5:00 - Just got home from a long day of running errands with the girls to find that we had no power in the house. Because of past history in our area I knew that the power could be off for hours or days so I began to form a game plan for the evening. Looking at my grubby little girls I decided that baths were most important and I wanted to get them over with before it got dark. So I got both girls in the bath.
5:25 - Amber had all she could take of Peyton pouring water over her head and demanded to be taken out so I got her dried off and into her PJ's and then quickly did the same for Peyton. Next step of the game plan was to clean the house up a bit. I had company coming for the weekend and not knowing how much longer I would have daylight I grabbed the 409 and hit the bathrooms, not soon after I hear a cat fight break out in the living room. Amber was apparently trying to take the baby doll stroller from Peyton and no matter how hard I tried to get her to play with another toy she was not having it, so I eventually had to take the stroller away which lead to even more tears so what did I do? What any good mother would do... I flipped on Sesame Street and hoped they would get over it. (the power came back on by the way) It seemed to be working so I went back to the bathrooms.
6:00 - Peyton came wondering in asking if she could color so I stopped what I was doing and got her set up on the kitchen table which only led to Amber fussing because she too wanted to be sitting at the kitchen table. As I was getting out the coloring book Amber had already climbed on top of the chair and onto the table. I decided maybe this would be a good time for dinner to I placed Amber in her highchair and began to heat up hot dogs. I cut the hot dogs up and poured them on her tray along with some blueberries and handed her a fork. I figured she would be happy there for a bit so I went back to work.
6:10 - I hear Amber starting to complain so I rushed out to the kitchen to find that she had squashed every blueberry on her tray and rubbed them in her hair. Back into the bath she goes.
6:20 - Amber is clean and dressed...again... so I sit her in front of Sesame street and leave to start a load of laundry. Mins later I hear a very scary sound...the scariest of all sounds for a mom and that is the sound of "silence." No good shall come from long periods of "silence." So I rush back into the living room to find that Amber had found a bottle of Snapple and some how manged to figure out how to twist the top off of it and had poured the whole bottle all over herself. I take off her 2nd pair of PJs for the evening and go in search of the third pair.
6:22 - In the laundry room trying to find a clean pair of jammies when I hear another interesting sound coming from the kitchen. I rush in and find Amber on top of a chair sifting through a box of markers on the counter. I decided she would probably be ok for one more sec while I found a pair of clean PJs.
6:23 - Found a pair! Walk into the kitchen to find Amber holding a permanent Black marker which she had successfully taken the cap off of. She saw me coming for it so she looked me square in the eyes and as quick as she could she marked a long black line across her bare chest. NO! I shouted and grabbed a baby wipe and tried to get it off. No such luck (if a baby wipe can't get it off nothing will, those things can get spots out of the carpet.) So I decided what the heck and put her third pair of clean jammies on her for the night. By the way, this whole time she is screaming and trying to slap me in the face, which is becoming more of a trend these days. ugh. So I get her to calm down by giving her a sippy cup of juice and sat her once again in front of Elmo hoping this time she would stay there.
6:45 - I finally finish the bathrooms and peak in to check on the girls. Amber was sitting in front of elmo holding her sippy cup in one hand and the lid to it in the other. Somehow, once again, she had managed to twist off the lid to the sippy cup and spill it all over herself. How is this possible!!! My three year old can not even twist off the lid to a sippy cup! I asses the spillage and decide most of it got on the carpet and she was only a little wet so she could stay in her PJS (plus I knew she didn't have any more clean ones anyways) but it was indeed time for her to go to bed. I had had about as much as I could handle for one night!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
New Discoveries
Amber has been growing and changing at a rapid rate these days. I am calling this month of her life the month of new discoveries because it seems as though everyday she is learning something new. One of her favorite discoveries has been her legs and she has learned how to use them very well, which is driving mom crazy! I chase after her all day long and if I turn my back on her for one sec. she is out of sight, up the stairs, down the street, on top of the kitchen table, I don't underestimate what she can or will do these days in fear of her safety.
She has also learned the word NO! When she says it (which is ALL DAY LONG) its not just no, its a very high pitched shrieking NOOOOOOOO! So its kind of cute and hard not to laugh at but I am trying to bite my lip and teach her that that behavior is not acceptable in this house. So far no success.
A few nights ago while we were eating dinner around the table she must have realized for the first time that she was the only one that did not have a fork and she was not pleased about this at all. After much shrieking and crying I finally figured out what she wanted and she has been eating with a fork everyday since, she is not bad at it either and it makes dinnertime last a bit longer for mom and dad.
Mom's least favorite new activity that Amber has discovered is pulling open the bottom drawers of the girls dresser and unloading all that is inside. Poor Peyton has been wearing wrinkled clothes lately because of the many times they have been in piles on the floor.
