I took a walk with Ellie after lunch. We were walking past trees and honeysuckle bushes, the sun was shining and the wind was rustling through the leaves. What a gorgeous day! However, we had to be careful of poison ivy as we stopped to smell the honeysuckles. As we walked, we talked about how perfect earth was before sin, and heaven.
Me: Someday, Jesus will come back, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth. And there won't be itchy poison ivy, or sticker bushes or bugs that bite us. And the bible says in heaven there won't be any death or pain or tears or sadness.
Ellie: But there will be gum!
I'm not sure if Ellie received a personal revelation from God about gum, or if she is just believing with faith ... but all custodians be forewarned ... they MAY be gum in heaven.
~JG
Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Grace
Ellie has been having a little trouble with obeying the first time. I'm sure she is the only 4 year old with this dilemma. We've talked to her and she knows the consequences when she doesn't obey the first time. She just gets distracted. By lots of things!
Sunday night I got home late with the kids. Caleb was so tired and got into bed right away. Ellie was much more energetic (HOW? Where does that energy come from?) and was dancing around upstairs. I told her to pick out jammies and get them on while I put Caleb to bed. 5 minutes later, I enter her room. She is sitting there playing in her underwear. Sigh! Even though this is the 4th time and she hasn't obeyed yet, I don't really want to go through with the spanking. We've had a LONG weekend with the Holy Spirit conference. It is late. Aaron isn't home yet. So, I get some jammies out for her.
She starts to tear up. "I don't want those jammies."
"Too bad," I say. "You had a chance to pick out your jammies and you didn't. Now you have to deal with what I pick out."
She manages to get on her jammies (which are perfectly fine and clean and not scratchy) with many tears. We get to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She is crying. Meltdown has begun. Because of the jammies.
I sigh, and decide to give her a choice. "Ellie, you did not listen and obey and there is a consequence for that. But I will give you a choice. You can either wear those jammies, even though you don't want to, or you can change jammies but get a spanking." She thinks. And thinks. And she chooses the spanking. The mind of a 4 year old never ceases to astound me.
So after the tooth brushing, we go in to her room.
"Can I get the spanking first?"
"No, we'll change into your new jammies and then get the spanking."
She tears up. And then she crawls into my lap and looks up at me with huge round eyes, framed with long wet eyelashes, and she says in a very small voice ... "Mommy ... you gonna give me grace?"
"What did you say?"
Again, the small voice asks, "You gonna give me grace?"
"Ellie, what does grace mean?"
She looks at me, eyes huge. Then the small voice says, "It's somefing ... God gives me ... that ... I don't deserve."
And I hug her so she doesn't see me smile or laugh. So precious! And as I hug her, I ask God what I should do. Because there are times for grace, but there are also times for justice! And she really didn't deserve grace at all! But what would I be teaching her about God if I denied her grace? That when she asks God for grace, He will deny her? When we ask God for grace and forgiveness, He gives it to us ... even though we don't deserve it.
"Yes, Ellie, I will give you grace."
The eyes are wide. "You will?!?"
"Yes, even though you don't deserve it at all."
"So I won't get a spanking?"
"No spanking. Even though you earned one. Can you do better at obeying right away the next time?"
She nods and enthusiastically gets out a different pair of jammies.
And I thought how appropriate for Easter week. Because Easter week is all about God's grace towards us. However, Ellie had to ask for her grace. If she hadn't asked for grace, she would've received justice. It's the same for us. We need to ask for God's grace ... or we will receive justice.
~JG
Sunday night I got home late with the kids. Caleb was so tired and got into bed right away. Ellie was much more energetic (HOW? Where does that energy come from?) and was dancing around upstairs. I told her to pick out jammies and get them on while I put Caleb to bed. 5 minutes later, I enter her room. She is sitting there playing in her underwear. Sigh! Even though this is the 4th time and she hasn't obeyed yet, I don't really want to go through with the spanking. We've had a LONG weekend with the Holy Spirit conference. It is late. Aaron isn't home yet. So, I get some jammies out for her.
She starts to tear up. "I don't want those jammies."
"Too bad," I say. "You had a chance to pick out your jammies and you didn't. Now you have to deal with what I pick out."
She manages to get on her jammies (which are perfectly fine and clean and not scratchy) with many tears. We get to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She is crying. Meltdown has begun. Because of the jammies.
