Last weekend, Jessi played in her piano recital. The nice touch is that she is playing in our new church. We are renting space there for our church services on Sunday. We have been spending a lot of time getting the place looking nice by painting it, setting up tables in the lobby for people to sit and have coffee and talk before and after service. Jessi is playing "Maleguena" by Pablo de Sarasate.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
October 27, 2012
June 12, 2012
Changes in Wash Day
A new era has begun in the Overtoom house. The girls have stepped up in chore duties by washing, drying and folding their clothes all by themselves! The boys also sort their own clothes and help me wash them.
One of my goals as a mom is that my kids will graduate from high school knowing how to manage money, create a budge, organize a house and keep it clean and do laundry. So when the kids were about five years old, I had them start helping out with laundry by teaching them how to fold clothes. It would begin by me laying out each item of clothing on the floor and showing them how to fold the clothes, how to match socks (I folded them) and how to put them away. We would pile all the clean laundry on my bed, sort it by owner, and those who were older would fold on their own while I helped the novice in-between folding the adult clothes. I would make it fun by telling stories. Their favorite story was one I made up about Jesus and His Father's final planning session before sending Jesus to be conceived in Mary's womb. I made it funny by pretending that Jesus got confused into thinking he would fit the superhero mold, complete with wearing a blue jumpsuit with red underwear over it and a cape flying behind him. They would laugh through their chore and I would secretly be telling them that God's plans are far better than any superhero story (though I must admit that "The Avengers" was really good) and involve incredible humility.
They have all achieved the rank of folding masters and prefer to fold in their rooms, where they don't have to share space on my bed, which had become a source of sniping that kept interrupting my stories and making me grumpy. The latest argument in the laundry processing was who would sort the clothes. You see, some of my kids make sure their clothes are turned right side out, their underwear is removed from the pants, both pants legs are right-side out, and their socks are pulled out of the ball that they become when removing them from sweaty feet. Others don't really care much about those "pointless details." I have tried to convince the offenders in the past by giving them lifetime clothes-sorter status so that they know what it is like to turn 50 items of clothing right-side out and remove dirty underwear from pants (gross!), but the lesson, apparently, was too subtle for them to learn. Several months ago, a veteran homeschooling mom suggested that I teach the kids to do their own laundry as early as practical as a way of incrementally giving them more responsibility. My initial concern was that we would have tons more laundry and that our water bill would skyrocket. I also wondered how many clothes would be ruined from improper sorting as part of my job as laundress was to catch any sorting errors. One day, while listening to my oldest complain about having to sort the boys clothes ("They are GROSS mom; and SMELLY!"), I casually suggested that maybe the girls do their own laundry. She loved the idea. The experiment began.
Now, the girls have their own dirty clothes bin in their room and the boys have their bin. I am keeper of the extra bins. On Mondays, the girls sort their clothes, wash them and hang them to dry, as the oldest has shot up to be a mere inch shorter than me and can reach the clothesline with no trouble at all. The boys have another day to do wash which, so far, has been when one of them says, "Mom, I don't have any Sunday clothes for church today." Okay, we need to pick a day for them, too. The girls love the responsibility and seeing the girls doing their own laundry has piqued the boys interest in learning how to put soap and fabric softener in the washer. Poor John is not quite tall enough to see where to put everything, but he will set the washer settings and turn it on. My diabolical plan to foist more duties onto my kids has worked! BWAHAHA! I wonder if they will ever catch on to me? More importantly, will I forget how to do these things? :-D.
One of my goals as a mom is that my kids will graduate from high school knowing how to manage money, create a budge, organize a house and keep it clean and do laundry. So when the kids were about five years old, I had them start helping out with laundry by teaching them how to fold clothes. It would begin by me laying out each item of clothing on the floor and showing them how to fold the clothes, how to match socks (I folded them) and how to put them away. We would pile all the clean laundry on my bed, sort it by owner, and those who were older would fold on their own while I helped the novice in-between folding the adult clothes. I would make it fun by telling stories. Their favorite story was one I made up about Jesus and His Father's final planning session before sending Jesus to be conceived in Mary's womb. I made it funny by pretending that Jesus got confused into thinking he would fit the superhero mold, complete with wearing a blue jumpsuit with red underwear over it and a cape flying behind him. They would laugh through their chore and I would secretly be telling them that God's plans are far better than any superhero story (though I must admit that "The Avengers" was really good) and involve incredible humility.
