes the gift feels so brief, as if the unwrapping is going far too quickly. I look at the difference between my children today and my children a year ago, and it takes my breath away. How much more will they mature in the next year? What will the girls’ drawings look like? How much taller and stronger will my son be? What will my baby be doing?
This gift of motherhood changes me, changes the way I look at my own mother. I constantly ask myself, how did she do it? How did she get dinner on the table every night? How did she answer our questions for the umpteenth time? How did she know just the right lullaby to sing at night? How did she manage to always make us feel secure, appreciated, valued, even when she was tired or we were cranky? How did she know that we loved her, even when we didn’t show it? How did she know the perfect words to say at the perfect time? How did she know we needed that extra hug or two or three?
This gift of motherhood is undeserved, and I am humbled by God’s grace in bestowing it upon me. So I thank Him for His kind mercy. I thank my mom for her endless care. I thank my children for their sweet trust. And I thank my husband for his constant support. I am so grateful for this gift.
May 11, 2012, at 10:22 pm | I’m glad the girls have inherited my love for the newspaper (although I can’t take credit for the tendency to wear a backpack while reading).
May 10, 2012, at 9:58 pm | Becky’s hair is finally getting long enough to respond to this Northeastern humidity. Look at those weather-induced curls!
May 9, 2012, at 9:39 pm | I am not a fan of bugs. I can tolerate them outside, but I cannot tolerate them inside. So, with varying degrees of success, I’ve repeatedly coached my girls on the importance of keeping the screen door closed in warm weather. No matter how many times they run in and out, I constantly remind them to close the door behind them. For the most part, they remember, and my house stays bug-free.
However, we’ve run into a problem.
Jimmy can’t open the screen door by himself, and he likes to follow his big sisters on their errands in and outside. And since his sisters and I aren’t always responsive to his incessant cries for us to open the door for him, he takes matters into his own hands…er, head. He just buts his head against the screen door until one of us notices and complies.
Well, today the weather was drizzly but warm, so I had sliding glass door open to let the breeze in. Jimmy decided he wanted to go outside. So he bumped his head against the screen door, and out he went. Without my help. The screen door just ripped. When I looked over and saw what had happened, I was at first dismayed. My screen door is broken, after all. But then I wondered if he hadn’t stumbled (or head-butted) upon some kind of perfect solution. Now, he can enter and exit at will, and the screen door simply flaps closed behind him. It’s like a Jimmy-sized doggy door.
We’ll have to see how this works in practice (especially whether it’s still effective at bug screening), and how long the rest of the screen door holds up. In the meantime, Jimmy is mighty pleased with this new arrangement!
May 8, 2012, at 10:04 pm |
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected].
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