Heaven and Gum

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

Angry Birds takes a hit

Aaron preached in "Big Service" tonight. He did great!

On the way home, Caleb was in a super foul mood. He scowled at everyone, grunted to himself over and over again in the car, threw his coat on the floor ... I thought he was REALLY tired! So, got Ellie to bed quickly and then dealt with him. He was already in his pj's, grunting and groaning on his bed.

I asked him, "Is there a reason you are so mad?"

He replied, through clenched teeth, "I wanted to play Angry Birds with daddy."

"You were being so nasty and upset just because of Angry Birds?"

He nodded.

"Do you think Angry Birds is becoming a little TOO important too you, for you to be acting like this?"

He nodded.

And then I told him that when I feel something is becoming too important to me, more important than it should be, I fast it. Caleb asked what fasting was so we talked about that. I suggested that he should think about fasting Angry Birds, so that it doesn't become too important to him, and to remind him that God should always be more important.

And then we prayed - well, I prayed. And Caleb cried. When I finished, I said, "Caleb, I didn't say you HAD to fast. I'm not going to force you to fast something. That decision has to come from you and your heart in order for it to mean anything. You think about it and make your decision."

I gave him a big hug and kiss, and as I turned to leave, he said ... in a small voice ... "I think I should fast Angry Birds."

"Ok. You need to decide how long you will fast it for. A few days ... you let me know by tomorrow morning."

"I think a week ... or 2 weeks ..."

"Well, let's start with a week."

Sooooo ... Caleb is fasting Angry Birds for 1 week. Poor guy - he loves to play it so much! A bit too much. It will be a good thing that Aaron will be leaving this weekend for Kids Breakaway Camp ... he'll take his computer and cell phone with him. Caleb will have no access to Angry Birds!

I love this son that God has given to us. I reminds us to read the devotion book at breakfast (sometimes with an annoying chant ...), sings random bible songs at random times ... Yesterday he said to me at the mailbox, "Mom, remember when God talked to me and told me to put the money that should have gone for toys (his allowance) into the church slot?" That happened a few months ago. He told me God had talked to his heart about putting his allowance into the "church slot" in his bank. "Yes," I responded. "I remember too," he said. "That was cool." And then he ran into the house. I love this kid! I pray he always has a heart after God, just like David.

~JG

Brainstorming ... without the storm

Aaron asked me to come in to the office to help him brainstorm ideas for this Sunday. Unfortunately, there is noooooo storm going on in my brain today! The waters are still. Like a mirror. Not a creative ripple to stir the placid waters. No brainstorming today! Today is a laundry day. Yes, today is a day to embrace the mundane. With a cup of hot chocolate.

~JG

Ellie's prayer tonight ...

"God, please help us sleep well. And God, please take away our sins and throw them in the trash can. And please help our trash to go away. And please help the trash truck to drive to our house safely. And please help Aunt Brittany's babies to be well and Auntie Karina to get over her sickness (?) and please help Uncle Tim and Aunt Brittany to live in their new house well ... (and a few more I can't remember) ... Amen."

Jen is a Scrapbook SuperWoman!

Hey, everyone!

Jen is into digital scrapbooking (creating scrapbook pages on the computer) and uses a company called Scrapbooks to Share to print off her pages to put into the actual scrapbook. Well, she wrote in a testimonial to the website, and they put her on their front page! Here's the link to the website where Jen's pages are shown off: http://sbtoshare.com/

See the testimonial at the bottom of the home page and be sure to click on the "Printing" page to see one half way down the page!

My wife is an awesome digital scrapbooker!

~AG

We finally saw Santa!

Well, we finally visited Santa Claus. It's never been a big deal to either me or Aaron to have our kids visit Santa ... the malls are so commercial and the pictures are outrageously expensive! And I don't want to push Santa at Christmas anyways. Last year, I asked the kids if they wanted to visit Santa and they said "no." This year I asked if they wanted to visit Santa and they said "yes." So we went to the Bucks County Visitor Center, visited Santa, Caleb told Santa he wanted a dragon toy and Ellie said she wanted a Tiana Polly Pocket and Charlotte barbie, we took our own pictures (none of which turned out fabulous, but then, do any candid pictures of young children turn out fabulous?). We then looked at all the Christmas trees on display and had a great time! All in all, I think it turned out nice. The kids got to visit Santa but it was low-key and relaxing. And the trees on display were beautiful!

The kids are in bed, Aaron is having fun with the guys at church watching football (alas to the Metrodome!!! How sad! It's such a part of the Mpls skyline!), and I scrapbooked. A relaxing end to the day. Well, mostly. I really need to clean our room! Off to do that now!


