Swim Lessons....

For the past two weeks, JD and Caleb have had swimming lessons every morning. They have had BLAST. They love being under water and have actually progressed really well. They love to jump off the diving board and have fallen in love with goggles. They are getting so tan and so blonde...ahh the joys of summer!

Oh the difference....

Boys are so much different than girls. I realized this tonight as I was putting JD to bed. We had had some sweet time together. I had read books, we snuggled under the covers and we prayed. I was leaving the room with a smile on my face...when my sweet boy said this...

"Mommy, if there were bad guys, I would poke them with a sword and they would bleed everywhere..."

Ahh.. the words every mother wants to hear as her son drifts off to sleep.

Delight vs. Tolerate

I just got done making Peanut Butter cookies with Caleb. He was supposed to be napping. However, sleep would not come for him at his regular nap time. His brothers were both asleep, yet Caleb was inconsolable as he lay in his toddler bed. Usually, I am a stickler and do not give in to tantrums. I was getting ready to start on my "to do" list, when the overwhelming desire to make cookies with Caleb came over me. This does not typically happen. So, I went into his room and retrieved a very grateful 3 year old. We made our way to the kitchen and he helped me make cookies with the sheer delight. I let him eat brown sugar and fingers full of peanut butter. He helped me use the mixer and we each licked a "beater" clean.

Once the cookie making process was done and we had each had a glass of milk, I sent him back to his room. I didn't hear a sound from him for two hours. I guess he was hungry for some "Mommy" time. I find that even though I'm home with the boys all day long, that I sometimes don't spend the time with them that I need too. I get wrapped up in volunteer projects, checking email, talking on the phone, cleaning, laundry...you get the picture. My prayer lately is that I will delight in my children...not just tolerate them. Anyone else feel that way?

Memorial Day

Boy Land

JD commented to me this morning that "our backyard is like boyland"...Couldn't have said it better myself. We love it.

Bagels

I was sitting at Panera Bread Co. yesterday having a bagel with 20 month old Nate. A few tables over from me, was a group of about 12 people having breakfast. It did not take me long to figure out that they were the staff of a local church. They all had their Bibles, notebooks and coffee. The pastor opened in prayer, another gal led a short devotional. Then they got on with business, reviewing the past Sunday, coming up with new ideas, sharing how God was working in their individual ministries. I had to admit as I picked up Nate's juice cup off the floor for the 5th time, that I was a bit jealous of them. 15 years of my life I served on some type of ministry staff. I remember well sitting around tables and brainstorming how to more effectively reach people for Christ. I remember what it felt like to be part of a team, to be a part of a "staff" of some sort. As I drove home, my eyes clouded with tears. I realized how badly I miss that. I don't think I had really felt it that much until that moment.

As I pondered on that throughout the day, I had another realization. I remember sitting in meetings like that, and glancing across the room and watching a young mother with her child. I remember what the ache for a husband and children felt like. I remember driving home with tears in my eyes wondering if I would ever know what it felt like to take my own child out for a bagel on a spring morning.

God gently reminded me that there are indeed seasons in life. If I spend my time missing what used to be...or yearning for what could be, I miss the beauty of the season I'm in. Lord remind me to be content in whatever circumstance I am in.

Laminin

Our God is amazing. He is so intimately aquainted with us. This video is about 8 minutes long, but so worth it.