They have all achieved the rank of folding masters and prefer to fold in their rooms, where they don't have to share space on my bed, which had become a source of sniping that kept interrupting my stories and making me grumpy. The latest argument in the laundry processing was who would sort the clothes. You see, some of my kids make sure their clothes are turned right side out, their underwear is removed from the pants, both pants legs are right-side out, and their socks are pulled out of the ball that they become when removing them from sweaty feet. Others don't really care much about those "pointless details." I have tried to convince the offenders in the past by giving them lifetime clothes-sorter status so that they know what it is like to turn 50 items of clothing right-side out and remove dirty underwear from pants (gross!), but the lesson, apparently, was too subtle for them to learn. Several months ago, a veteran homeschooling mom suggested that I teach the kids to do their own laundry as early as practical as a way of incrementally giving them more responsibility. My initial concern was that we would have tons more laundry and that our water bill would skyrocket. I also wondered how many clothes would be ruined from improper sorting as part of my job as laundress was to catch any sorting errors. One day, while listening to my oldest complain about having to sort the boys clothes ("They are GROSS mom; and SMELLY!"), I casually suggested that maybe the girls do their own laundry. She loved the idea. The experiment began.
Now, the girls have their own dirty clothes bin in their room and the boys have their bin. I am keeper of the extra bins. On Mondays, the girls sort their clothes, wash them and hang them to dry, as the oldest has shot up to be a mere inch shorter than me and can reach the clothesline with no trouble at all. The boys have another day to do wash which, so far, has been when one of them says, "Mom, I don't have any Sunday clothes for church today." Okay, we need to pick a day for them, too. The girls love the responsibility and seeing the girls doing their own laundry has piqued the boys interest in learning how to put soap and fabric softener in the washer. Poor John is not quite tall enough to see where to put everything, but he will set the washer settings and turn it on. My diabolical plan to foist more duties onto my kids has worked! BWAHAHA! I wonder if they will ever catch on to me? More importantly, will I forget how to do these things? :-D.
May 23, 2011
Oh yeah! The Boy can Play!
This year, Kyle joined Little League Baseball where the ball is thrown by a catapult-like machine. His team has done great, finishing second place overall in the league. He is currently in the 7-8 year old bracket, which is about the time you see them start to be able to actually catch and throw the ball. He just started playing last spring. Kyle is a great batter, rarely striking out. He is also a fast runner, thanks at least partly due to his oldest sister, Elizabeth and his competitive spirit. Ever since he was big enough to run, he has been trying to beat her in races. Of course, because she has always had longer legs, she only loses if I 'rig' the race. Until he started racing against kids his own age, I am sure he was frustrated at how slow he was in spite of my attempts to explain that longer legs give a person an advantage in running.
At the beginning of the season, the games usually involved more offense than defense, with the kids still trying to figure out where to throw the ball and how to throw the ball and how to catch the ball. In fact, on our team, some of the kids figured it was safer trying to outrun the runner to the base rather than risk the other kid dropping the ball. Sometime around the beginning of May, however, the practices and games paid off as the baseball instinct kicked in and you could see kids taking their time before throwing the ball to a base to make sure that it actually would be catchable and know that they could still be able to get the runner out. We have seen kids on all teams make awesome catches of fly balls, and awesome throws to a baseman to get a runner out. We have also witnessed some absolutely crazy plays, like the time one of our kids scored a run by running from third base when the ball was barely nicked into play and the catcher was holding the ball a foot from home plate as he ran behind her. That "miracle run" created momentum in last Saturday's game for us to be able to come from behind to win against the team who entered the tournament in first place, and, like us, lost their opening tournament game.