I sigh, and decide to give her a choice. "Ellie, you did not listen and obey and there is a consequence for that. But I will give you a choice. You can either wear those jammies, even though you don't want to, or you can change jammies but get a spanking." She thinks. And thinks. And she chooses the spanking. The mind of a 4 year old never ceases to astound me.
So after the tooth brushing, we go in to her room.
"Can I get the spanking first?"
"No, we'll change into your new jammies and then get the spanking."
She tears up. And then she crawls into my lap and looks up at me with huge round eyes, framed with long wet eyelashes, and she says in a very small voice ... "Mommy ... you gonna give me grace?"
"What did you say?"
Again, the small voice asks, "You gonna give me grace?"
"Ellie, what does grace mean?"
She looks at me, eyes huge. Then the small voice says, "It's somefing ... God gives me ... that ... I don't deserve."
And I hug her so she doesn't see me smile or laugh. So precious! And as I hug her, I ask God what I should do. Because there are times for grace, but there are also times for justice! And she really didn't deserve grace at all! But what would I be teaching her about God if I denied her grace? That when she asks God for grace, He will deny her? When we ask God for grace and forgiveness, He gives it to us ... even though we don't deserve it.
"Yes, Ellie, I will give you grace."
The eyes are wide. "You will?!?"
"Yes, even though you don't deserve it at all."
"So I won't get a spanking?"
"No spanking. Even though you earned one. Can you do better at obeying right away the next time?"
She nods and enthusiastically gets out a different pair of jammies.
And I thought how appropriate for Easter week. Because Easter week is all about God's grace towards us. However, Ellie had to ask for her grace. If she hadn't asked for grace, she would've received justice. It's the same for us. We need to ask for God's grace ... or we will receive justice.
~JG
Friday, April 15, 2011
A very long walk
Yesterday, I kept Caleb home from school just for a break. We had a "mommy and son" morning and it was awesome! I don't get to spend as much time with just Caleb now that he's in school. :-( Since it was such a nice morning, we went for a walk. And then Caleb suggested that we run (so glad I wore my tennies and not flip flops!). So we actually ran quite a bit! (Caleb: "It's a great day for a run!") We took a different route than usual and ran down to Valley Elementary, Caleb's future school. There are some woods with a paved/gravel path running through across from the school ... and we've never been there before! So we decided to explore. AWESOME! The path runs right next to the Neshaminy Creek, so we scrambled up and down the creek bed, throwing rocks in, getting dirty, looking out for poison ivy (leaves of three ...), crossing natural tree bridges, looking at really cool tree roots, throwing more rocks in ... it was an absolutely fabulous and totally unplanned morning! We walked home, dirty and very tired, hand in hand, both totally happy. I love exploring with this awesome son of mine!!! So glad I took my phone, as I could get a few pictures. HAHA!
~JG
~JG
Thursday, April 7, 2011
"I can't take anymore stealing or blowing things up!"
This afternoon, Ellie and I played barbies. So after the "dressing them and doing their hair" stage of play (a pre-requisite for me ... I simply have issues with playing with naked and ratty-haired anythings), we entered the "create conflict" stage of play. Ellie is adamant about this. She loves to create conflict in the barbie world. Which is actually a good literary technique. I mean, what good book or story exists without conflict? Conflict drives the narrative. So, I'm okay with the conflict. Let's get jiggy with the barbie conflict.
"Mommy, you play with Rapunzel and I play with Ariel. And let's pretend that Rapunzel wants Ariel's skirt, so she steals it!" Ellie says this with zeal and excitement. Over and over. Yes, the only conflict that exists in barbie world, apparently, is the breaking of the 8th Commandment. (Come to think of it, that's the only real conflict in Polly Pocket world too ... hmmmm ...)
So Ariel leaves on an errand and Rapunzel sneaks into her house, steals her skirt (which is actually a pretty cool skirt, I must say) AND her shoes (likewise) and brings them back to her house. And then Rapunzel goes away on an errand, and Ariel comes and steals BACK the skirt and shoes!
Ellie is smiling. "Let's do it again! She steals the skirt AGAIN!"
Sigh. So we repeat the entire process, except this time Rapunzel is smart. She hides the said stolen skirt and shoes in the OVEN (or fuzzy red slipper) because no one will EVER think to look for a skirt in there! Ellie looks at me quizzically. But amazingly, when Rapunzel goes out on an errand (how many errands does a barbie have?), Ariel sneaks in and actually FINDS the skirt and shoes in the oven. Ariel is very perceptive. Rapunzel returns, and laments her actions. 'Maybe I shouldn't steal anymore,' she cries. 'Stealing is bad ...'
