Thomas knows his letters and their starting sounds at age three and he recognizes some words by sight, prominently among them God and good. I remember telling him as we read our bedtime Bible stories as much as a year ago that God is the most important word he can know. At first he regularly …
Stir Crazy
We’re home now but the weather today reminds me of the first two and a half days of last week’s beach vacation, rainy and cold. Much too cool and windy outside for the two and six month olds, just cold enough to drain the excitement from the toddlers in the first five minutes, and no …
No Answer
I wanted so badly to reply but I bit my tongue. I felt the color rising in my face as I hung up the phone. Several remarks filed through my mind like a multiple choice question on a dreaded standardized test. I landed on none of the above, took a deep breath, and went back …
No More Wasted Time
When our kids aren’t sleeping or eating appropriately, we look at what’s going on in the moment to try and find a reason. The problem, however, most likely stems from something further back than we tend to look. Maybe they were exposed to a germ last week that has been working against their little systems. …
I Cried
As I backed the Lolly bus from the garage, I looked up to see if Thomas’s little face was pressed to the window below the blind upstairs. He sleeps in his race car bed in the room above the garage when he visits and he had just told me the previous morning that he peeked …
Let The Walls Fall
Amelia stood in the booth next to me singing Jesus Loves Me at the top of her little lungs. We were waiting for our pizza and her power nap in the car and the sugar from her lemonade had officially kicked in. She and Thomas are practicing to sing together during our family lunch following …
This Is Hard
Thomas puked in the car again, effectively destroying a third car seat in his three short years. When I asked if he felt like he needed to be sick, he said, “I don’t,” but, according to his mom, commenting from the driver’s seat afterwards, he meant, “I don’t want to!” Then he did. He retched …
Practice What You Preach
“Shhhh!” scolded Amelia, her little finger up to her mouth. “I can talk,” answered Thomas. This exchange was happening across my lap during worship. The deacon voiced the closing prayer and service was nearly over. We would just barely make it through the final song. The snacks ran out before the sermon and the toddlers …
More Than Curious
I’ve enjoyed a small herb garden on my kitchen table several times over the past few years, but in my current season when staying over with new grand babies takes precedence, the herbs, with the exception of a lone basil plant, have gone by the wayside. I had hoped that placing them out front where …
Worked Together For Good
Amelia wanted “eggy cheese” for breakfast and she wanted to help. Her only experience cracking eggs has been with her plastic color matching half dozen in her toy bin. She chose her egg from the carton on the kitchen counter and I gently wrapped my hand around hers, guiding her to tap, tap, tap on …
A Fitting Reply 