By far Amber's favorite new discovery this month has been the ocean. Due to the beautiful weather lately and the fact that we live within walking distance from the beach it has been hard to keep us away. Now that Amber is able to walk around she has discovered that not far from the beach towel is water, and she loves the water! So I spend most of the time chasing her up and down the beach so that she does not get washed away. So much for the days that I could sit and relax on a beach towel and watch her eat sand.
But my very favorite thing about this month is that my children are learning to love each other! They are finally able to play nicely together and is blesses my heart. The other day I heard them laughing in their room and Peyton was sitting in her doll stroller and Amber was pushing her around the room. They love giving zurberts on each others tummies and chasing each other around the house. Last night I was about to put Amber to bed and Peyton came running after me practically in tears saying "she forgot to give her sissy a kiss goodnight." So sweet. Maybe they will be friends after all.
She has also learned the word NO! When she says it (which is ALL DAY LONG) its not just no, its a very high pitched shrieking NOOOOOOOO! So its kind of cute and hard not to laugh at but I am trying to bite my lip and teach her that that behavior is not acceptable in this house. So far no success.
A few nights ago while we were eating dinner around the table she must have realized for the first time that she was the only one that did not have a fork and she was not pleased about this at all. After much shrieking and crying I finally figured out what she wanted and she has been eating with a fork everyday since, she is not bad at it either and it makes dinnertime last a bit longer for mom and dad.
Mom's least favorite new activity that Amber has discovered is pulling open the bottom drawers of the girls dresser and unloading all that is inside. Poor Peyton has been wearing wrinkled clothes lately because of the many times they have been in piles on the floor.
By far Amber's favorite new discovery this month has been the ocean. Due to the beautiful weather lately and the fact that we live within walking distance from the beach it has been hard to keep us away. Now that Amber is able to walk around she has discovered that not far from the beach towel is water, and she loves the water! So I spend most of the time chasing her up and down the beach so that she does not get washed away. So much for the days that I could sit and relax on a beach towel and watch her eat sand.
But my very favorite thing about this month is that my children are learning to love each other! They are finally able to play nicely together and is blesses my heart. The other day I heard them laughing in their room and Peyton was sitting in her doll stroller and Amber was pushing her around the room. They love giving zurberts on each others tummies and chasing each other around the house. Last night I was about to put Amber to bed and Peyton came running after me practically in tears saying "she forgot to give her sissy a kiss goodnight." So sweet. Maybe they will be friends after all.
Cinderella
Never in my best dreams would I have ever though that my daughter would love Cinderella more than I do. And those that know me, know that I LOVE CINDERELLA. For me it started when I was a child and my father used to call me Kenderella and I felt nothing short of a princess when he did that, so ever since Cinderella has been my favorite Disney character. So much so, that Brandon asked me to marry him in front of the castle at Disneyland and I believe his exact words after getting down on his knees were "Will you be my Cinderella forever?". We even had a Cinderella wedding...well as much Cinderella as I could get away with and not be too cheesy but, a special moment that I will never forget was our first dance to "So this is love." So there is a little past history on my love for Cinderella and why I would want to share it with my daughter.
Well it all started a few weeks ago when I decided Peyton was finally old enough to appreciate watching Cinderella for the first time. We got in our jammies and snuggled up on the couch with bowls of ice cream and popcorn. I was determined to make this a magical moment for the two of us. I expected her to loose interest half way through (once the popcorn was gone) but she didn't, she was glued to the movie and when it ended she gave me a huge hug and said "Mommy that was the greatest movie I have ever seen." I was a puddle on the floor. Since that night she has watched Cinderella almost every day. A few days ago she began randomly quoting the movie and singing the songs and just yesterday she decided that she, in fact, WAS Cinderella. If you tried to call her Peyton she would politely correct you and say "You mean Cinderella." (Oh Boy, What have I created?) So not going to lie, I got her to help me pull weeds in the yard yesterday because I told her Step Mother told her to do so. As we were pulling weeds she was chattering away about the mice and the birds and the mean cat and the ugly step sisters and her step mother that was very sad. Sad? "Why is the step mother and step sisters sad?" I asked her, and then my three year old had a profound thought, she said "because they never go out of their house so they don't have any friends and they are lonely." Isn't that so true! Relationships are the most important thing in this life! Way to often we get caught up in our own world and our own schedule and don't make time for other people and then we wonder why we are so sad and lonely. Once again, the world could learn a lot from a three year old...and Cinderella.