~JG

Kraiz

Just finished Kraiz scrapbook pages. Yeah for Grandpa Dick with a nice camera! Now off to unload the dishwasher. Booooo. Well, ok, Praise God for dishwashers!

~JG

Kraiz

Yes, today was our Kraiz performance in "big" church! The first time we've gotten to see Caleb sing! Hurrah! I was so excited! And he did great. The entire choir did great - the actors did great. There wasn't any snaffoo - no mics fell off, no one fainted (like last year), everyone remembered their lines ... it was all lovely! Ellie got up with Dylan towards the end to sing "Happy Birthday Jesus" and she actually sang! (I was a bit worried after yesterday's practice where she perfected a petulant and very silent pout during the entire song ... she "wasn't ready" ... but she sang great today! She didn't even flash the audience with her spinny dress.) Alas, we got nothing on camera worthy of America's Funniest Home Video. I guess that $100,000 grand prize will have to wait.

Here are some pictures (thanks to Grandpa Dick's awesome camera!) ...

Caleb singing - very seriously.

Ellie and Dylan singing "Happy Birthday Jesus"

More singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" (and Caleb is Joseph - he only poked Jesus' head once trying to make him comfy in the manger - Caleb and Isabella are both very "Type A" - they were both very responsible parents!)

Afterwards

Wait Caleb and Eric were doing after Kraiz while we cleaned up and put away mics and such ... ahh to be young again ... and able to fit under pews again ...

Now to RELAX!!!

~JG

Charlie Brown Christmas

I read this on Focus on the Family and thought it was so true!

By Jim Daly

I was only four years old on the night of Thursday, December 9, 1965 (45 years ago!), but to this day, I can tell you where I was and what I was doing - watching the debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas on CBS in our southern California home.

It was an instant hit, much to the surprise of network executives, but surely not to me. (I assumed the whole world was watching!) Creator Charles Schulz argued with the bosses at CBS over a host of issues. At the time of its creation, studio personnel thought it was too religious (Linus quotes Luke 2:8-14) and too amateur (all the voices were of kids, not professional actors). They also believed the theme music was too contemporary for kids’ tastes (Vince Guaraldi’s jazz soundtrack is now a classic and instantly recognizable by all) and that the lack of a laugh track left the production feeling flat and too contemplative, but in an overly simplistic kind of way.

Isn’t it interesting that all the things we like about it are the very things Hollywood didn’t?

It's a miracle!

Aaron put Ellie to bed tonight and this was their conversation ...

Ellie: I want to listen to the CD about the White Witch and about Aslan the lion ...

Aaron: You mean, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?

Ellie: Yeah. I just can't say Wardrobe.

Aaron: You just said it! You just said wardrobe.

Ellie: (pause) HaHa! It's a MIRACLE! It's a miracle of Jesus!


Gotta love those little unexpected miracles whenever they show up! Ha!

~JG

Star Wars Action Figures + Cheerios + Overhead Transparency = Zacchaeus story

I couldn't sleep last night, so as I lay awake, I pondered what new way to tell the Zacchaeus story. And I came up with the combination of Star Wars action figures, cereal and an overhead transparency. OF COURSE! The perfect combination! And what's better ... Caleb agreed to help me tell the story! Awesome!

Point of the story: Show how Zacchaeus didn't just say he'd change ... he did it. Good intentions are not enough.

So, the day started with the kids asking what the overhead projector was. Man, I feel so old. They probably think a slide projector is a historical artifact.

Anyways, I started the story with Yoda as Zacchaeus, laid on top of the overhead (so we could see his shadow up on the stage screen), and showed how Zacchaeus, as a tax collector, was stealing money from people. He charged Han Solo 1 silver coin (or cheerio), but took another silver coin (or cheerio) for himself. Then Caleb got to eat the Cheerios. Then Yoda charged the Storm Trooper 2 cheerios of tax, and took 2 cheerios for himself. And Caleb ate. Then Yoda charged Leia 5 cheerios of tax, and stole 5 cheerios for himself. And Caleb ate.

Then I briefly told the action part of the story, we all sang the song, and we got to the part where Zacchaeus changed. I told the kids, "Something happened in Zacchaeus's heart. He didn't want to steal anymore. In fact, he told Jesus that he was going to give back all that he stole!"

Immediately, I heard Caleb mutter under his breath, "I don't know how I'm gonna get all those Cheerios out of my belly ..."

