Things Grace says...

Here are some things that Grace says incorrectly...I don't have the heart to correct her...she's just too dang cute. She's growing up too fast as it is anyway. I will put the "Grace" words in italics....here goes...
--"Mom, this food is cold...could you put it in the microphone?" (meaning microwave)
--"Hey Dad, can you do me a favorite?" (meaning favor)
--"Be careful....that is very break-a-full" (meaning breakable)
--*Said when "helping" me put on my make-up in the morning* "Mom, are you going to put on your eyebrowns?" (meaning use my eyebrow pencil)
--At night she waves her "magic wand" and we turn her light out right after she says "Bibbety-Bobbity-Boo." Lately though, she's been saying "Bibbety-Bobbity-Kangaroo"

That's not the half of it...I just can't remember anymore right now...I'll add more as they come to me. She is an absolute JOY...and quite a clown. Life is never dull with Grace Ellen.

Sam's first snow day!

Well, this is the first "big" snow of the year--a little over 3 inches--and enough to keep us indoors for about 24 hours. When Danny got home from work he felt the need to shovel the driveway and invited Grace to join him. Thanks for the pink snowsuit, GrandTone! We are using it!! Sam wasn't so sure of the whole situation--from the bulky snowsuit, to being plopped right down in the middle of the cold, white stuff. But he sat calmly as mommy snapped picture after picture--such a tolerant boy. This is old news to big sister and she absolutely LOVES snow...we had to coax her back indoors with the promise of hot cocoa!

As heard in a conversation between Earl and Grace (we were driving in the car at night, it was--of course--dark in the car, and Grace was trying to read her book)
Grace: "Daddy, turn on the light"
Earl: "No Grace, it's not safe to turn on the light when you're driving the car at night"
Grace: "DADDEEE...turn on the LIGHT"
Earl: "Grace, I said 'NO'"
Grace: "Daddy...I can't seeeeee...turn on the light"
This went on--back and forth, back and forth--for a good 10 minutes, then Grace pushed her daddy a bit too far and asked ONE last time...
Grace: "Dad...turn on the light...I can't see my book"
Earl: "Grace...if you ask me to turn the light on again, I will give you a swat when we get home"
**silence in the backseat**
Then...very quietly....Grace: "Hmmm...if I had a big light I could sure see this book better..."

Overwhelming

I cannot begin to imagine
the emotions she felt.
I remember,
vividly,
the first time I held my children,
slippery newborns, blinking in the light.
I remember the wave of pain,
the "surge" of labor,
the fear,
the excitement,
the uncertainty that is life.
My body,
bringing life into this world...
But I cannot begin to imagine
Mary.
What must it have been like
to feel that same surge,
to hear Jesus
cry,
to cradle his slippery newborn body,
to put Him to her breast and
know
that the Savior of the world
has come?
She held the King of Kings.
She kissed His sweet baby face.
I am certain she counted His fingers and toes
and wondered what color His eyes would be.
I marvel at my own children;
At their tiny fingers and sparkling eyes.
I drink in their smell.
I kiss them as they sleep,
and my mind is overwhelmed with joy,
and worry,
and love.
But I cannot begin to imagine
Mary.
What must she have pondered
and tucked away in her heart?
The thought overwhelms me
humbles me
brings me to my knees

Bronchitis...lovely

I get this stuff twice a year. It is something I have inherited from my momma...cheers to the gene pool. BRONCHITIS. Lovely, just lovely. I'm nursing people...yes, sustaining human life with my very own breasts. It's one of my superpowers. *cue music and tight costume* What does breastfeeding have to do with bronchitis you ask....lots. The most wonderful thing is that Sam is getting all of my lovely immunities in the liquid gold that is breast milk and will likely NOT get a touch of the crud...if he does, it will be very mild. (I told Danny I was thinking of drinking my OWN breast milk with my coffee this morning...he did not scoff at the idea...he chuckled...my how he has grown in 6+ years) There are other things however that make having both bronchitis and a breastfeeding baby complicated.
1) Bronchitis=coughing. And in MY case, a seal-like barking cough. Most violent and loud. This keeps me from sleeping and has been known to wake my sleeping baby (he is a light sleeper...like his momma)
2) I am a stay at home momma. That is my job. If I had any other "normal" job and contracted a nasty case of bronchitis, I would call my employer and take a day to rest to recuperate. Ha ha ha ha...have you MET my employers?? They would not let me "call in" (I tried)...and often act JUST LIKE CHILDREN. I cannot call in...my job doesn't "end"....as I type--comfortable curled in my chair--employer #2 is escaping down the hallway toward the toilet "Yay, fun! Water play!" ACK!
3) When I get bronchitis, PLEASE don't tell me to "drink hot tea" and "get lots of rest" and all of that other holistic crap. I truly believe in being "hippy" about lots of things (breastfeeding, cloth diapers, recycling, thrift stores...) but I also believe in the power of medicine. GIVE ME DRUGS....bring 'em on. Cough suppressant, expectorant, decongestant...GIVE 'EM. BUT all of these medicines effect Sam's milk in one way or another. Decongestant dries ALL bodily secretions, including breast milk. Cough medicines are transferred to milk and often make a baby VERY groggy...scary stuff. And so I am left with "hot tea" and "lots of rest" Ha ha ha ha ha...right. Can you put whiskey in hot tea?
4) And finally the worst part of it all. I have NO voice. I am a MOTHER...I yell...sometimes a lot. I also sing my children to sleep. I miss my voice when it is gone (Danny doesn't and I'm beginning Grace is starting to "catch on" to the fact that mommy has lost another one of her "superpowers") It is rather frustrating to be so silent when the world around me is aflutter with talk. Sam said "Dada" yesterday--BOTH of my offspring's first word (figures)....normally I would be IN HIS FACE encouraging him to say "mama mama mama". I like to talk and yell and sing...But, as Grace says, my throat is "cracked"....
So please...pray for me...but don't call me and tell me to "drink hot tea"...it would be a one-sided conversation after all...

