A Reflection of Myself

Remember that little boy in the previous post with Gramma's foundation all over his face, who's written in pen on my in-law's leather ottoman and on their wall with dry-erase marker in the last couple of weeks, and who will squirt out any tubes of toothpaste or lotion he can get his hands on from the bathroom?

Yep, that's the one. My son.

Well, this morning while Elizabeth was reading to me I sneezed several times.

From across the room comes, "Bess you, mommy." And that little man hurried into the kitchen, as fast as his squishy little toddler legs would take him, and got me tissues. Now, mind you, it was a wad of tissues he'd found earlier on an arm chair, blown his nose in, and already put in the trash. But I blew my nose with those tissues, got the tickle out of my nose, and pondered that precious moment in my heart.

Aren't we all capable of so much mischief (the Bible calls it sin) but then God gives us little glimpses of how He's teaching and maturing us?

As parents, aren't these moments with our children gifts from the same God, who reassures us that it's worth it to "keep on keepin' on" in the training and instruction?

My prayer is that I would be even a tiny fraction as compassionate and merciful with my children as my Heavenly Father has been with me. It's a learning curve, folks, and I'm still low on the slope; but I can press on with hope because God - Father, Son, and Spirit - is at work and finishes what He starts ... in my life and in those of my kids!

Can You "Pump Up a Bump"?

She can.

That's how Elizabeth referred to flexing her bicep for the first time yesterday.

Have you tried to "pump up a bump" yet today?

A Compliment for You, Tired Mommy!

Elizabeth and I read a bunch of books tonight. Into the 4th one I started falling asleep between pages...sometimes sentences. I am really tired.

As she went to get a final book from the shelf. I mentioned how tired I was feeling.

She said, "That's because you're a really great mommy."

Of course I was very touched, but also curious, so I asked something like, "What do you mean?"

She matter-of-factly replied, "Well, if you're a really great mommy, you're always really tired."

In that moment I felt so utterly loved and like all of the exhaustion is really worth it!

To all you tired moms out there, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!

Little Miss Chatterbox

Elizabeth and Colin are playing Mario Kart. Elizabeth is talking and talking, while driving her kart.

Colin: Elizabeth, do you ever stop taking?
Elizabeth: Uh, yea, when I'm sleeping.

And she still hasn't stopped talking.

Elizabeth at 5.5 Years

Elizabeth's been in rare form lately! She talks non-stop, especially when she's excited about something. And she repeats herself a lot, again, especially when she's excited. A couple of recent funny occurrences.

1. Elizabeth's coloring in a picture of pregnant Mary in an advent coloring book that I put together for her a couple of years ago. She's coloring with brown; I'm washing the dishes and not paying much attention. Elizabeth matter of factly says, "I'm making Mary African."

(Ironcially, she's probably closer to Mary's true skin tone than most of our images here in the states!)

2. Yesterday she was talking about how one of her top teeth was loose and that she could wiggle it with her bottom tooth. I felt the teeth, and they were firm in their positions. At dinnertime, she realized that it was her bottom tooth that's loose. People, you should have seen the excitement on her face. She was elated and almost started crying, she was that overcome with joy! I don't even remember what she said, but it was a very precious moment.

Throughout the rest of the evening she kept saying, in a very adult manner, "I'm really excited about my loose tooth, but...I'm kind of nervous too, because it's my first time to have a loose tooth."

If you see us frequently, brace yourself for lots of talk about the loose tooth.


Our little girl just passed 5-1/2 years old. She's delightful, curious, funny, creative, sensitive, and enthusiastic. We weren't trying to grow our family when I found out I was pregnant, but the Lord knows what we need. What would our lives be like without our Elizabeth?!

The Beauty of Creation

We've begun a unit about trees. I found this idea online of making a "Know/Wonder/Learned" chart. You pick a topic and write down what you know, what you wonder about it, and what you've learned after your research. I don't actually know why the leaves change color, so I look forward to learning about it. My exchange with Elizabeth went like this:

Me: I wonder why the leaves change color in the fall.

Elizabeth: Because when it's autumn, they want to look beautiful, and put on their fancy clothes.

It will be fun to learn the science while all the time enjoying the beauty.
Happy fall to you all!

Quote of the Week

Me to Elizabeth about brushing her teeth: You're a pro!

Elizabeth, chanting as she leaves the bathroom: I'm a pro ... a protester.

More Elizabeth Funnies

1. A few evenings ago, I put on music by the group Bishop Allen. Elizabeth enjoys them as much as Colin and I do. After the first couple measures she said, "I haven't heard this song in a long time because you only want to hear songs about God."

Oh snap! (I did recently buy 3 Indelible Grace albums and have been listening to them a lot.)


2. Elizabeth has this little gang of friends she likes to play with on the playground. They invent all kinds of scenarios and have a wonderful time. Friday afternoon they'd been busy with one thing or another. She told us that their house had burned down and that they moved from that place to their time share in a storage cage under one of the balconies.


3.

Post-It Juice Boxes

As Seen On TV and Heard Somewhere

Two snippets from today:

1. Elizabeth and I did an experiment last week, from her High Five magazine, to see how kidney beans grow roots. Then we planted them to watch them grow. These things grow like CRAZY - inches in a day - and we're watching and watering them routinely. This afternoon as we sat on the porch playing cards on the table where the planter sits, I commented on the pooling water in the dish under the pot and said something about over watering. Elizabeth replied, "Mom, you know on tv they recommend this thing called the AquaGlobe. You put it in the plant and then the water never does that and it always gets enough water."
2. Later in the afternoon we were getting ready to go outside and for the millionth time I asked Elizabeth to put her shoes on. As she sat down to put them on, she snapped, "You're not the boss of me," in the snottiest of tones. I stopped myself from telling her we were not going outside, because this was a first and I needed the sunshine as much as the kids. She couldn't tell me where she learned it, but I think it was made quite clear that if I , daddy, or another adult ever heard it again she would lose privileges faster than she could repeat the phrase. :)