Last night, we witnessed a wonderful (for us), if not miraculous, come-from-behind victory. It was the last game before the championship game. We had lost the first round of a double elimination tournament because our bats went cold and our defense was a little on the sloppy side. This game, the third since our last loss, started out okay. It was pretty obvious, however, that the team we were playing was incredibly savvy at base running. In one inning, they had a guy on second base stay when the ball was hit to the third baseman and then run to third after the third baseman threw it to first to get the runner out. The first baseman made a beautiful catch, his feet just barely touching home plate, his arm and body stretched out as far as they could to catch the ball right before the runner's feet touched the base. There were a couple of other plays in favor of the other team during the game that seemed to be questionable, but the Little League commissioner was there and, of course, if he didn't object, we shouldn't either. The kids were getting frustrated and starting to miss plays. Our coaches who are really great at being laid back or even joking to break up any tension from a bad play or strike out, just kept encouraging the kids to play their best and not worry about being down. At the bottom of the third inning, as our team came up to bat, the other team was winning 14 to 3.
Most of the parents on our team were shouting encouraging things to our kids but secretly, most of them were thinking, like me, that it had been a good season and that finishing third was very respectable. Somehow, in spite of racking up two outs with no one on a base, we managed to get six runs, bringing the score to 14 to 9. The fourth inning passed with the score 16 to 15. Once again, we had scored six runs with two outs. We were really close to the time limit for ending the game. If it had taken a minute longer to end the inning, the game would have ended and we would have lost. However, we had one more minute and our team took advantage of the rule. The other team tried to protest, but the commissioner upheld the ruling and told them to get ready to bat. So far, neither team had been able to consistently make defensive plays to prevent the other team from racking up points. However, we managed to get the first batter out with a beautiful throw by the pitcher to first base. They put two or three runners on the base. The next batter hit a line drive that our short stop caught in mid-air. After taking a second or two to realize that he did indeed have it, he ran to second base to get the third out. No runs had been scored in the inning. All we had to do was make two runs to win the game.
At this point, all the parents on our team were beside themselves with renewed hope, jangled nerves, and a rush of adrenaline. I couldn't sit still. I had brought knitting with me, like I did almost every game because it helps me stay calm, but my hands were shaking too much to be able to knit. I suddenly realized that this was probably exactly how Eric felt each time the nurses told him that our baby was ready to exit the birth canal. He would get so excited and agitated that they would make him sit down for fear of him fainting with excitement. The first batter managed to get on base. The second hitter struck out. Kyle was next. As he was waiting for the first pitch, Eric called out, "Hit it and then run as if Elizabeth was trying to catch you." He hit the ball to first base and ran as fast as he could, even though he would most likely get an out. However, the first baseman bobbled the ball, causing it to bounce off the outfielder's glove and roll close to the fence. Kyle made it to first with no problem and then, because the fielder still had not gained control over the ball near the fence at first, ran to second base. Someone in on the opposing team threw it wildly, causing the ball to go over the third baseman's head, which allowed Kyle to advance to third automatically (one of the league rules). The runner on second had already scored and we had tied the game. The next batter hit a beautiful, uncaught line drive into the outfield, bringing Kyle home for the game-winning run. The parents were on their feet, jumping up and down, laughing and crying. The kids on the bench and on the bases were at first confused when their coaches told them to stop playing until they explained that they had just won the game. Then their excitement and joy matched that of their parents. So tonight, we get to go the the same ballfield, at the same time as last night and play the team that beat us in the first game of the championship series. If we win tomorrow night, we have to play them one more time on Wednesday night to be able to claim the championship. If we lose tomorrow, we will still be number two and the other team, who started out the championship series in last place, will be first.
I am so proud of how all the boys, especially my son, have grown in confidence, skills, and grace as the season has progressed. I have learned a lot from the coaches about how to stay cool and graceful under pressure. They rarely pester the kids, like some of the other coaches and when a kid makes a mistake, they gently give guidance, sometimes making it humorous, to help the kid learn from their mistake. Whatever happens tonight or even possibly, Wednesday night, everyone on our team can walk away proud of what they have accomplished.