Grace happens

We joined the church today. Actually, I guess we should say we "transferred our membership"--I have been Methodist since birth, Danny since marriage. We had to take a 7 week New Member class that consisted of STEP training. Spiritual gifts, Traits, Experiences, and Passions=STEP. It is a curriculum designed to help members "plug into" the church, discovering what makes them CRAZY for God and how they can serve within the church. It is a great class, and Danny and I learned a lot...about ourselves and about each other. For instance, I put down that I LOVE to organize and decorate, and just this week I got a call from the ladies who are planning to decorate the church for Christmas. They had seen my "passion" listed on the sheet I turned in and wanted to invite me to help! Very cool! Sooooooo...we took this class and have now joined the United Methodist Church of the Good Shepherd on 96th and N. Oak in Kansas City, MO. We had to stand up in front of the congregation and said some "I wills" and I dos"...promising to support the ministries of the church with "our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service". We brought the kids along for the ride, figured they outta get in on this commitment too. Grace was dressed in the most darling black velvet dress, Sam in a little blue button up shirt and some blue dress pants--very cute, very darling, what a lovely family we have...BUT WAIT...as we stood before some 200-odd people and BOTH pastors, pledging to support the church and confirming that we do, in fact, believe that Jesus Christ not only takes our sins away, but is ruler of our lives--GRACE happened. And I'm not talking about the grace that God gives....no, no, no...I'm talking about Grace Ellen Farris. She put her liddle fingers up on either side of her face, in a sort of "horn-ish" fashion, and began to make crazy faces. Ah, yes...this congregation has NO idea what they've gotten into...let's just start praying for her youth pastor RIGHT NOW.

Delight

I was making dinner earlier this week and started to sing something?--I can't remember what exactly I was singing...just that I was singing. Grace was in the living room being 3 (you know when you tell someone your child is a "3 year old", this is NOT an adjective...it is a verb, children work VERY hard at being 3) and she began to make requests "MOM! Sing MY song" ("Amazing Grace"...she has deemed it HER song....) So I did. "MOM! Sing 'Caroline'" (A Nancy Griffith song we have sung to her since she was a baby) So I did. And the list went on. Baby brother stopped his curiosity and crawling to listen. The dogs stopped asking to be fed. Grace listened intently, quietly sitting on the coffee table (her favorite perch). Eventually her requests stopped, but I continued to sing...Christmas carols, hymns, "Little Surfer Girl" (by the Beach Boys...we sing this to Sam, but sing "little surfer boy" because his initials are SRF)...I love to sing, it brings me MUCH delight. But then I began to notice that a little voice had joined me. In the living room, atop her perch, Grace was singing along. Even if she didn't know the words...she sang along. My very own little back-up singer. I stopped singing and began to listen. She carried on. She makes up her own songs. It is amazing to me to hear her creativity at such a young age. I can't express the delight I find in hearing her sing. It makes my heart swell with joy, it brings a smile to my face. To hear MY daughter singing. Her tiny voice rising within her. Her eyes in some far off place. It is truly amazing to me. She is VERY 3 and somedays it's all I can do not to lose my mind, but there are moments such as these that bring me great joy as a parent. And then I thought...."If I find this much joy in hearing my daughter sing, I can only imagine the delight the Lord finds in MY singing. The pleasure it brings Him to hear my voice rising to heaven, prasing Him with song." We are the children of God and He finds much delight in us, even if we sometimes act like a 3 year old.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above thee heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost...Amen