Minding Our Ps and Fs

Carter is starting to outgrow one of his cutest habits. He's always "pingers" instead of "fingers" and "pire pighter" instead of "fire fighter." But this week I noticed that he's starting to correct himself and say it the right way. Probably a good thing so the kids don't make fun of him at school, but still a little sad...

Speaking of Fs, Mason announced yesterday that he was going outside to play the "f word."

???

Football. He went outside to play football. I encouraged him to call it by its name and not refer to it as the "f word" outside the house.

The Great Outdoors

Mason, Carter, and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather in the afternoons by playing outside. Our new house has a two-level deck that Mason calls the "boat deck." Mason and Carter think of all kinds of adventures to pursue - playing football (Mason's made-up rules, of course), hitting things (anything but a ball) off of the teeball tee, making teepees out of sticks, digging holes (Mason says they're fire pits - whatever that means). I even found my own workout routine that I an do while they're playing. It involves jogging laps around the yard (front and back), and step aerobics on the steps of the deck. Okay - I only did that one day. The rest of the days I sat in one of the patio chairs, working on my computer.

Check out Carter's new Mater shoes. He can put them on by himself (which is why I bought them), and he's very proud of his "race car shoes." And they're fleece-lined, so he can wear them all winter.

I Want That!

Carter's asleep, and Jas and Mason are driving back from Norman. So what do I decide to do with my "free time" (Not actually free when there's so much writing and housework to do, but a girl's gotta' rest...and it is Sunday, after all!) I made a delicious lunch of Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry, sat down on the couch to flip channels, and stopped on an infomercial for a mini-grill thing that makes all kinds of yummy-looking food. In five minutes, the show's host made at least ten different meals, snacks, and desserts. At the risk of sounding like my kids - I want that! If anybody is still looking for a Christmas present for me, get me the GTXpress 101. (I promise not to put it under the counter and forget about it like I do with most of my other kitchen gadgets.)

Totally Unrelated Side Notes

On the Economy: I keep seeing all these news stories about people having to "cut back" and "spend less" during these "hard economic times," and I'm a little confused. I always have to cut back and spend less, so maybe everyone else's economy just came down to the level where my economy has always been.

On Christmas Shopping: Done. Thank you, Mr. Internet! Carter has been looking at the same fire truck bed tent in the Lillian Vernon catalog for weeks, so I ordered it for him. Mason has a hand-written Christmas list this year (with invented spellings - so cute!), and I ordered the first thing on his list - sort of. He wanted the John Madden football game for the Wii, but I ordered the Backyard Football instead. Somehow I don't think John Madden created his game for 6-year-olds. The grandparents took care of the other things on his list (Titanic and polar bear stuff - ??)

On Potty Training: If I only had to train for going #1 on the potty, I'd say the job is near completion. Carter climbs up on his stool and goes all by himself. He tells me he has to to potty, and then he says, "You stay here, Mama. I go myself." Going #2 on the potty, however, is another story. That one could take awhile.

Confucius Say...

I'm not big on Chinese proverbs, but I saw a good one while I was researching today. I can't remember the exact wording, but it went something like this:

"Anxiety is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."

Very true, very true! My favorite Bible verse is about anxiety, too (Phillippians 4:4-9). I wonder what that says about me.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
9The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Potty Boot Camp

Today is Carter's first full day in underwear - or at least that's the plan. Of course, that means I have to stop what I'm doing every 30 minutes or so to take the little munchkin to the potty. We tried underwear for a few hours on Monday, and we went through 4 pairs. Should be an interesting day!

Totally Unrelated Side Note: I'm intrigued by a new show I happened to run across today. It's called The Doctors, and it looks like it might be the best thing since WebMD. I'm an avid self-diagnostician, so I'll be recording this show to watch after the kids go to bed.

