99 Balloons.

Wow...this was a really powerful way to start my day. I just had to share.

[Warning: It's a tearjerker. But not necessarily in a bad way. I find this father's viewpoint to be incredibly uplifting.]

99 Balloons.

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The Misadventures of Anna Grace

Both of these things happened today.

First, Anna was eating her lunch of tomato soup and peanut butter sandwich.  She always finishes the last of her soup by drinking it out of her bowl.  However, usually she has a small bowl, and today, I gave her a larger one.  This was the result:

Then, this evening, Anna did not eat much of her dinner at all--definitely not enough to get ice cream.  I was surprised as she watched with a minimum of protest while Luke and I had dessert after cleaning our plates.  She did ask repeatedly for ice cream, but was unmotivated by my responses that she needed to eat more of her dinner first.  Finally, we were all finished, I cleared the table, and I headed upstairs.  The kids were dallying on their way up, so I stopped at the computer at the top of the stairs to check my email.  While I was checking, Luke came up to me and we chatted some.  I heard Anna pass behind me and go down the hall, but my back was to her.  After a few minutes, Luke went down the hall to his room and then came running back.  He was just beside himself.  He exclaimed, "Mama!  Anna is doing something very dangerous!!  She...she has the whole tub of ice cream in my room, and she is eating it with her hands!!!"  What?????

I ran down the hall, took one look at Anna, and then ran back to get my camera.  This is what I saw:

Oh. my. goodness.  I can't tell if she looks guilty or unrepentant in this picture.  I'm thinking unrepentant.  She's like, "What?  You wouldn't give me any..."

This just shocked me.  My kids are not the type to pull zany hijinks!  But they are surprising me more and more.  Earlier this week, Luke emptied a whole container of baby powder throughout the upstairs, strategically creating snow scenes on his train, race track, and other toys.  He has been learning about snow in preschool (it's a very theoretical concept in South Carolina), and they have been using things like shaving cream for snow.  He was upstairs playing with Anna and our two year old neighbor while I was downstairs chatting with her mom.  So I guess he just decided to share his new knowledge with her!  That was a pain to clean up...but at least our house smelled good!

Sheesh.  Life with two toddlers is never dull, I can tell you that!

My Boy

Last week, I blogged about a family at our church whose house burned down.  It burned down last Wednesday night after church.  Because I didn't check my email on Thursday morning, I heard about when my friend called while I was out with my mom and the kids.  We had just arrived at Party City to get some birthday stuff for Anna's party.  I mention that because a week later, Luke reminded me of the exact time we heard about the fire and even included some of the details I relayed to mom.  It has really impacted him.  I think the idea of a house burning down is a concept that three year olds can understand.  Thankfully, it hasn't made him fearful of the possibility of our house suffering a similar fate.  However, he talks about the family regularly.

Just tonight, while he was on the phone with Gaga, I heard him say, "Do you know Mr. David and Mrs. Sherry?...Their house burned down on Wednesday night after church [a week and a half ago].  The firemen said that they thought the fire started in the chimney, but Mr. David didn't think that it did.....Do you know where they are spending the night now?....They are spending the night with Jackson's mommy and daddy."  Good grief!  The kid has been paying attention.  He then went on to say something interesting to me:  "They couldn't stay with us because...because...we live too far away!"  I don't know where that came from.  I think he was trying to figure out why Mr. David and Mrs. Sherry didn't stay with us since we have had talks about how the church is supposed to help people.  My mom laughed and assured him that Mr. David and Mrs. Sherry didn't stay with us because they didn't need to, but if they had needed to, they would have been welcome.

Even though Mr. David and Mrs. Sherry didn't stay with us, Luke has been determined to help them.  He watched as I put together a basket of dry goods and toiletries for them, and the next day, he decided to do his part and build them a house:

He was very proud of his contribution to their housing situation:).

When it finally clicked with me that this was one area of service in which I should really include Luke, I offered to let him help me make a meal for them.  He was all about it.  He took all of the jobs I gave him very seriously.

I've gotta say, I'm proud of my boy.  He is not one who is naturally attuned to people's feelings.  But when there is something to which he feels he can relate, he is very eager to help out.  Now, I've just got to figure out how to cultivate that side of him and help it to flourish....

Sweet Pictures

I'm not taking a picture a day anymore, but I am still taking pictures regularly for this year's scrapbook, Project Life.  Lately, I have felt very fortunate to get some pictures of some sweet moments:

One night last week, as Gaga was rocking Anna to sleep, Luke decided that he needed to be rocked, too:).

Anna has been weaned off her paci for months now.  Pacifiers are a thing of the past.  So imagine our surprise while driving home from church on Sunday when we turned around to see her sound asleep...with her new baby doll's paci in her mouth!  Too funny!

On Monday, we had a movie night and rented Cars.  I snapped the pic of the kids curled up with Daddy on our air mattresses.

On Tuesday evening, we babysat the children of some friends from church.  Before dinner, I suggested that Luke say a prayer.  He wanted to hold hands, and everyone but Anna obliged (she's a big believer in folding her hands for prayer!).

