Last week was the Christmas musical at my son's school. My kindergartner gave us all quite a chuckle when he bowed...after every single song. See the video for yourself below. My son is the one in the middle sporting the black and red sweater. (Email subscribers and feed readers, if you can't see the video, click here.)
While we all got a laugh, my friend got a lesson. Click here to read all about it on her blog: Ordinary Moments...Extraordinary Memories.
Six years ago today at 9:40 p.m. This guy came into the world with a bang. Unpredictable contractions all day soon turned steady and sent me to the hospital. But when I got there I was told I wasn't dilated enough. However the pain told another story. After a 2 hard laps (I think it was two) around the maternity ward, I couldn't take another step. Nurses were summoned and surprised to see this child's head at the door. I was wheeled into the delivery room without even being admitted into the hospital. Three pushes later this guy was born.
And he's been fast and furious ever since day one.
Read MoreBeing the parent of one child is easy.
Two kids is an adjustment.
But three kids is just craziness. Why didn't anyone tell me this while I was pregnant?
Lately, I've been finding myself jealous...maybe that's too strong of a word...but I've been imagining how easy life must be with one kid.
Read MoreFive is my favorite age of all. Five is fun and lovable and just a ball of goodness. But in just a few short days, this guy will be a six years old. And soon he'll be all boy and no more baby. I'm a little sad because I love the way five year olds think, speak and feel because it's all truth, innocence and sweetness. Here's a roundup of some of the stuff that has been spilling out of the five year old lately:
Read MoreToday while grocery shopping I asked the 5 year old to stay next to the cart. Instead he wandered off when I turned my back and burnt his hand on the chicken warmer.
I wagged my finger in his face and said "I told you so." But the truth is, I hadn't told him so. Had I told him it was hot, his little fingers wouldn't have been so curious. All it would have taken was a moment to pull him aside and tell him why I was asking him to stay close. It's often the small teachable moments that have the longest lasting impact.
Read MoreThere's finally a chill in the air here in Southern California which makes it feel more like the holidays.
Here are a few links I happened upon that are worth a read:
Read MoreImagine your 12-year-old daughter...your only child..is at the point of death. Lying in her bed at home with no good medical news on the horizon. You're a leader in the church, yet your position and prayers have not brought change to the situation.
You hear that a famed healer is in town, so you rush to meet Him and when you see Him you kneel before Him saying, "My daughter is at death's door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live."
The Man agrees but gets stopped on the way to your house by a woman who has been hemorrhaging for 12 years. He heals the woman, but by the time He's done, someone from your house comes and says your daughter has died.
Read More
10 years ago today at 8:15 a.m. this kid made me a mother for the first time
Delivering him was hard. But even harder was the realization that I was taking this little baby home with no instruction manual.
How could I possibly be equipped to be responsible for such a little life?
It's been 10 years of trial and error.
10 years of crying and praying.
10 years of calling my mother for advice.
10 years of firsts and celebrations and triumphs.
10 years of hoping that I'm getting it right.
Sometimes I don't. But most times I do, and that's only by God's grace.
10 is a hard age. It sits at the intersection of childhood and independence.
10 looks like me standing back and watching as he happily runs off alone to his class after drop offs at school. He no longer wants me to walk him.
10 looks like hours with his nose buried in book.
10 looks like headphones on enjoying his own world.
10 looks like understanding more how the world works and answering real life questions.
10 looks like teaching him to be his own person.
10 looks like taking out the trash but still having to be reminded to do so.
10 looks like letting go more than holding on.
These past 10 years have flown by. Ten more and he'll be an adult.
But for right now I'll cherish these last few days of childhood with my first born.
Happy birthday!
Lately I've been struck with how fast time flies.
And how I don't look as young as I used to.
Care-free and 20-something
The other night our little family watched old videos. Little snippets of all our lives flashed before my eyes. Our engagement. Wedding day. Birth of our first born, second and then third. Smiles. Tears. And every thing in between.
All of those moments of our lives make up the dash. That small piece of punctuation that is put on funeral programs and headstones to mark the time between our birth and death.
Looking back, the dash goes by fast.
Seems like my 20s were just a few years ago. But they stretch back farther than I care to admit. It was 12 years ago that I said "I do" and joined my life up with the man who would become the father of our three children. Everything was shiny and new. Coffee maker, sheets and furniture purchased to complete our home together were all unused and pristine.
Today, most of those items need to be replaced or have been replaced. We blinked and time sped by. In 10 more years, our oldest child will be the age that I thought was just few years ago.
This dash I'm living is moving faster than I'm comfortable with and I think about what I would tell my younger self if I could.
I'd tell her: Do it!
Do every single thing you want to do. The thing you're fearful of. The thing you think you aren't equipped to do.
Just do it.
Do it afraid.
Do it even though you aren't as well-versed as you want to be.
Do it when you think there's not enough money.
Do it when you think you're not pretty enough....
or smart enough....
or wise enough.
Just do it.
Tell that girl or that guy that you like them. Or love them. Do the thing that's been stirring in your heart for years.
Do it alone if you have to.
But just do it.
These are the same words that I'll pass along to my children.
Life is too short to play it safe.
What's the one thing that you need to just do?
Unfolding words on theology, faith & the goodness of God in everyday life.
