Why?!

I did NOT just do that...

Oh Nelly. Is there no end to the surprises of parenthood? That was a rhetorical question.

Just now, I heard Corrie yelling from her room after I had put her and Mac to bed.

"Mommy...Mommmy...Moooommmy!"

I went into her room to see her offering her hand up to me.

I thought she said, "Mommy, I have a boo-boo." 

"Where?"

"Right here." (Showing me her pointer finger).

"Oh sweety I'm sorry, let me kiss it." (And I did).

"No! Mommy! Don't kiss it!"

"You don't want me to kiss your boo-boo?"

"It's not a boo-boo, it's a BOOGER!"

Yep. I did just do that.

Anyway, on a different note, I worked in the nursery yesterday morning at our Bible study, and I saw Little D take his first two steps! Later that evening, Travis and Laura came over for dinner and Davey joyfully celebrated his new skill with us.

One thing about Mr. D: He loves to express his joy and celebrate. He has always been that way - since the womb even, I believe. That's why I named him David before I even knew for sure that he was going to be a boy. I believe God has granted him such an expressive spirit, and it is my continual prayer that God will grant Davey a heart like King David - a man after God's own heart who danced before the Lord with all of his might. (2 Sam. 6)

Love you Davey! You are already teaching us much about rejoicing in our God!

Our Little Doggy Goes to Durham

Who needs a dog when you have a Davey around to clean up under the table? The little guy is a magnet for any piece of dropped food, no matter how old, hairy, crusty or disgusting it may be...just like a little puppy! 

When we went to visit our friends in Durham last weekend, I didn't realize how handy my sweet little disgusting baby boy would be. It seemed every meal time, without fail, there was Little Dave, making his rounds under the table beneath the chairs of five generous toddlers/children. 

The real goldmine, Davey discovered, was the spot next to Luke's high chair. Cha-ching! I believe that was the exact thought that went through Davey's mind when he got a whole bowl of macaroni and cheese dumped on the floor next to him. The first time, we think Davey actually pulled the bowl down off of Luke's high chair. The second time though, I definitely think Luke was intentionally "feeding the doggy!"

A few other sweet snapshots from the weekend:

Watching a TV show before bed with a yummy cup of hot chocolate. What a treat!

Snack time at Duke Gardens. Look at Luke. What a big guy!

On Saturday night, we surprised the kids with a trip to Chick-fil-a for ice cream and the playground. Calvin said, "Treats two days in a row?! That's NEVER happened before!" So funny.

That was not the last treat! We stopped for dinner at McDonald's on the way home and there was a big screen showing football on TV by our table. God gave mommy a special treat with that one.

But the best treat of all was being with such a loving, kind family. God's goodness was on display everywhere to me during our time in Durham, and we are so glad for His blessings of good friends. Thanks, Rockes!

Pony Party in the Tub

Its a sweet thing having a little girly like you, Corrie!

Fortunate Sunday Evening

Daddy, Mommy, Davey Date

Can't beat the view!

Thanks for the great birthday present, mom :)

Unfortunate Saturday Morning

God's Word

I've been thinking a lot about God's comfort lately. I've been living a lot of God's comfort lately. God's comfort is so much more than feelings: His comfort nourishes, it strengthens...it gives life. In my sorrows and in my joys, I find God turning my heart and mind to ponder certain verses:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created...all things were created by him and for him."

-Colossians 1:15-16

"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:17

Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-14)

Jesus is my life (Colossians 3:1-4)

God comforts me and gives me life through His Word. 

Voting Buddy

Trying to vote has been such a stressful experience for the past four years, but today was wonderful.

We did it, buddy!

Another Series of Unfortunate Events

One simple load of laundry. That's all I wanted. Just a quick change over of the clothes from the washer to the dryer and a new load in the washer...is that really too much to ask?

I had left Davey in his jump-a-roo while Mac and Corrie sat next to him watching a Thomas the Tank Engine tape downstairs in the basement. I needed to finish a task on the computer, so I went into Ellis' office for a moment before starting the laundry. When I finished and headed over to the laundry room (also in the basement), I noticed Corrie was missing from her usual video-watching perch. "Hmmm...." Interesting, but not too unusual. I would be upstairs in just a minute, what could go wrong?

As I ducked into the laundry room, I started hearing some banging noises coming from upstairs. I quickly threw the wet clothes in the dryer, and that's when I started hearing other sounds coming from the basement playroom: Mac was laughing his mischievous, trouble-maker laugh. That is never good.

I threw a new load in the washer and stepped into the playroom to see Mac dropping a large stuffed dog on Davey's head and laughing. Mac thinks it is hilarious to drop things on Davey, and it has become grounds for an automatic spanking. I immediately began the spanking/forgiveness procedure with Mac, and when I finished, I walked over to Davey and noticed our lamp was looking a little different...

And then I looked at Davey. What in the world?!!!

I started pulling Davey out of his jump-a-roo (minus the electrical cord!) and that's when I saw Corrie standing at the top of the stairs, waving her hands and arms at me. "Moooommmmy! HaHaHaHa!!!!" I should have recognized the laugh and crazed facial expression right away...the tell-tale signs of "CSHD" (Corrie Sugar-High Delirium). The Halloween candy was hidden and by now almost forgotten...what did she get into?