And here's a silly pic to close us out!  These star-shaped glasses were one of the party favors from Anna's party.  Apparently, they were a big hit with all the kids, and Luke was no exception!

I love being in the habit of always having a camera nearby.  There are too many precious moments these days that I don't want to forget!

Walk Humbly With Your God

A few weeks ago, I was reading in my Beth Moore Bible study on Esther, and Moore related an anecdote about going to a party at a fabulously wealthy woman's house. She described taking a tour of the woman's massive closet and ooh'ing and ahh'ing over the insane amounts of shoes and clothes. And she quickly clarified that this was all okay because this woman used her wealth to God's glory.

Okay. I am naturally a fairly judgmental person, and my first response was, "How can such opulence be used to God's glory? Moore is having a spiritual experience from a tour of a shoe closet? I just don't buy it." But just as I was getting good and settled in on my high horse (and it is very comfy up there), I had another thought. I'm sure there are people that could look at my life and say, "Okay. You are living a comfortable middle class life in suburbia, ensconced in your lovely, spacious home, spending your days taking care of your two beautiful, healthy children...and you think you are living a radical life for God because...because you make meals for people sometimes?? Oh, sweetie. That is hilarious."

This got me to thinking about people's individual standards and their personal definitions of what it means to walk with God. As I've gotten older, I have had the opportunity to talk to many individuals who are very forthcoming with their beliefs. I know people who believe that, if anything, it is God's will for them to vote Democrat. And I know people who can't quite believe that you can be a Christian and not vote Republican. I know people who believe it is our moral duty as Christians to homeschool our children, and people who believe that it is our moral duty as Christians to get involved and make a difference in the public school system. I know people who think it is morally wrong to use birth control...and people who think it is morally wrong not to. People who believe that God has called them into the medical community so that they may help those who are hurting, and people who believe that God does not want us to use any interventions that are not natural. I know people who cannot fathom how a Christian mother would not stay home to nurture her precious children, and I know other Christian mothers who feel called by God to be teachers, nurses, doctors, etc.

These are not hypotheticals. I really know all these people. I know them personally. And, though I am no judge of souls, I would vouch for these people's faiths and their good intentions. As best I can tell, they are all genuinely trying to walk with God.

My question is, How can that be? One of the underlying assumptions during the formation of the Church of Christ was that, if we would all just set aside our preconceptions and biases and read the Bible with an open heart and mind, then we would all end up on the same page. And that being on the same page would achieve "unity." And yet, all of the people to whom I've referred are Church of Christ people who take the Bible very seriously! What on earth?

I think the knee jerk explanation for this discrepancy among believers is to think, "Well, I'm right (or at least, closer to right), and people who disagree with me are mistaken." Or maybe that's just my knee jerk reaction:). Regardless, in order to talk myself out of this reaction, I am going to propose two different explanations for the conflicting beliefs of Christians:

1. God does call different people to different actions. Yes, there is a bedrock of morality set forth in the Bible, and those things are non-negotiable. But none of those principles mention birth control. Or public education. Or natural remedies. You have to stretch Scripture to find those "commands." In the meantime, the Bible also says that we are one body comprised of many parts. And as different parts, we have different functions. God calls some of us to perform different roles. And in Scripture, Jesus Himself calls different people to different things. He calls the disciples to follow Him. He tells Legion, on the other hand, to go home and tell his family instead (Mark 5: 18-20). He tells the rich, young ruler to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. But he praises Zaccheus for giving away half of his. Different people, different callings. Who's to say that it's not the same today?

2. This explanation is not as cheery, but in some ways, it is even more compelling to me. One of the reasons our perceptions of God are all so different is that we are all so distorted by our humanity. Frankly, I don't think any of our perceptions are absolutely "right," and furthermore, I don't think any of our perceptions even come close. I think that we are each shaped by our familial and cultural backgrounds in ways so profound that we will never fully understand how much our very way of thinking conforms (or reacts) to those backgrounds. As holy as the "holiest" of us is, we are still nowhere close to meeting God's standard. Is it any wonder that we have such conflicting views of what God wants out of us? I fully believe that my walk with God is influenced by my desire for comfort and security in ways that I will never fully shake. I try to, believe me. But even with the Spirit working in me and transforming me, I am nowhere close to the point in that process where I am free of all my sinful baggage.

So...what's the point? I'm not trying to make this an, "Everything is relative; I'm okay, you're okay" type of declaration. Instead, my hope is that as the church, we will continue to realize how flawed we all are in our perceptions of God, and that God will show us how unity can be achieved even in the absence of our moral perfection. I am thankful to be a part of a local church that models that unity quite well, and I pray that we will always continue to seek it. And I hope that we can all take comfort knowing that God does not require that we have it all perfectly figured out. In fact, His standards are pretty simple:

"And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8).

Walk humbly with your God. It's the "humbly" part that usually trips me up. Eventually, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and sell that high horse:).

Prayers for Haiti

I'm sure that you are all probably already praying for Haiti right now. In your prayers, would you please also pray for our sponsored child, Duvens Voltaine? He is from Haiti, and we are so worried about him and his family. I called Compassion International, and the first thing the recorded message said was that they would let us know about our children in Haiti as soon as they had information on them.

