Not my husband!

Okay, for those of you wondering who the passenger was in my previous post, please know that it was not my husband. Paul is extremely sensitive and would have addressed the issue differently. See...here I go again with that mother hen thing. :)

From Basketball to Jail

Tonight Caleb informed us that HE needs to vote next week. I was quite surprised at his topic of conversation...this all happening coming home from dinner and open house at his school.

"What's that guy's name again?" he asked.

"McCain?" I answered. Only to hear a reply of, "No mom, the other guy...I know who John McCain is." (Well, excuse me!!!) "Barack Obama?"

"Yeah, that's him. I'm going to vote for him."

Okay, now my curiosity was in full swing. Of course, this mother hen gets her feathers ruffled just thinking of how someone may be persuading my kid on political issues, yada, yada, yada.

"Tell me why you are voting for Obama, Caleb."

"Because he plays basketball when he is bored. And he didn't go to jail."

"Well McCain didn't go to jail either."....only to hear a defensive little boy tell me he most certainly did. Then I realized this was his interpretation of a P.O.W.

Wow. Talking about an interesting discussion on the way home!!! After clarifying "jail" to him, I told him that we shouldn't vote on a person if they can play basketball, fight in a war, or what they look like. It shouldn't be because they are a man or a woman, but to vote only how God would have us vote...being to only vote for the person who best believes what guidelines the Bible has. I was trying to be very careful about which "moral subject" to address when another passenger says, "one who believes that killing babies are wrong." Okay, I would have gotten to that issue, but now my son is freaked out that someone wants to kill babies...babies that are in 'their mommy's tummy, and they die, but not the mommy, and it is a bad doctor who helps with that, and how do they do that', and on and on and on. For those of you who know Caleb, you can imagine all of his questions.

Let's just say...my head hurts now. :)

So with that, I urge everyone to go vote next week. I would say vote with your head, but I know we don't ask for wisdom like we should,...I know I don't anyway. I would say vote with your heart, but I know our hearts are sinful. So you must vote with Biblical guidelines. In the end, God isn't going to care about what we thought, or about how we felt...but rather if we were obedient in keeping His word.

"Mama's Cafe"

The kids are really into pretending these days and to make a long story short, I looked out to see and hear them(since our windows were raised due to the nice weather) sitting at their picnic table, pretending to order from a waitress. You should have seen their faces when "Cricket" walks out with a pad and pencil to welcome them to "Mama's Cafe," a small, yet quaint, hole in the wall created in Montana. It took them no time to jump into character...all 3 weary travelers full of their own story...one from Chicago, one little mama from Houston who had babies to take care of, and the other one from Texas as well. When I asked Bailey, I mean Sally, what part of Texas she was from, she sipped her water and said, "the middle." :) You should have heard the very creative, detailed lives of these three. It blessed my heart so much that we played for hours. I was really amazed at their imaginations. More amazed to be waken early this morning by my 6 year old asking if we could play "Mama's Cafe" again. It made me smile and tear up to realize just how much they want my attention and my interaction. What is even sadder is that is what God wants from me too. Ouch...who needed a sermon today, ...especially when you have 3 weary travelers stopping by for a bite to eat!

Different Stages

Wow...what a day. I recently picked up watching a 9 month old little boy for a girlfriend who just started teaching. His name is Beau and his story is beautiful. Our friends added him to their family a couple of months ago. Beau is biracial-half black and half Puerto Rican...yes, he has amazing skin! His story is to be very special...a Christian doctor talked a young, raped, mother out of aborting him, and well...he is here today. He is now in a Christian home with a vivacious older sister and two parents who love him dearly. I get the pleasure of enjoying the 9 months+ stages all over again. I am sad to say that I really don't remember those stages with my girls. I guess with two of them, I was just trying to half-way survive all of the diapers, bottles, cries, spit-ups, ...you get the picture. Of course, I remember Caleb's, but that is no surprise since he is the first child. We all know how "the first child thing" goes. ...the first smile, the first word, the first crawl, the first walk, the list goes on and on. From picking up rocks on a snowy day, (only to later realize they were rabbit poop) to biting Jackson, over and over, and over again. Ah, let's not forget the Rotavirus, the first climb up the stairs, the first time to eat solids, the first time to suck his thumb. :) Erin will never forget the first time he poured his oatmeal over his head!

But now that I am really thinking about it, I do remember some of the girl's first. The first time Bailey walked (well, it was more like a run. hmmm...go figure!) The first time she crawled out of her crib and out her bedroom door that was at the top of the stairs. The first time she broke her arm. ...I'm seeing a trend here. Then there is Keat. I remember the first time I realized that Keaton couldn't stand on her own, the first time she walked with her braces, that awful "Hand,Foot, & Mouth" virus that actually lead to her legs healing, and the very first time she ran! Today, she actually runs better than either of her siblings.

Of course, I remember some of the not so good moments, but I guess if we didn't have those, we wouldn't realize what the good ones were. So I guess, I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I am enjoying their stage NOW...Caleb losing teeth, Bailey riding without training wheels, and Keaton singing/screaming "How Great is Our God."

You know,...it may not be as much as not remembering as it is taking the time out to recall the moments. I think that is what I am going to do with Beau...every new phase with him, I will take the time to remember those time with my own children. How blessed can I be to relive them twice!

All in a Day's Work

As we are STILL waiting on Bailey's latest diagnosis, I am up to my ears in laundry, cooking, and the typical house cleaning. When your child has some weird infection of the bowel...you freak, grab the can of Lysol and before you know it, your other kids are high on fumes. (but hey, the house smells clean!)

All the while, I am trying to treat myself to some type of normalcy and blog a little when I hear..."mom, can you wipe me?!?" And now the treat becomes a trick!

Ah, the joys of motherhood...all in a day's work!

Out of the Mouth of Babes!

What did we ever do before children? I mean, really! Our lives are so blessed by these little blessings-of-God, make-me-pull-my-hair-out, screamers, boo-boo producing angels!!! Just the other night at dinner we asked Caleb to pray. Of course we are against memorized prayers and encourage all of them to pray from their heart. Being that Bailey has been sick, Paul and I bowed our heads, assuming that he would be thankful for the meal and possibly ask for healing for his sister. Oh no...that must not have been on his heart because this is what he prayed...

Yes, he prayed for the food, and then he asked prayer for all of his indians. (Paul and I both squint an eye open and look at each other for some kind of confused confirmation.)

"...and God, I pray for all of my indians, because in the Bible, you say to pray for our indians."


We smile and instruct him that the correct word is enemies, but God wants us to pray for Indians, too! Oh, it made our hearts smile. Paul immediately said that I had to tell Hetal! So our dear friend, Hetal...this one is for you!

Power is On!

Most of my family received power last night, (only after I had finished all but one load of laundry)! Patty had some major damage to her home and due to the water still in it, she can not turn her electricity on at the moment. Ray is still without power in Houston, but hears that it may come up by Monday. Lumberton school is scheduled to resume next Wednesday, and so hopefully a routine will be established once again. As for now, we are just chillin' out and enjoying this MidWestern weather God has sent our way in the midst of the power outages. I hope people can truly see what a miracle that is...we were in the high 90s the week prior to Hurricane Ike, and expect to be back there in a week or so. Hopefully everyone will have power to chill themselves by then. Thank you God for cool breezes!