I walked up the stairs to see the birthday cake Ellis made for me this weekend (so sweet of him!) There were big holes in it and blue colored frosting was everywhere. 

I started to say, "Corrie....," and was about to address the whole "getting into the birthday cake" issue when I heard the sound of a faucet running...full-force...and it sounded like it was coming from the bathroom.

Nooooooo!!! 

One thing I did not take into consideration when you have two potty-trained pre-schoolers who can go to the bathroom on their own is that they often forget to flush the potty and close the lid. That normally wouldn't be too big of a problem, that is, unless you have a 10-month-old who likes to play in the toilet!!!

We try so hard. We really do. But earlier I had caught Davey in the bathroom, not only splashing and in playing in the pee-filled potty water, but also literally sucking on the soggy toilet paper that had earlier been used to wipe a bottom! 

In my horror and panic-crazed state, I rushed over, scooped Davey up, and immediately put his hands under the water in the sink. What I didn't think through was the fact that Mac had broken the sink's little drain plug a while ago, and we have not had a chance to fix it yet. That meant that the drain hole in the sink was wide open...just big enough for Davey to drop his little fist-sized ball of wet toilet paper into and clog the sink drain.

Sigh. 

So, when I heard the sink running in the bathroom, I knew it would not take much for a serious overflow situation to happen. I ran to the bathroom and saw the entire counter and sink filled with water and overflowing down onto the floor. 

"CORRIE!!!!!" 

I yelled. For the first time, I really, really, yelled at Corrie. 

I turned off the water and threw our biggest, thickest beach towel onto the water-covered floor. I took a breath, and that's when I heard Corrie. Sweet, broken-hearted little Corrie. I walked into the kitchen and found her under the kitchen table, sitting next to a blue frosting-covered fork and bawling her little eyes out. 

I put Davey down in his crib and went back into the kitchen to scoop up my little girly and carry her to our bedroom. She melted into my arms and I just held her on our bed for a little while as she cried. I prayed and began to put the pieces together: She had become covered in cake frosting and went to the bathroom to wash her hands and face. She then went to the top of the stairs to look down and show me that she had cleaned her hands all by herself! What a great accomplishment!

But when she saw my reaction to the cake mess, she started realizing she was in trouble, and the yelling only solidified the fact that she was in BIG trouble!

"Oh, sweet Corrie. Mommy loves you so much!" I looked into those little blue eyes and asked her if she would forgive me for yelling at her in anger. "Yes mommy, I forgive you." If you could have only heard that sweet, teary-eyed little voice say those words! Your heart would have melted just mine did. 

I addressed with Corrie the issues of the cake-eating and the water mess, and Corrie has been extra careful to get help with washing her hands since. Mac joined us up on the bed, and we all snuggled together and talked for a little while, enjoying each other so much. The rest of the morning was equally as crazy and sweet...such is the mixture that we experience daily in this season of life. And our hearts are so full.

As I am coming to the end of this post, I am realizing that my choice of title does not really describe our morning or our circumstances at all. Here is how I think I will title the post next time (Lord help us, I can only imagine what next time will be): 

"A Series of Ridiculous Events...And We Are So Very Fortunate!"

And I'll end this post with the following verse, because for some reason it has kept flowing through my thoughts this afternoon:

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."

-Psalm 126:3

Elmo, Darth Vader, a Blue Monster and a Lion

Yep. This a post about Halloween 2013. Can you guess from the costume descriptions in the title what each of us dressed up as? I bet you will be surprised by at least one!

Love Permits Pain

Streams From the Desert, August 10th

"Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. -John 11:6

This miraculous story begins with the following declaration: "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus" (v5). It is as if God were teaching us that at the very heart and foundations of all His dealings with us, no matter how dark and mysterious they may be, we must dare to believe in and affirm His infinite, unmerited, and unchanging love. Yet love permits pain to occur.

Mary and Martha never doubted that Jesus would quickly avert every obstacle to keep their brother from death, "yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days."

What a startling word: "Yet!" Jesus refrained from going not because He did not love them but because He did love them. It was His love alone that kept Him from hurrying at once to their beloved yet grief-stricken home. Anything less than infinite love would have rushed instantly to the relief of those beloved and troubled hearts, in an effort to end their grief, to have the blessing of wiping and stopping the flow of their tears, and to cause their sorrow and pain to flee. Only the power of divine love could have held back the spontaneity of the Savior's tender-heartedness until the angel of pain had finished his work.

Who can estimate the great debt we owe to suffering and pain? If not for them, we would have little capacity for many of the virtues of the Christian life. Where would our faith be if not for the trials that test it; or patience, without anything to endure and experience and without tribulations to develop it?

selected

Loved! then the way will not be drear;

For One we know is ever near,

Proving it to our hearts so clear

That we are loved.

Loved when our sky is clouded o'er,

And days of sorrow press us sore;

Still we will trust Him evermore,

For we are loved.

Time, that affects all things below,

Can never change the love He'll show;

The heart of Christ with love will flow,

And we are loved.