Myrick's birthday

We got to do a lot of fun things on Myrick's birthday.

For starters, he got to spend the night before his birthday with cousins. Waking up with cousins not still around after date night is always a bit disappointing for him, so this was fabulous! Plus, Aunt Jessie made cinnamon roll waffles for breakfast. Can't get much better than that!

We left their house and headed straight for the Discovery Center where we met some of his good friends Emma and Thomas for playing and lunch.

I didn't get many pictures there, but I did get a few.

After loooong naps, Myrick got to go with daddy to get us pizza before a concert with lots of friends. Fun day!

Birthday tent

Big helper

Myrick loves having grandma's dog with us this week.

My baby is 3

And putting a candle in his piping hot pizza wasn't my most brilliant idea.

Snowman!

Oh, and a snow cake too. That's normal, right? It was, after all, the snow man's birthday.

Daddy's old snow suit

Last one

They had a pretty sweet outdoors area too that I can't wait to explore more this spring and summer. Complete with tricycles too, from what I understand.

Ok, I am officially out of pictures for our one trip to the Discovery Center. I was starting to feel bad about spending so many days on this til I remembered that its my blog, and that I intend for this to be a pretty thorough picture log of our days. So, hope I didn't bore you too much. :)

While Supplies Last

Do you think Dillons will run out of eggs anytime soon? If they think they might, I wonder why they would give them away for free!

Wood working

I was very impressed by the wood working area at the Discovery Center. We probably won't be able to do it every time, since it requires 1 on 1 adult supervision. But, it was certainly a sweet daddy-son time. =)

Myrick the vet

Can you tell we loved this place? We will probably buy a membership.

Matthew

In case you were wondering, Matt was at the Discovery Center too. He was just so pleased that there were so many chairs he could climb onto himself, that his pictures are a little less eventful.

Desperate, Chapter 6

So, in case you haven't noticed, I've been blogging through this book for the last few weeks.  I'm doing it as part of a "book club" of sorts over at the blogs of the authors: Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson

In the book club, they're already done with Chapter 9, with Chapter 10 slated for Tuesday.  But, I'm not -- I'm on Chapter 6.  And, if it's ok for me to be that far behind, then it's totally ok for you to be too!  Jump on in.  I'd love to hear what you're thinking about it!!

Chapter 6 -- Lack of Training

I can totally relate with Sarah and Sally, in that I too had very little training on the how-tos of being a "keeper at home."

I have a very sweet, very loving mom.  She did so much for my brother and I growing up.  Both of my parents did.  My dad started working road construction when I was just a baby.  That meant a lot of long hours, and a lot of time spent out of town.  That also meant my mom was essentially a single mom.  (Except, of course, for the extra paychecks!)  They both worked very hard, and sacrificed a lot so that we could have a good education, complete with sports, dance and scouting.

But, one thing I didn't really know I was lacking before I got married, was the training.  I didn't know how to cook.  I often share this story about when I learned how to (or, more accurately, how NOT to) hard boil an egg.

I knew how to cook pasta.  You wait til the water is boiling, dump the pasta in, and the set a timer and drain.  Simple enough.  So, how do you hard boil an egg?  Wait for the water to boil, put the egg in, and set a timer.  Easy peasey.  In case you don't know where this is going, I'll go ahead and tell you -- the egg explodes.  :)  There, now I've trained you!  Put the egg in before the water gets hot.

I also didn't know how to clean.  My poor mom would work all day, run us around to our activities all evening, and then clean -- when?  I can't remember.  I know she did it.  But, I was very rarely apart of it.

None of this is meant to shame my parents.  In fact, if anything, it's meant to shed light on my sin.  I've spent a long time making excuses about what I've never been trained to do, instead of just availing myself of the training that is available.

And, that's exactly what Chapter 6 is about.  Sarah Mae says at one point in the chapter, "I have a will and a healthy body and mind that give me no excuse for choosing not to train and discipline my children...and myself."  Talk about summing it all up.  I'm without excuse!

That's one thing I learned from this chapter that I hope to apply to my life.

Another quote that was so good, I'm not sure where to cut it off.  I'll just give the whole thing!

Feeling condemned for not getting it all done can be an immediate source of depression for many women.  We all assume that others can do it better than we can, and also assume it must come naturally to some women.  As I have surveyed the man women I have known in every stage of life, it seems to me that housework is always an overwhelming challenge, regardless of personality.

So nice to hear!  I've definitely assumed those things, and it's glad to be reminded that I'm not alone in the struggles.  Sally goes on to give a solution.  She says, "God has taught me that I need to decide to accept the work as a normal part of life and not struggle with it."

In addition to these things -- that my children and I are teachable, and that we will always have housework with us, Sally urges us young moms to recognize that in general, relationships need to trump work.  A nice reminder that my two sweet, messy boys are not the distraction.  The laundry is the distraction.  The very central reason for doing the laundry (which does eventually need to be done), and all other housework, is to make a comfortable training training ground for my men.  When I'm not stopping to love them, to train them, to correct them -- I'm kind of missing the point.


