The Heart of a Child

     Just before it was time to pick Aidan up from school today, it started pouring down rain.  I mean, really pouring down rain.  It was, what we call in Texas, a gully washer.  The water was running down the street so fast that it washed my trash can and recycling bin down the street.  Of course, there was no where to park, so we had to walk in the rain.  The water was well over my ankles in many places.  I was juggling 2 umbrellas and a two year old while trying to get to Aidan.  Of course, dismissal was chaotic and the kids were crazy because of the rain.  It would have been easy to be irritated.  But, then Aidan walked out the door.  He was all smiles and twinkly eyes.  He said, "Yes!  Finally, I get to use an umbrella!"  He excitedly jumped in the car and asked if he could have hot chocolate when he got home.  As soon as we got home, he ran in his room and put on his comfy pajamas, turned on the tv and asked for his hot chocolate and his snack.  The rain, after a long hot summer, was an event to be celebrated to him, not an annoyance.  Lord, help me to be more like Aidan...full of joy and wonder.  Help me to have the heart of a child.

A Tale of Two Dinosaurs

How a 7 year old boy plays with 2 dinosaurs:

The big dinosaur eats the little dinosaur after a long battle

Dino 1: "RRRRAAWAAAAAWWWERRRRRRR"
Dino 2: "GRRRRRRRRRRRRR"
The dinosaurs then run into each other, bite each other, rip out each other's throat and throw each other across the room.  There is much screaming, growling, and various other sound effects.

How a 2 year old girl plays with the same 2 dinosaurs:

The dinosaurs play in the snow

Dino 1: "Hi, I'm a big daddy dinosaur.  What's your name."
Dino 2:  "Hi, I'm little orange dinosaur.  Do you want to sing with me?"
D1:  "Sure, how 'bout "Row Row Row Your Boat?"
D2:  "Yea!"
Dinosaurs proceed to dance and sing
D2:  "Hey, I know!  Let's go play in the snow!
D1:  "Yea! I love snow."
D2:  "I love you big daddy dinosaur."
D1:  "I love you too."
D2:  "I'm sad, lets talk"
D1:  "Okay little orange dinosaur.  You're a nice dinosaur."
D2   "I feel better.  Let's sing again."

Two Dinosaur Friends

How can they be the same species?  (the kids, not the dinosaurs)

Ella Claire

It's funny to me that Ella is so small.  She's just little and dainty...especially compared to Aidan who never even landed on the growth chart because he was so tall.  What's even funnier, is she is this tiny person with a HUGE personality.  I bet God chuckled as he was knitting this one together!

Ella will be 2 1/2 next week.  I find that hard to believe, since I'm positive I just had her.  I am still recovering from my pregnancy with her, so how can she be blazing toward 3 years of age?

Here are a few Ella stories for your amusement.

The other day, she decided to call me Jenny instead of mommy.  We don't know anyone named Jenny, and as far as I can remember there is not anyone named Jenny in any of her favorite cartoons or movies.  But, she decided I was Jenny and she called me by that name all day.  If I referred to myself as "mommy," she would say, "you're not mommy, you're Jenny."

Today, we were at the grocery store.  I was looking at something in the freezer section, and she was standing next to me chattering away, as usual.  A woman was standing nearby and Ella walked up to her and said, "Hi, I'm Ella."  The woman said hi back, and then Ella said, "I'm lost."  The woman was concerned until I looked up and informed her that I was indeed her mother and she was not lost.

Our little firecracker with a sparkler in Colorado

When we got home from the grocery store, I made Ella some Safari Animal chicken nuggets for lunch.  These come from the part of the chicken that looks like a giraffe.  Ella had a couple of giraffe shaped nuggets, an elephant and a lion.  She bit off all their heads.  When I asked little Ozzy if she wanted to eat the rest of her nuggets, she said, "no, I don't like their bodies."  Imagine a bowl full of little chicken nugget animal bodies covered in ketchup.  It wasn't pretty.

Ella's newest vocabulary word is "catty-wampus."  Her pants and her shirt have both been "catty-wampus" this week.