"Let's do it again!" squeals Ellie. "Let's pretend I go out on an errand and you come in and steal my skirt."
I sigh. I am tired of the stealing! Not just today, but every time we play, I am reduced to a thief. If my brain were more awake, I'd try a distraction technique - maybe try breaking a different Commandment. But alas, I was awake until 1:30 this morning reading "The Sin Eater" (sooooo amazingly good, which is why I couldn't stop!) so my brain levels are low. I throw in the towel.
"I'm tired of stealing, Ellie. I don't want to steal anymore."
"But I want you to steal."
"I don't like stealing, Ellie. Let's play something else instead."
"But I want you to steal! Let's pretend you steal my skirt 8 more times."
"No! I'm done stealing! I will not steal anymore!"
"But," she starts to cry, "I want you to steal!!!!"
This conversation is so weird. Finally, I just left Ellie in her room, with her little well-dressed barbie thieves. She cries, but eventually stops and finds something else to do. Sigh.
So, we pick Caleb up from school. He does his homework. And he wants to play. So I go into his room and we play Star Wars legos. He is the battle droids, and I am the 2 gungans. And we battle. For 10 minutes, I throw those little blue gungan ball-bombs at his little droids, and they blow up. And sometimes I use my mega-gun-cannon (which is really from Hoth, but who's counting?) at his droid ship and it blows up. For 10 minutes. Blowing things up. For 10 minutes. BHkEKWKWKLEKWKWKW (that's an explosion sound). For 10 minutes. He is happy as a clam. And I have 2 gungans who are blowing things up.
Finally, Ellie calls, asking me to help her wipe so she doesn't get poop on her hands. And I'm actually grateful! And I'm actually grateful that the dishwasher needs to be emptied and filled.
Sigh. I just can't take anymore stealing or blowing things up!
So after the kids were in bed, we watched part of Avatar ... which is all about stealing and blowing things up! Ahhhhhhh ... the irony.
~JG
~JG
"Mommy, you play with Rapunzel and I play with Ariel. And let's pretend that Rapunzel wants Ariel's skirt, so she steals it!" Ellie says this with zeal and excitement. Over and over. Yes, the only conflict that exists in barbie world, apparently, is the breaking of the 8th Commandment. (Come to think of it, that's the only real conflict in Polly Pocket world too ... hmmmm ...)
So Ariel leaves on an errand and Rapunzel sneaks into her house, steals her skirt (which is actually a pretty cool skirt, I must say) AND her shoes (likewise) and brings them back to her house. And then Rapunzel goes away on an errand, and Ariel comes and steals BACK the skirt and shoes!
Ellie is smiling. "Let's do it again! She steals the skirt AGAIN!"
Sigh. So we repeat the entire process, except this time Rapunzel is smart. She hides the said stolen skirt and shoes in the OVEN (or fuzzy red slipper) because no one will EVER think to look for a skirt in there! Ellie looks at me quizzically. But amazingly, when Rapunzel goes out on an errand (how many errands does a barbie have?), Ariel sneaks in and actually FINDS the skirt and shoes in the oven. Ariel is very perceptive. Rapunzel returns, and laments her actions. 'Maybe I shouldn't steal anymore,' she cries. 'Stealing is bad ...'
"Let's do it again!" squeals Ellie. "Let's pretend I go out on an errand and you come in and steal my skirt."
I sigh. I am tired of the stealing! Not just today, but every time we play, I am reduced to a thief. If my brain were more awake, I'd try a distraction technique - maybe try breaking a different Commandment. But alas, I was awake until 1:30 this morning reading "The Sin Eater" (sooooo amazingly good, which is why I couldn't stop!) so my brain levels are low. I throw in the towel.
"I'm tired of stealing, Ellie. I don't want to steal anymore."
"But I want you to steal."
"I don't like stealing, Ellie. Let's play something else instead."
"But I want you to steal! Let's pretend you steal my skirt 8 more times."
"No! I'm done stealing! I will not steal anymore!"
"But," she starts to cry, "I want you to steal!!!!"
This conversation is so weird. Finally, I just left Ellie in her room, with her little well-dressed barbie thieves. She cries, but eventually stops and finds something else to do. Sigh.