Boot Camp Update: No accidents! He even stayed dry when I put a pull-up on him to go to the mall (I'm not THAT brave). The only problem is that he's still waiting for his naptime pull-up to go poo. I even made up a cute little song - and he sang the song with me - but still no poo on the potty. Here's the song: (To the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It)

Going poo poo on the potty i-is fun,
Going poo poo on the potty i-is fun,
'Cause we get to wear our un-der-wear,
Going poo poo on the potty i-is fun!

6 Decades and Counting

Gigi and Grandad came to our house yesterday and were met with a surprise 60th birthday party. Now we're enjoying a nice weekend together in our warm house...avoiding the ice cold winds outside.
Totally unrelated sidenote: I went shopping for jeans today (and decided I'm going to have to hire a tailor to design a pair of jeans for my body), and I heard the following conversation in the dressing room:

Little Boy: (very loudly) Eighteen!?! Mom, do you weigh eighteen pounds?
Mom: (very quietly) That's a size, not a weight.
Little Boy: (even louder than before) Is your body an eighteen?
(Long Pause)
Mom: Unfortunately, yes.

In-Your-Face Evangelism

Mason came home from school yesterday and immediately got out a piece of paper and a pencil. He started asking me how to spell the words from John 3:16. So I obliged...F-O-R G-O-D S-O L-O-V-E-D....all the way to L-I-F-E. When he finished he asked for a piece of tape so he could make it into a scroll. "It's for Jasmine," he said. "It's her last warning." I'm not sure if he's witnessing to her or threatening her. Maybe it's time for a lesson about compassion before he gets sent to the principal's office for smacking around his classmates with scripture scrolls.

Awesome Sunday

After we got off to a late start yesterday and missed Sunday School, it ended up being a blessed day. Pastor Steven's message from James about avoiding faith failures was just what I needed to hear. Favorite quote: "The only thing worse than being disappointed with God is being disappointed without God."

Before the message, though, (and after I muddled my way through a choir song I was supposed to know but didn't) six teenagers, who had given their lives to Christ at a youth gathering, were baptized. It was really neat to see that, but I had a sobering realization as I was watching. I realized that God gives me chances every day to join in his blessings and be a part of his plan. And even though it's such an invigorating experience when I obey and do His will, for some reason I still stubbornly disobey and miss out most of the time.

One of the girls who was baptised was a girl that God put in my path months ago and very clearly told me to invite her and her little sister to church. They were at the park, and her little sister was playing with Mason because they know each other from school. As the older sister was talking to me, I knew without a doubt that God had brought them to the park so that I could invite them to church. I almost did, but for some reason I never got the words out. Two weeks later, I was greatly humbled when I saw the girls with their brother and sister in the balcony at church. They had walked. They reminded me of the Herdman family from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - not exactly your typical "church kids." Anyway, I took the hint from God this time and offered them a ride home. Since then I've been their chauffeur on Sundays - except when the youngest one decided to "break up" with Mason (who probably didn't even know he was her boyfriend) and refused to ride with us for a few weeks. I've really enjoyed it and feel kind of disappointed when they don't need a ride. When the oldest girl got saved last week and baptised this Sunday, I was so proud of her. I couldn't help but feel ashamed of myself, though, for not joining in God's plan for her life sooner. It showed me that God's will is going to get done with or without me. He wants me to be a part of it, but I can choose to miss out if I want to. I don't think I want to miss out anymore.

Inspiration

Kay Weidner shared this with us at the Ladies' Ministry dinner tonight. She took the apron email that's going around the net and wrote a second part to give it Biblical meaning. She was kind enough to let me reprint it because I thought it was so inspiring.

The principle use of the apron was to protect the dress underneath, but, along with that, it served in lots of other ways.

It could be used as a potholder to remove hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears and on occasion for wiping a child’s dirty face or cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, baby chicks and sometimes half hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when unexpected company came, you would be surprised at how much furniture it could dust in a matter of seconds.

And when the weather was cold, grandma could even wrap it around her arms.

Those old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over a hot stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields. Dinner meant the noon meal. We had breakfast, dinner and supper back in those days.