And I lost it. I just started laughing. Really laughing. And everyone looked at me like I was nuts, 'cuz they couldn't hear what Caleb had said. So of course, I had to tell them. And then they laughed. But, I think they all laughed more at me laughing than what Caleb actually had said. I laughed so hard I started to cry. Ahhhhh ... it's been awhile since a good guffaw like that. Well, I did get my composure and finished the story. Zacchaeus paid back 4 times what he had stolen. So Yoda went to Han Solo and paid him back 4 cheerios (Caleb counted them all out from his bowl) ... gave 8 to Storm Trooper ... and then we just dumped the bowl on Leia. Then Caleb got to eat them all again. The Cheerios, not the action figures.

It was a fun story. I like working with Caleb! He's funny! He is a great gift from God!

That just goes to show you ... you never know what you can do with 3 weird items. Try it. Pick out 3 weird things in your house and just see what story you can tell! It might just make you laugh!

~JG

Snake Chores

Ellie gets into the car after school and spies a bendy wooden snake toy on the floor of the car. She cries, "My snake!!!" (even though she hasn't really played with it for quite awhile - Caleb was last seen with it). And as we start our short drive home, she sits in her car seat and we have the following conversation.

Ellie: "My baby snake is tired because he has lots of chores at his house."

Jen: "Oh, what are his chores?"

Ellie: (starts to list them ... these are only a few of the chores, I can't remember the rest) "He has to clean the laundry! And fix the car. And he has to build a playground. And chop down trees to build houses. And make roofs. And go up in a balloon into space. And make food. And build a smokestack (How does she know what a smokestack is?). And fix fences because his fence fell down. And grow grass. And plant bulbs to grow into flowers."

Jen: "That's a lot of chores! (I'm finding it amazing that a snake really can accomplish all those chores in a given day, especially since he has no arms or legs to speak of!)"

Ellie: "Mommy snake has only a few chores. She has 5 chores. #1 is climbing up trees. #2 is doing the laundry. #3 is she never has to clean up (yeah!) because her kids never play. #4 is she has to make brick houses. #5 is she never can hit (well, that's a nice rule ...) because she doesn't have any hands ( ... or practical)."

And the conversation ends because we arrive home.

I am so glad I am not a snake.

~JG

What IDIOT is in charge of retail?!?!?!?

Ok, so I know that the retail rulers try to shove Christmas down our throats before we've even bought our Halloween costumes. Each year it disgusts me, but I have accepted it as a reality. But really, today was just a new low. Ellie and I went out after lunch to find her a nice Christmas dress for Kraiz. Now, I am not used to buying nice Christmas dresses, as I usually find something at the fall consignment sale. And I did find one at the fall consignment sale. But it isn't really NICE - like performing on stage NICE ... because I did not know I would need that kind of NICE back then. And now I do, sooooo, the search in retail began.

We searched through a few of the pillar children's stores - Children's Place for example. But alas, all they had was one sorry rack of left over "Christmas" apparel (not really Christmas-y) and they would not be getting anymore in. Other stores did not have a huge selection (I mean really, is a red or green or black poofy dress too much to ask for?)... or their one nice dress was waaaaay too much. So I thought, really? REALLY? It's still before Thanksgiving! Is it impossible to find a Christmas dress even NOW? I am not ready to think Christmas before Halloween!!! Too much PRESSURE!!!

Sigh. But thank God for Sears. Yes, Sears still had a nice selection of Christmas dresses. In fact, we found 3, YES THREE, that would fit the bill (figuratively and literally). So Ellie tried those dresses on (what girl doesn't love that?) and picked out the one she liked best (of course, I had already pre-approved each selection beforehand! Can't give the wee one TOO much power ...). And NOW we have a Christmas dress.

I guess I should be looking for a swimsuit in the next few weeks or those might run out too.

~JG

"Strong Love"

We had the kiddos pictures taken on Saturday ... and they were just so cute that I took a few pictures myself. I liked how they turned out. I really love how they show Caleb and Ellie together. Caleb and Ellie really seem to love each other - they play with each other all the time and are a comedic force to be reckoned with at meals! I absolutely love to watch their love for each other. I know relationships change as we grow, but I pray that they will always LOVE each other. (And here's praying, Tim and Britt, that Bitty G Grape Babies will always love each other too!!!)

Here's a scrapbook page that I did tonight ... my way of unwinding after a more-than-usual stressful day at church (due to performing a monologue - which as awesome and great but emotionally taxing as well ... as all drama is!). Yeah for digital scrapbooking!



And now to further relax, here's to reading a "Choose your own Adventure" book that I found at the thrift store!!! Score! I LOVED these as a kid! I always tried to find the good endings and work my way backwards ...maybe that's how my "snerking" habit began (for those who are unaware of what "snerking" means, it is Aaron's term for Jenny's veracious habit of skipping ahead in books). I already read one possible ending with Caleb. Let's see if I can choose a more fatal adventure this time! MWAH HAHA!

~JG