At the beginning of the season, the games usually involved more offense than defense, with the kids still trying to figure out where to throw the ball and how to throw the ball and how to catch the ball. In fact, on our team, some of the kids figured it was safer trying to outrun the runner to the base rather than risk the other kid dropping the ball. Sometime around the beginning of May, however, the practices and games paid off as the baseball instinct kicked in and you could see kids taking their time before throwing the ball to a base to make sure that it actually would be catchable and know that they could still be able to get the runner out. We have seen kids on all teams make awesome catches of fly balls, and awesome throws to a baseman to get a runner out. We have also witnessed some absolutely crazy plays, like the time one of our kids scored a run by running from third base when the ball was barely nicked into play and the catcher was holding the ball a foot from home plate as he ran behind her. That "miracle run" created momentum in last Saturday's game for us to be able to come from behind to win against the team who entered the tournament in first place, and, like us, lost their opening tournament game.
Last night, we witnessed a wonderful (for us), if not miraculous, come-from-behind victory. It was the last game before the championship game. We had lost the first round of a double elimination tournament because our bats went cold and our defense was a little on the sloppy side. This game, the third since our last loss, started out okay. It was pretty obvious, however, that the team we were playing was incredibly savvy at base running. In one inning, they had a guy on second base stay when the ball was hit to the third baseman and then run to third after the third baseman threw it to first to get the runner out. The first baseman made a beautiful catch, his feet just barely touching home plate, his arm and body stretched out as far as they could to catch the ball right before the runner's feet touched the base. There were a couple of other plays in favor of the other team during the game that seemed to be questionable, but the Little League commissioner was there and, of course, if he didn't object, we shouldn't either. The kids were getting frustrated and starting to miss plays. Our coaches who are really great at being laid back or even joking to break up any tension from a bad play or strike out, just kept encouraging the kids to play their best and not worry about being down. At the bottom of the third inning, as our team came up to bat, the other team was winning 14 to 3.
Most of the parents on our team were shouting encouraging things to our kids but secretly, most of them were thinking, like me, that it had been a good season and that finishing third was very respectable. Somehow, in spite of racking up two outs with no one on a base, we managed to get six runs, bringing the score to 14 to 9. The fourth inning passed with the score 16 to 15. Once again, we had scored six runs with two outs. We were really close to the time limit for ending the game. If it had taken a minute longer to end the inning, the game would have ended and we would have lost. However, we had one more minute and our team took advantage of the rule. The other team tried to protest, but the commissioner upheld the ruling and told them to get ready to bat. So far, neither team had been able to consistently make defensive plays to prevent the other team from racking up points. However, we managed to get the first batter out with a beautiful throw by the pitcher to first base. They put two or three runners on the base. The next batter hit a line drive that our short stop caught in mid-air. After taking a second or two to realize that he did indeed have it, he ran to second base to get the third out. No runs had been scored in the inning. All we had to do was make two runs to win the game.
At this point, all the parents on our team were beside themselves with renewed hope, jangled nerves, and a rush of adrenaline. I couldn't sit still. I had brought knitting with me, like I did almost every game because it helps me stay calm, but my hands were shaking too much to be able to knit. I suddenly realized that this was probably exactly how Eric felt each time the nurses told him that our baby was ready to exit the birth canal. He would get so excited and agitated that they would make him sit down for fear of him fainting with excitement. The first batter managed to get on base. The second hitter struck out. Kyle was next. As he was waiting for the first pitch, Eric called out, "Hit it and then run as if Elizabeth was trying to catch you." He hit the ball to first base and ran as fast as he could, even though he would most likely get an out. However, the first baseman bobbled the ball, causing it to bounce off the outfielder's glove and roll close to the fence. Kyle made it to first with no problem and then, because the fielder still had not gained control over the ball near the fence at first, ran to second base. Someone in on the opposing team threw it wildly, causing the ball to go over the third baseman's head, which allowed Kyle to advance to third automatically (one of the league rules). The runner on second had already scored and we had tied the game. The next batter hit a beautiful, uncaught line drive into the outfield, bringing Kyle home for the game-winning run. The parents were on their feet, jumping up and down, laughing and crying. The kids on the bench and on the bases were at first confused when their coaches told them to stop playing until they explained that they had just won the game. Then their excitement and joy matched that of their parents. So tonight, we get to go the the same ballfield, at the same time as last night and play the team that beat us in the first game of the championship series. If we win tomorrow night, we have to play them one more time on Wednesday night to be able to claim the championship. If we lose tomorrow, we will still be number two and the other team, who started out the championship series in last place, will be first.