If Ella sees a man she doesn't know she calls him "mister."  It could be our waiter at a restaurant, someone at the park or grocery store.  She will walk up to them and say, "Hey mister, I'm Ella Claire,"  "see you later mister," and "what's that mister doing?" or "where'd that mister go?"

If you call Ella anything other than her name, she will promptly correct you.  It goes something like this:
"You're so pretty."  "I'm NOT pretty.  I'm Ella Claire."  Or, "you're so sweet."  "I'm not sweet!  I'm Ella Claire."

If Ella wants you to do something and you tell her no, she'll say, "try it, you'll like it."  She's mastered peer pressure already!

She talks to "monsters" that no one else can see.  We'll be walking through the house, usually it's in my bedroom, and she'll say, "hi little monster, what are you doing?"  She never acts like she's scared, so I guess whatever she sees is okay.

It's never boring around here with Ella.  She has us laughing all day long.  I can't wait to find out God's purpose in giving her such a BIG personality!

Easy Taco Casserole

This casserole is so easy and yummy.  It's one that kids and grown ups alike will enjoy.  I'm not sure I've ever seen Mark get quite as excited about a meal as he got about this one!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1/3 c. water
1 can refried beans
1/2 c. salsa
6 flour tortillas
2 c. frozen corn, thawed
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Brown ground beef, drain
2. Stir in taco seasoning and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Simmer about 15 minutes
3. Meanwhile, mix beans and salsa.  Heat in microwave about 2 minutes
4.  Place 3 tortillas on the bottom of a round 2 1/2 quart baking dish
5. Layer 1/2 of the beef, beans, corn and cheese
6. Repeat layers, ending with cheese
7.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes
8.  Serve with sour cream, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, avocado and/or extra salsa if desired

The Worst Day Ever!

     Sometimes when I'm trying to teach my kids an important lesson, God uses my own words to convict me on that exact same lesson as it applies to my life.   This happened to me this past week.  I was explaining the importance of obedience to Aidan, when BAM...God hit me with the same truth in my own life...using my OWN words!  Does this ever happen to anyone else?

   It was the first day of school; Aidan had a great day at school.  He loved his teacher and all the kids.  He said second grade was going to be easy and fun.  To celebrate, we went to his friend's house to swim.  We all had lots of fun at the pool.  But, as you know, all good things must come to an end.  Take a 7 year old, mix in a little first day of school exhaustion, dinner time hunger, and a command to get out of the pool and dry off, and you end up with a crying mess in the back seat of the van, declaring this "the worst day ever!"

    First, I told Aidan to get out of the pool and dry off so we could go home and cook dinner.  He resisted, but got out and started to run in the house dripping wet.  I made him come back and dry off.  This was met with much complaining.  Why is drying off such a chore for kids anyway?  I know it takes a little bit of time, but putting clothes onto wet skin is much more difficult and time consuming!  As he went inside to change clothes, I told him he could come outside when he was done to have a lemon slushy before we went home.  I went in to get Ella dressed.  When I came back outside, AIDAN WAS BACK IN THE POOL!  This sent Ella into fits because she wanted to get back in the pool too.  So, start over...out of the pool, more drying off, more whining, etc.  While Ella and I were waiting on Aidan, she was offered some watermelon.  Ella ate her watermelon and we waited and waited...and waited some more.  I went to check on Aidan.  He was half dressed and playing in his friend's room.  Seriously?
  
     Several minutes later, we were finally all dressed and in the van.  Ella was finishing her last piece of watermelon.  Then, the crying began.  Aidan wanted to know why he didn't get any watermelon.  Next, he realized he never got a lemon slushy either, so he kicked the sobbing up a notch.  At the height of his distress he declared this the "worst day ever," and that "everyone was mean to him," and the classic, "Ella gets EVERYthing and I never get ANYthing."

    I explained to Aidan that sometimes when you're disobedient, you miss out on some really good stuff. He didn't get the lemon slushy because he got back in the pool instead.  He didn't get watermelon because he was playing instead of changing clothes.  No one purposely withheld anything from him, he just wasn't in the right place at the right time because he was not listening and obeying.  And that's when it hit me.  Like a rock.  How many blessings do I miss because I'm not listening and obeying?  It's not that God is punishing me, I am just not where I need to be, so I miss out.