So many good things in this chapter, and so many things I want to apply to my life this week.  Pray for me, if you think of it!  :)

Sweet Sibling Time

Myrick the chef

Myrick spent a LONG time in the cafe cooking "soup." Micah had plenty of time to get a bit creative himself.

Desperate, Chapter 5

This chapter, "When the Dark Invades" was very helpful to me.  I mentioned when I first started this book that I've been super emotional.  There have been moments of each day that were filled with Light, but there were also some dark times.

The chapter made it seem completely normal -- that every woman struggles from time time.  What a blessing to hear that!  I know in my heart of hearts that I'm not alone, that I'm not the only one "failing" in this area.  But, my brain needs convinced from time to time.

Their main suggestion for "when the dark invades" is to hide away in God's goodness.  To quote them directly:

Hiding away in God's goodness and protection is an act of the will, choosing to turn my heart away from the dark and towards the light.

It seems so simple and intuitive, but when you're in the middle of the "fog" as I call it -- it's hard to remember.

While seeking the Lord in times like this is the main thing, they also gave a check-list (my favorite!) of how to assess your needs, including things like sleep, and exercise.

Finally, the chapter concludes, like all of them, with a video.  They all do a pretty good job summing up the chapter, but I particularly liked this one.  Enjoy!

Myrick the mechanic

One of the other things Myrick got to do at the Discovery Center we went to a couple weeks ago was be a mechanic! Micah helped him change some tires. So fun!

Not to beat a dead horse, or anything...

This blog post  by Nicole over at http://www.girltalkhome.com was very timely, with my readings in Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe lately.

It's all good, but one quote:

So when the time came and it really was my kid screaming for Cheetos in Giant Food, my mom’s advice was invaluable: “You shouldn’t be embarrassed when your child disobeys in public” she said. “He’s a child and he’s a sinner. That’s what they do. You should only be concerned if you aren’t faithfully training him to obey in private.”

In other words, we aren’t parenting for the crowd. We’re parenting for an audience of One.

Hope you're having a good week!

It's a war zone around here

Desperate - Chapter 4

Chapter 4, entitled, "Oh Right, There's Sin" takes a closer look at parenting the heart issues that I mentioned in my post about Chapter 3.

The main focus of the chapter seems to be Romans 7:19-20:  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.  But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

Some quotes from this chapter that stuck out to me:

• Honey, at what age did you stop sinning?  Because, that's when our children will stop.
• We need to offer them loads of grace and affirmation, so that they can be confident that we get it and we are on their teams.
• The home is a battlefield where sin and selfishness must be overcome, and that the taming, subduing, and civilizing of a home will be to a woman's honor.
• He desires to give us the strength to bring life into our homes and redeem them.
• But it is a choice you must make to not dwell in guilt, and to instead embrace God's helping hand.  You must choose with God's help to be a victor instead of a casualty.

Such good stuff!

Desperate - chapter 3

Before I start I just thought I'd share that my blog is now recognizing that I want to type the word "desperate" and auto filling it. Oh what it must think of me!! ;)

Ok- chapter 3 is "Formulas Don't Always Work." I kind of felt like last week's chapter didn't really apply to me, but boy oh boy was this one applicable!

I am such a scheduler, list maker, rule follower. To a fault, if I'm being completely honest. I joke about it regularly, writing it off as part of "my accountant brain."

But, in all truthfulness, this attachment to the ideal plan can be somewhat of an idol in my life if I am not careful. The whole, "man can not serve two masters" thing.

So, it was like parts of this chapter were written directly to me.

Sally, in discussing what Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and David were called to said, "None were called to do the logical or expected thing but rather to look to God, listen to His voice, and follow Him."

I love that that is true of my life as well. I don't have to have the whole day, week, year planned out in advance. Yes, it's good to not be negligent, but I need to be listening for God's call on my time and be willing to let go of my plans in favor of His.

But, what really stunk was realizing that I've tried to follow this routine/recipe addiction with my kids as well. In Sarah Mae's section, one quote that spoke to me was, "Our goal is always the heart. We think about how we can help our children understand their sin and then turn and follow good."

I know in my heart that that is my goal, but in practice I feel so far from it some days.

I think a lot of times my actions reveal that my goal is more to train my sweet little boys to not sin - a behavioral issue over a heart issue.

I should pause here and say that I realize they are 1 and 2 and I understand that a lot of what I am doing IS behavioral training, out of necessity. But, my confession is my heart attitude behind those goals. I like to think my motivating factor is because, "obedience is very best way to show you believe." By training them to obey consistently, cheerfully, quickly, and completely, I am preparing them to walk with the Lover of their souls.

But, on the hard days - my motivation is much more selfish. My head is dominated with thoughts of entitlement. I shouldn't have to pick up their toys. I shouldn't have to babysit them while they pick up so I'm sure it gets done sometime this decade. I should be able to have a phone conversation without being interrupted or having to correct. How ugly is that?

In short, I try (in vain) to train them to do the very thing I've not been able to accomplish in my own life - not sin. When instead, I ache to love and serve them in such a way that it draws them to the One who is without sin and can "cure" them, and me!


If you're looking for this kind of brutal revealing of your sins, you can buy this book here. Isn't God good to continue growing us, not leaving me in my ugliness?