I’ve seen my Mother shoo flies out the back door by waving her apron. I’ve seen her wipe her floury hands on her apron after mixing up a batch of biscuits.

I’m sure that young women now a days would go crazy trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

Reading this about the apron, I wondered if there were anything to compare to Grandma’s old apron. After thinking about it, I decided, that indeed, we could compare it to the Bible and our quiet time with the Lord.

As long as we read the Bible and spend time with the Lord, He can keep our heart clean underneath just like that old apron kept Grandma’s dress clean.

He can cool things down for us when things get too hot or help us to handle them just as Grandma would use the apron to take hot pans from the oven.

And just as Grandma used her apron to wipe a sweating brow, God will use His love to wipe our troubled brow.

Certainly, He can dry our tears and even teach us how to dry someone else’s tears. Nothing like spending time with Him to wipe away a dirty thought, just as Grandma wiped a dirty face.

Carrying eggs or baby chicks would have taken a light and caring hand just as God carries our burdens and troubles with a light and caring Hand if we let Him. He will help us follow through with those half hatched plans, too.

He’s a good place for us to hide behind when “company comes”. As a matter of fact, if we have on our “apron” we never have to worry about company coming. The old dust of the day will stay cleared away by His guidance.

Spending time with Him will warm our hearts just as that old apron was sometimes used to wrap around cold arms. We can feel his arms around us and warming us with his love.

Many needful things were carried in that apron. Kindling, wood chips, apples, vegetables, the daily needs of the time. If we spend time with the Lord, he will carry and give us those daily needs. He promised that He would. He told us to ask for it when he taught us how to pray. Give us this day our daily bread.

Just as a wave of the apron signaled “time to eat”, a good thing for hardworking men in the fields, a quiet time with the Lord can signal good things and times for us and it filters right down to our families.

And just as the apron could “shoo away” pesky flies, being read up and prayed up can shoo away undesirable things such as gossip, unkind thoughts, apathy.

As for trying to figure out how many germs there are on an old apron that was used everyday, I don’t remember ever getting sick from Mother’s old apron. Matter of fact, it may have made us resistant to certain germs. Just as staying close to the Lord will make us resistant to certain temptations.

Grandma’s old apron was able to do all these things for her because she used it EVERYDAY. The good things it helped her do, of course, filtered down to her family. That makes me think that if we use our quiet time with God EVERYDAY, it too, will filter down to our families.

Do You Know More Than a First Grader?

Tonight, Mason was asking me why centipedes have something on them that can burn your skin. I answered that that's how they protect themselves. It's the same answer I've given about wasps, bees, etc. This time I ended my confident, parently explanation with, "God gave every living thing, even bugs, a way to defend themselves." He quickly replied, "What about ladybugs?" I told him I'd have to get back to him on that.

I Voted!

I asked around and discovered that I could vote at my old polling place since I forgot to re-register in our new town. I planned to go this morning between dropping off kids and going to work. Ha! I've never seen so many cars and people at the Glenpool Library. So I went at 2:30 and got right in. Mason voted at his school in a mock election. He tells me he voted for McCain.

Junior Firefighter

Thanks to our friends Christina, Joe, and Fireman Keith, we got a personal tour of the fire station tonight. It only took Carter about 3 minutes to warm up and start running around the trucks yelling, "Woooo Wooooo Wooooo HOOOONK." Mason had been before with Christina and Joe, but this was Carter's first visit. He was in Heaven! (except when he thought the sirens might turn on)

October Outings

Pic #1 - M & C at the pumpkin patch
Pic #2 - Mason and Jas roasting hot dogs at the Sunday School class get together
Pic #3 - Our family at the SS class hayride and "bonfire"
Pic #4 - The cutest little fireman
Pic #5 - M & C at the Boo Ha Ha on Brookside. They dressed up twice for pre-Halloween celebrations, so Mason decide he didn't want to trick-or-treat on the real Halloween night. We went to a football game instead.