So, we pick Caleb up from school. He does his homework. And he wants to play. So I go into his room and we play Star Wars legos. He is the battle droids, and I am the 2 gungans. And we battle. For 10 minutes, I throw those little blue gungan ball-bombs at his little droids, and they blow up. And sometimes I use my mega-gun-cannon (which is really from Hoth, but who's counting?) at his droid ship and it blows up. For 10 minutes. Blowing things up. For 10 minutes. BHkEKWKWKLEKWKWKW (that's an explosion sound). For 10 minutes. He is happy as a clam. And I have 2 gungans who are blowing things up.
Finally, Ellie calls, asking me to help her wipe so she doesn't get poop on her hands. And I'm actually grateful! And I'm actually grateful that the dishwasher needs to be emptied and filled.
Sigh. I just can't take anymore stealing or blowing things up!
So after the kids were in bed, we watched part of Avatar ... which is all about stealing and blowing things up! Ahhhhhhh ... the irony.
~JG
~JG
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Our new toy!
We got a new toy! Yes, we got a trampoline. And man, is it fun! Ellie is really good at it! She's got the jumping on one foot, butt jumps, knee jumps, she's even trying some split jumps (ouch!) and loves doing "trampoline angels". Caleb is loving it too. I think I'm gonna go out in the mornings and jump ... great exercise!
We put it up yesterday ... 2 hours ... and then got to jump for 10 minutes before bedtime. Today we got to jump longer, even though it was cold!
I came inside and scrapbooked while the kids jumped. It's much warmer by the computer! HA! But it's taking too long to upload so will have to post it later.
Going to watch the middle installment of Avatar. I almost wish I was an alien so I could fly one of those cool bird-things. Almost. But then I remember, it's more much comfortable to watch someone fly than to actually do it. I mean, they have to use their quad muscles the whole time! Whew. I'll just watch and eat popcorn.
~JG
We put it up yesterday ... 2 hours ... and then got to jump for 10 minutes before bedtime. Today we got to jump longer, even though it was cold!
I came inside and scrapbooked while the kids jumped. It's much warmer by the computer! HA! But it's taking too long to upload so will have to post it later.
Going to watch the middle installment of Avatar. I almost wish I was an alien so I could fly one of those cool bird-things. Almost. But then I remember, it's more much comfortable to watch someone fly than to actually do it. I mean, they have to use their quad muscles the whole time! Whew. I'll just watch and eat popcorn.
~JG
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Ellie got married.
During Small Group last week, we adults were downstairs having a wonderful discussion about Sunday's sermon. Upstairs, the kids were planning a wedding. Yes, Elanor and Anthony tied the knot, and us parents weren't even invited. (Although, I doubt they remembered to obtain a Marriage License so the legality of their union is indeed questionable.) However, one of the kids was thoughtful enough to document the beautious ceremony with Caleb and Ellie's toddler digital camera. So we have pictures of the wedding party (Grace and Baron), the inevitable wedding brawl (Abby and Caleb, at the top of the stairs, which is a WONDERFUL and safe place to brawl - or play wrestle, or do whatever they were doing ... what WERE they doing?), and of course ... THE KISS! Because, as Ellie always says, Disney princesses always kiss and that means they are married. Well, Aaron did have a little talk about how THIS Disney princess should NOT be kissing. :-)
Bryan and Annick, be forewarned. Gracie is getting married next. She told me so.
Ahhhhh ... the many and varied joys of Small Group Life! Love it!
~JG
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I had time for a quick relaxing scrapbooking time while Aaron made chocolate chip cookies with the kiddos. Yum! Here's January! Wow, where has time gone already?
Caleb had a great time dancing this evening to "Move it, Move it." Amazing! What a workout! He suggested that we have a Dance contest (to see who can dance the longest) on Saturday. I said, Sounds good! So he went and put the event on his calendar that is hanging in his room. He didn't know how to spell Dance Contest so he just wrote "DC" on Saturday. Man, this boy is already putting his events on the calendar! I am training him well, and I didn't even know it!
~JG
Caleb had a great time dancing this evening to "Move it, Move it." Amazing! What a workout! He suggested that we have a Dance contest (to see who can dance the longest) on Saturday. I said, Sounds good! So he went and put the event on his calendar that is hanging in his room. He didn't know how to spell Dance Contest so he just wrote "DC" on Saturday. Man, this boy is already putting his events on the calendar! I am training him well, and I didn't even know it!
~JG
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