Tummy tub

Cute little feet, huh?



We bought this new tub for Gabriel. I'd say it's a hit. It's called a Prince Lionheart WashPOD.

Things Tricia will get to experience:

We were challenged by ApplePieMom to write a list of things Tricia will get to experience with Gwenyth:

Holding your child up in the air and having him vomit into your mouth.

Wiping what you thought was chocolate pudding off your daughter's shoulder and licking it off your finger. Only to find that is was NOT pudding - it was the contents of her training pants.

Having your child's speech impediment cause him to say the "F" word at church when all he really wants is someone to share the Tonka trucks.

Having secret words and gestures that mean "I love you" in your family.

Waking up to find someone has joined you in the night and is happily drooling on your pillow.
And then finding out that the same person has peed in your bed.

Having your three year old dump her training potty into the big potty and seeing it splash on her face (!). While you get a washcloth to wipe her down, she says "Oh, good, it just got on my face. Not my jammies!" and proceeds to wipe her face on the carpet.

Telling your child to brush his teeth good and hearing him say, "Well, mom, if my teeth rot out I can just get gold ones. They are SUPER FANCY!"

Letting your child feed himself yogurt (see above).

Hearing your little one say, "You are the best mama in the world."

The leap in your heart when your speech delayed 2 yr old finally says "Mama" after previously being content to only make car noises.

The surge of pride/love in your heart when your little one prays.

Seeing your husband reach out with cupped hands to catch it when your child throws up.

Seeing your child try to tackle a goose at the park.

Having your daughter give a play by play description of your intestinal troubles to all the folks in the public bathroom while you have diarrhea ("Wow, Mommy, your poopy is really stinky!")

Hearing your son say, "Abby, I want to smack you, but Mommy says when we are kind it helps the good angels beat up on the bad ones. You know, 'cause love is how we fight the devil's minions."

Watching your baby discover his hands.

When your two year old plays Hide and Seek and "hides" right in the middle of the floor, thinking that they are hidden because their eyes are closed. 'Cause if they can't see you, you can't see them, right?

Sooooo many little tiny things that you only notice when you make yourself slow down and drink it all in.

Great baby

So, I have to brag on Gabe.

He is the happiest baby ever. Seriously. He always smiles. And recently, he started with the goober face. How can you not want to smooch that face?

Lost in translation

I often think I'm communicating deep and abiding truths to my offspring.

Only to find out later that I am sooooo wrong.

Nate and Anna are trying to understand the Trinity. We took apart and apple and talked about how is has different parts, but is still all apple. We looked at water as liquid, ice and steam. I really thought they were getting it.

And then I hear this:

"Abby. If you ask Jesus to live in your heart you will get a deal! 'Cause God lives in Jesus' heart and Jesus lives in your heart. Just like the Higglytown Heroes!" ("Higglytown Heroes" is a dumb TV show about a set of those Russian nesting dolls. I'm pretty sure Jesus and God are not nesting dolls.)

So important?

As we were driving home the other night, my two eldest got into an argument. Again. This time is was over (I kid you not) who had the most invisible trophies. I pointed out that this was a ridiculous argument, as 1)the trophies are non-existent, 2) it is unimportant, and 3) it was giving me a headache. My son sputtered for a moment and said, "But Mom, it is SO important!" They refused to drop it, so we had to play the quiet game the rest of the way home.

I wonder if this is how God feels. We (His kids) spend half our time in church arguing over minute differences in theology. In our minds we elevate personal preferences to matters with serious theological and eternal ramifications. We spend so much time bickering over unimportant things that we miss out on the chance to truly fellowship with Him.

I wonder what God takes for the headaches we give Him. I took two Advil.

CF

So a friend sent me a link to this blog: http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/. Pretty amazing stuff. I'm sort of addicted to checking in to see how Tricia and Gwyneth are doing and be encouraged by Nate.

CF is something that has touched our lives. My husband's uncle died while waiting for his double lung tranplant. But he lived a full life into his early 50's and had two great kids. I never had the priviledge of meeting him, but I've heard stories that make me think he was a pretty swell guy.

My cousin has CF. She was told she would probably never have kids. 9 months after her wedding she gave birth to a lovely full term baby girl. A few years later she was blessed with a sweet little boy. She is a year older than me and doing so well.

Tricia, Nate and Gwyneth's story just reminds me of how incredibly blessed my family has been. Stacey, my cousin, is wonderfully healthy. How good God is!

Fear and relativism

With the dawn of the internet age it has become increasingly easy to surround yourself with friends who share exactly the same interests. For example, I have few friends in real life who wear their babies in slings or use cloth diapers. But I can pop over to www.thebabywearer.com or www.diaperswappers.com and voila! - instant peer group. While this can be fun and encouraging, it can also be dangerous. It seems like every web community has a standard group of core values. (Admit that you occassionally use disposable diapers and the girls over at diaper swappers might be shocked.) This becomes a problem when the core values of a group extend beyond outward things like babywearing or cloth diapering.

Many of the boards I visit are attachment parenting oriented. While there are some aspects of this philosophy that I love, there are other aspects that I find disturbing. I do not look at my child as a peer. They are precious charges given to me by God to raise. He has given them to me because I am older and wiser and I am to teach and train them. There is a relativism amongst many AP moms that I cannot embrace. I believe that there are absolute rights and wrongs and that I need to teach my children this. As Pope John Paul said, we do not get to choose right and wrong, we get to choose between right and wrong. There seems to be a movement among parents today to embrace allowing your children to choose their own definition of good and evil. This is foolishness. God has already decided what is Truth. He has delineated what is right and what is wrong. It is up to us to choose which side we will stand on.

While I sometimes have the courage to stand up for the Truth, I am often nervous about doing so. I am afraid that if I do not tow the party line of tolerance and respect/endorsement of all choices I will be ostracized or ridiculed. For some reason I seem to care what these e-friends think of me.

But I forget my real Audience. I should be more fearful of what God thinks of me. His opinion is the only one that matters. This week I am meditating on the fear of God (which the Bible says is the beginning of all wisdom). It is popular nowdays to replace the word "fear" in the Bible with "respect", but I think this is faulty. Most of us fear what others think about us. We say, "Oh, I can't do that because I'm afraid of what she'd think of me" or some other nonsense. But we don't stop to think "I can't do this because I'm afraid of what He would think," or "I'm afraid if I choose this path I will hurt His heart." We have no fear of God.

Luke 12:4-9"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. "