I am so proud of how all the boys, especially my son, have grown in confidence, skills, and grace as the season has progressed. I have learned a lot from the coaches about how to stay cool and graceful under pressure. They rarely pester the kids, like some of the other coaches and when a kid makes a mistake, they gently give guidance, sometimes making it humorous, to help the kid learn from their mistake. Whatever happens tonight or even possibly, Wednesday night, everyone on our team can walk away proud of what they have accomplished.
March 22, 2011
Cute Kid Quote of the Day
This quote brought to you by the baby of the family, who is currently finishing up Kindergarten:
"Momma, I know how to count by twenty."
"Really," I said, "Can you count by twenty for me?"
(Skip counting by twenty was not part of the Kindergarten curriculum)
He promptly counted by twenty up to one hundred. I told him he did a great job and asked him who had taught him that, intending to praise the teacher.
"My brain." he replied.
For more frivolity, check out Mercy Me's Cover Tune Grab Bag of "Eye of the Tiger". It is pretty funny/silly. They also did a good cover of "Obla-Di, Obla-Da" with the help of the other bands traveling together in the Rock and Worship road show. Just don't listen to too many Cover Tune Grab Bag videos or you might have "The Cover Tune Grab Bag" song stuck in your head. Like me.
"Momma, I know how to count by twenty."
"Really," I said, "Can you count by twenty for me?"
(Skip counting by twenty was not part of the Kindergarten curriculum)
He promptly counted by twenty up to one hundred. I told him he did a great job and asked him who had taught him that, intending to praise the teacher.
"My brain." he replied.
For more frivolity, check out Mercy Me's Cover Tune Grab Bag of "Eye of the Tiger". It is pretty funny/silly. They also did a good cover of "Obla-Di, Obla-Da" with the help of the other bands traveling together in the Rock and Worship road show. Just don't listen to too many Cover Tune Grab Bag videos or you might have "The Cover Tune Grab Bag" song stuck in your head. Like me.
January 21, 2011
Cute kid quotes
I try and capture the cute things my kids say in a notes application on my iPhone. Here are some of the things I have heard them say over the past month:
Elizabeth: The context is the last season of "The Amazing Race", of which we have watched three episodes so far. One team, a couple who are covered with tattoos and peircings readily admit that intelligence isn't their strong suit, but that they are strong and athletic. And there are times when they display a lack of knowledge. However, so far they are patient with each other in difficult circumstances and I admire them because they know themselves pretty well.
"I think that the tattooed couple were smart before they got all those tattoos."
Jessi: (wearing a shirt that is only slightly big on her) "I am glad that this shirt is so loose. Now I can flex my muscles without worrying about splitting the shirt. "
Kyle: He made a comment while we were playing in the icy snow in Flagstaff that was so funny and true. He was on a playground set and Eric and I were lobbing snowballs at his "fort". All during this time, the girls were busy transforming the bottom half of a snow man into a chair. When he got tired of the game he asked us to stop. "I have to go and taunt the girls now."
John: While we were listening to our huge collection of Christmas songs, Elvis' "Blue Christmas" started playing. After listening to the song for a few minutes, John asked "Is this a girl singing this song? It sure sounds like a girl!"
My apologies to anyone who has a tattoo or several and to any Elvis fans out there. Rest assured that I made sure that Elizabeth realizes that there is no connection to tattoes and intelligence and John knows that Elvis is a boy, not a girl. However, it is safe to say that there are no Elvis fans in this house.