My greatest fear is not that he has gone to be with God, but that he or his family members are struggling and suffering terribly somewhere. He turns ten years old in less than a week. I don't know when Compassion is going to give us an update on him, but please keep him and his family in your specific prayers.

Thank you!

Celebrate Good Times

We had a wonderful time celebrating Anna's second birthday with friends and family. I love the opportunity to rejoice over my children, and birthdays are a great time for that. Though the evening was so uniquely special to us, it was in many ways your typical birthday party, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking:

The birthday girl, pre-party.

Grinning at Papa.

We were so thankful that Papa could come down for the party. And Gaga had been here all week, so it was great having both sides of the family represented:). Added bonus: Gaga was an amazing help getting ready for the party!

While being serenaded. 

Blowing out the candles.

Time to dig in!

All the kids loved cake!

 

Time for presents!

Early into the present unwrapping process, Anna received this baby doll from Mrs. Nancy (with homemade baby quilt). Once she got the doll, presents were over for Anna. After all, how could she focus on presents when she now had a baby to take care of? Her responsibilities had shifted! Thankfully, all the other kids were extremely eager to take over present-opening duties. They opened all her presents while she patiently wrapped and unwrapped her baby doll in its quilt:).

Happy birthday, sweet girl! I hope you always know that your family thinks you are THE best girl in the whole world!

The Blessing of Humor

A wonderful couple at my church lost their house in a terrible fire last week.  Thank God they and the animals were safe, but the house was totally destroyed, along with all their possessions.  Needless to say, it has been a rough couple of days for them, as they have sifted through the ashes of what had been their home for almost thirty years. 
It has also been a chance for our church to rally around them, to encourage them, and to help provide for them.  In other words, it has been a chance for our church to be a church.  But with this amazing couple, you can't pour in more than they can dish out.  They have always been two of the most giving people I know, and they have given me such encouragement and inspiration from the way they have handled this tragic turn of events.  Through all the exhaustion of putting their material lives back together, they have kept their sense of humor.  Here is a picture they took of something that survived the blaze:

David brought this sign to church this morning and showed the congregation.  It was a relief to laugh with them.  I am so thankful to have such mature Christians to look up to in my church.  Their lights shine the brightest in dark times.

I would like to ask my blog buddies to pray for them.  Their names are David and Sherry.  Pray for them and their daughters who live in town.  They all have a long road to walk down.

My Two Year Old

On Sunday, Anna Grace turned two years old.  It is amazing to see how the time flies.

1.3.08

1.3.09

1.3.10

Here she is coming down the stairs for church.  I picture her coming down the stairs in a prom dress in about 16 years, and it blows my mind.

Here she is having fun in her new playhouse that Gaga and Granddaddy got her for her birthday:

And here she is, moments after waking up from her nap today:

Isn't she a stunner?  And she loves to play with trains as much as Luke does!

My little baby girl chatters constantly, feeds and nurtures everything in sight, works harder than anyone I've ever seen, wears her feelings on her sleeve, loves to snuggle and cuddle, and thinks a big smile can get her out of anything.  (She's mostly right.)  She makes every day a delight.

Her birthday party is tomorrow, and we can't wait to celebrate the life of our wonderful two year old!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had safe and happy New Year's celebrations, and that you got to spend it with people you love.  We rang in the new year with some of the teens, parents, and volunteers from our church's youth ministry.  Of course, I took a million pictures.  Here are some reasons we had a great time:

1.  We had this:

I mean, how can you not have a good time with "Death By Chocolate?"  That is the name of the delicious, 8-layer dessert that I usually make on New Year's eve.  It is by far the best dessert I know how to make. 

2.  And this:

This was the food before the guests arrived.  They brought a ton with them.  Food and fun go hand in hand in my world:).

3.  We borrowed a Wii.

Look at that intensity.  I couldn't resist.  This picture is hilarious for so many reasons.

4.  We played games besides the Wii.

Quick:  Can you get what I'm trying to convey in this picture?  It is a "who."  Charlie got it.

And while I'm talking about games, let me throw this clue out there.  We were playing Hoopla, and I had to describe something, but every word I used had to start with the same letter.  It was a "what" (not a "who" or a "where.")  What I said was, "Tubby Tuesday."  I honestly thought that would do it.  I thought they would totally get that reference.  Unfortunately, they totally didn't, and I got (rightfully) made fun of for the rest of the night.  But please, someone, redeem me!  Do you know what "Tubby Tuesday" is?  Anyone?  I really thought this was common knowledge....

5.  We spent time with wonderful people who are soooo sweet to my kids.

 

 

  

6.  Our kids actually made it to midnight with us and rang in the new year.

Annette is explaining the ball to Luke:).

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Blog is Up!

I have officially created my Bible blog and written a few introductory posts. I can't wait until January 1, when I really get started.

If you get a chance, stop by. Here is the link.

And maybe you could also say a prayer for my dedication in following through on this resolution.

Thanks!