   Life is never as fulfilling and adventurous as it is when we are living in complete surrender to God's will.  Some of the most challenging, yet most invigorating times in my life have been when I've stepped away from the cultural norm and done what I knew God was calling me to do instead.  Sometimes, being obedient requires us to go against society's norms.  I love how Kelly Minter states it in her Bible study, Ruth:  Loss, Love and Legacy.  "Normal is a very insidious trap to fall into when you're talking about having the Spirit of God living inside you.  I'm afraid it's where I too often reside, though I'm more and more discontented there.  Especially after I've ventured out by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and I do the unconventional or even the "foolish" and experience the invigorating excitement of being about the things Christ is passionate about; and I remember that, yes, this is where I want to live."


     The more I surrender to God, the more I learn about him.  He is not a boring God.  Being obedient to God is not about sitting in a pew with a dozen blue-haired grandmas listening to sermons, reciting prayers and singing hymns.  Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  God wants to give us abundant life!  If we all fully understood that, the self help industry would be out of business, no one would need it anymore.
     I've also learned that God is good.  He's not waiting for us to mess up so that he can punish us.  He is waiting for us to be obedient so He can bless us.  It doesn't matter how you've messed up in the past...only that you're willing to be obedient now.
  
     The life he is calling us to live is the one He made us for...it is the one where we will find joy, excitement, and the rush that we're all seeking.  It may be scary at times, and it may make people think you're a little crazy, but it's never boring.  I don't want to just get through life.  I want to live the life I was created to live.  I don't want to miss a single blessing or sit on the sidelines watching everyone else reap the benefits of a life submitted to God.  God uses the willing, and  I can think of no greater honor than to be used by God.

"This is how we know that we love the children of God:  by loving God and carrying out his commands.  This is love for God:  to obey his commands.  And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world."  1 John 5: 2-4

2nd Grade

Well, Aidan started second grade last week.  It seems like his childhood is zipping by in a flash.  Sometimes I wish I could hit the pause button, or at least the slow motion button.  It's going so fast I can hardly catch my breath.  I hope we're teaching him all that he needs and supplying him with lots of happy memories too.  I realized yesterday that he's going to be 8 soon!  If the next 8 years go by as fast as the first, he's going to be driving the next time I turn around.

So, here are some fast facts about our precious 2nd grader.  His favorite food is grilled salmon with macaroni and cheese, asparagus, crescent rolls and salad with ranch dressing.  He LOVES Star Wars and Legos.  He is reading like a pro and his math skills are off the charts.  He loves music, monster trucks and video games.  He is trying to learn how to ride his skateboard better.  He loves being outside riding his bike, scooter, flying turtle or skateboard.  He wants to be a pilot, or an artist or just like Tony Hawk when he grows up.  He is a great big brother, although sometimes his sister drives him crazy.  He has lots of fun in cub scouts and wants to become an Eagle scout.  His favorite place to be is with his Pawpaw and Nana.  His best friends are Logan and Landry, Cade and his Pawpaw.  His teacher loves football, so Aidan has been wearing football t-shirts to school as much as possible.  At school, PE is his favorite.  Most importantly, he is CRAZY about his mommy.

Here are the pictures from the first day of school:

Aidan with his teacher

More Things I've Heard Lately

Aidan:  "Mommy!  Come in the bathroom and see how clean I got one of my teeth!"

Aidan:  "You shouldn't laugh at the Bible.  It's not the Godly way."

Aidan:  "I'm really good at video games."
Me:  "You're really good at a lot of things.  You're especially good at being my son."
Aidan:  "That's my favorite thing to be good at."

Ella:  (in her deep voice)  "Do you wanna fight with me?  Huh?  You can't touch me!"

Ella:  (while speaking to a toy crocodile)  "God made you something and I put it in my pocket.  He will help you."

Aidan:  "Come on Ella!  Let's dance!"
Ella:  "I'm shaking my pink shortcake bootie!"