Elizabeth: The context is the last season of "The Amazing Race", of which we have watched three episodes so far. One team, a couple who are covered with tattoos and peircings readily admit that intelligence isn't their strong suit, but that they are strong and athletic. And there are times when they display a lack of knowledge. However, so far they are patient with each other in difficult circumstances and I admire them because they know themselves pretty well.
"I think that the tattooed couple were smart before they got all those tattoos."
Jessi: (wearing a shirt that is only slightly big on her) "I am glad that this shirt is so loose. Now I can flex my muscles without worrying about splitting the shirt. "
Kyle: He made a comment while we were playing in the icy snow in Flagstaff that was so funny and true. He was on a playground set and Eric and I were lobbing snowballs at his "fort". All during this time, the girls were busy transforming the bottom half of a snow man into a chair. When he got tired of the game he asked us to stop. "I have to go and taunt the girls now."
John: While we were listening to our huge collection of Christmas songs, Elvis' "Blue Christmas" started playing. After listening to the song for a few minutes, John asked "Is this a girl singing this song? It sure sounds like a girl!"
My apologies to anyone who has a tattoo or several and to any Elvis fans out there. Rest assured that I made sure that Elizabeth realizes that there is no connection to tattoes and intelligence and John knows that Elvis is a boy, not a girl. However, it is safe to say that there are no Elvis fans in this house.
November 2, 2010
What about mercy?
My youngest had a bad night Monday night with sniffles that woke him up. I knew that trying to get him up would be a challenge on Tuesday morning, but we were meeting with another family early that morning to do P.E. and I needed everyone to get ready quickly. My husband woke the kids up before he left and the youngest laid there while everyone else dragged themselves out of bed. I took a shower. Ten minutes later, he is still lying in bed with no intention of getting up. I go over and gently shake him and kiss him while I tell him that it is time to get up and get dressed. After I am dressed, I go in and remove his pajamas and lovies from his bed, placing an outfit on his bed. This causes him to stir a bit. Fifteen minutes later, I find out that he is still not dressed and has done nothing more than pull himself into a vertical position. My voice is sharper now as I tell him that he had BETTER be dressed soon or he will not get breakfast. Ten minutes later, he loses breakfast and I put a timer on him giving him two minutes to get dressed or he will receive corporal punishment. If you have been keeping any track of time and the number of times I have spoken to him, you know that it has been about an hour since he was first told to get dressed and that he has had at least four requests, more than my usual number. He fails to beat the timer. As I walk upstairs, telling him to come to my room, he starts wailing because he knows what is about to come next. Seeing me pull out the instrument of discipline, he cries out, "What about mercy?"
I do feel the need to end this story with some bragging on his behalf. At the Monday night Boy Scout meeting, which he attended with his Wolf Scout brother, John received a hiking badge, even though he wasn't old enough to be in Boy Scouts. The Scoutmaster gave it to him because, on the long hike up South Mountain during last week's family camp outing, he never complained once. He still gets a proud smile when he talks about it. He will also be graduating to orange belt in Tae Kwon Do next week. And he has read his first book with very little help from me.
I love my kids even though they are giving me gray hairs.
I do feel the need to end this story with some bragging on his behalf. At the Monday night Boy Scout meeting, which he attended with his Wolf Scout brother, John received a hiking badge, even though he wasn't old enough to be in Boy Scouts. The Scoutmaster gave it to him because, on the long hike up South Mountain during last week's family camp outing, he never complained once. He still gets a proud smile when he talks about it. He will also be graduating to orange belt in Tae Kwon Do next week. And he has read his first book with very little help from me.
I love my kids even though they are giving me gray hairs.
December 20, 2008
Something you don't hear very often
Today, we are in a frenzy of cleaning, trying to get ready for Christmas and just attacking the clutter and dust that has been silently driving both Eric and I bonkers for some time. Earlier in the day, when asked to do additional work, John said, "No thank you, Mom." I just as politely replied that this wasn't an option. Much later, when I interrupted John's work in creating some space object out of Duplos to do yet another task, he said, "Thanks, Mom, for letting me do work." It is a phrase I don't expect to hear often. Now it is time for me to continue cleaning! Thanks, God, for letting me do work!
July 17, 2008
A close call
I am starting to realize that I am in a fairly "golden" age for my kids. Sure, they get into mischief and my oldest has a bit of attitude at times. However, they haven't gotten old enough to get into real trouble, they are starting to be a really big help in keeping the house clean and they play together fairly well which gives me some extra free time during the day so that I can write blogs and work on projects. I know that in the next five years, as my two oldest enter puberty, I will be experiencing tougher times.
God has been putting on my heart, though, to play more with my kids. I have put so much time in them, that part of me would like to take a break. This job of motherhood is the longest job I have ever held. Yet, I am not even halfway done with the job. I am feeling so tired most of the days, just trying to get the chores done that I have been content to let them play on their own. Yet, I know that Elizabeth and Jessi enjoyed a lot more attention when they were the boys age than Kyle and John have experienced.
This has been a general feeling lately, but this weekend, God gave me a kick in the pants. Most of the kids were downstairs playing in the basement of someone else's home which has a lot of children's books and toys (they also have a lot of books in general). The adults were upstairs talking amongst themselves when Eric was called downstairs by our youngest and found Jessi , lying on the ground and holding up a bookshelf with books surrounding her. Apparently, she wanted a book from the top shelf. Instead of calling one of us to get it, she tried climbing the bookshelf, which was not anchored into the wall. The books fell on her and the bookcase almost fell on her if she had not been somehow holding it up. She escaped with bruises and scrapes, which, to me, is a miracle. I only saw the aftermath, fortunately. I think we all said prayers of thanks to God for sparing her. I need to go to bed now, so I can play with my kids tomorrow with childlike abandon.
God has been putting on my heart, though, to play more with my kids. I have put so much time in them, that part of me would like to take a break. This job of motherhood is the longest job I have ever held. Yet, I am not even halfway done with the job. I am feeling so tired most of the days, just trying to get the chores done that I have been content to let them play on their own. Yet, I know that Elizabeth and Jessi enjoyed a lot more attention when they were the boys age than Kyle and John have experienced.
This has been a general feeling lately, but this weekend, God gave me a kick in the pants. Most of the kids were downstairs playing in the basement of someone else's home which has a lot of children's books and toys (they also have a lot of books in general). The adults were upstairs talking amongst themselves when Eric was called downstairs by our youngest and found Jessi , lying on the ground and holding up a bookshelf with books surrounding her. Apparently, she wanted a book from the top shelf. Instead of calling one of us to get it, she tried climbing the bookshelf, which was not anchored into the wall. The books fell on her and the bookcase almost fell on her if she had not been somehow holding it up. She escaped with bruises and scrapes, which, to me, is a miracle. I only saw the aftermath, fortunately. I think we all said prayers of thanks to God for sparing her. I need to go to bed now, so I can play with my kids tomorrow with childlike abandon.
June 19, 2008
Being humbled
Tonight, while I was helping my second daughter get ready, she said to me, "You look like a grandma to me." When I asked her why she thought that, she replied, "You are getting gray hair."
I sputtered, "But I only have four gray hairs at most (I've counted them). Do you think Daddy looks like a grandpa?"
"Yes," she replied and went into her room to pick up, leaving me to tend to my wounded pride and self esteem. Of course, I had to tell my DH when he returned home from band practice.
I think the Lord uses our children to humble us the most, in so many ways. It is good for us too :-).
"Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life."
Proverbs 16:31
I sputtered, "But I only have four gray hairs at most (I've counted them). Do you think Daddy looks like a grandpa?"
"Yes," she replied and went into her room to pick up, leaving me to tend to my wounded pride and self esteem. Of course, I had to tell my DH when he returned home from band practice.
I think the Lord uses our children to humble us the most, in so many ways. It is good for us too :-).
"Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life."
Proverbs 16:31
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