Well it all started a few weeks ago when I decided Peyton was finally old enough to appreciate watching Cinderella for the first time. We got in our jammies and snuggled up on the couch with bowls of ice cream and popcorn. I was determined to make this a magical moment for the two of us. I expected her to loose interest half way through (once the popcorn was gone) but she didn't, she was glued to the movie and when it ended she gave me a huge hug and said "Mommy that was the greatest movie I have ever seen." I was a puddle on the floor. Since that night she has watched Cinderella almost every day. A few days ago she began randomly quoting the movie and singing the songs and just yesterday she decided that she, in fact, WAS Cinderella. If you tried to call her Peyton she would politely correct you and say "You mean Cinderella." (Oh Boy, What have I created?) So not going to lie, I got her to help me pull weeds in the yard yesterday because I told her Step Mother told her to do so. As we were pulling weeds she was chattering away about the mice and the birds and the mean cat and the ugly step sisters and her step mother that was very sad. Sad? "Why is the step mother and step sisters sad?" I asked her, and then my three year old had a profound thought, she said "because they never go out of their house so they don't have any friends and they are lonely." Isn't that so true! Relationships are the most important thing in this life! Way to often we get caught up in our own world and our own schedule and don't make time for other people and then we wonder why we are so sad and lonely. Once again, the world could learn a lot from a three year old...and Cinderella.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Things parents shouldn't do
Yes its true, and even healthy to admit every once in awhile that we parents make mistakes! But in our household those mistakes are mostly made by my husband....ha ha ha...NOT! I was sadly reminded of this fact a few days ago! but first let me tattle-tell on Brandon because that is more fun anyways...don't worry I will get to me.
A few weekends back we decided to go on a family picnic. I had just spent the day cleaning out the shed and found a wicker picnic basket that was given to us for our wedding. I thought it would be fun to pack up dinner and walk to the park with our authentic picnic basket and have some fun family time. As I was doing the last min packing (If you are a mom you understand what this means. Running around the house like a crazy person trying to think of anything you might need that would make this outing easier on you. Grabbing things like jackets, a change of clothes, your child's favorite drink, toys, and lollipops in case of an emergency bribing session. This process is very important because if you forget anything your entire trip may be ruined and end in tears and tantrums and I am not talking about the kids!) Brandon was outside loading the kids into the double stroller...unattended I might add. The evening was beautiful, the sea breeze was sweet. We took off singing "the ants go marching" it was perfect. Well almost. The stupid authentic wicker picnic basket was to big and heavy to fit in the bottom of the stroller so after watching Brandon make many failed attempts of holding onto the heavy basket with one hand and pushing the stroller with the other I offered to push the stroller and Brandon carried the picnic basket. We happily made it all the way to the last crosswalk before the park and I realized that the curb for the crosswalk was rather high and I was going to need some momentum to get over it. So I sped up and gave the stroller a strong push but instead of the stroller going over the curb it full force hit it and Peyton went flying out of the stroller onto the sidewalk! Of course my first reaction was to cradle my crying daughter in my loving arms and kiss the injury's....well ok maybe not my first reaction...My first reaction was to yell at my husband of course... "You didn't strap her in! What are you thinking?" Peyton's foot was bleeding and scratched up in several places and I made the mistake of showing her the blood which made her cry even harder. So Brandon scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way to the park. I got the stroller safely over the curb with Amber still in it. Concerned about Peyton's foot I began walking quickly to catch up with them when all of the sudden I felt the weight change in the stroller and I stopped and looked down and Amber had slid down into the basket of the stroller. In disbelief I thought, He didn't strap her in either?! I yelled at the top of my lungs "This is why you aren't allowed to be alone with these kids for any significant amount of time because they might die!!!" It was at that moment that I noticed a nice elderly couple walking by us with disapproving glances...oops. We asked Peyton if she wanted to go home and she said no. So we stayed at the park despite the constant complaining and crying out "I miss my foot!" which I thought was very philosophical of her. Brandon feeling a tad bit guilty I am sure, told her we could stop for ice cream on the way home and that seemed to heal it right up. I of course forgave Brandon but not without telling the story to several friends and family and giving him a hard time for the next few days. Brandon told me later that he made the conscious decision to not strap them in because he decided that they were old enough now. Whatever!
Ok so fast forward to this weekend...this is my failed parent story...told you I would get to it...So I was vacuuming the house. Amber is our little scardy cat. She is scared of a lot of random things like, a voice talking back to her on the telephone, or when mom has a towel on her head after the shower and Santa Clause, Easter Bunny forget it but, nothing is more frightening to her than the vacuum. So the moment she saw me getting the horrible thing out she hurried into her bedroom to hide. Peyton loves to "help" me vacum so she was "helping" and I could tell Amber was feeling left out. She wanted to be apart but just couldn't get up the nerve. I watched her out of the corner of my eye peeking around the doorway at us but then jumping back in if we got anywhere near her. It was pretty cute. When we were all finished vacuuming I thought I would have a little "fun." I waited by Amber's door for her to peek out again and I was going to pretend to push the vacuum towards her. (I know mean huh?) Well instead of her peeking out this time she must have finally got up the nerve to walk out of the doorway and she walked right into the vacuum...not knowing that it was there she freaked out and thinking that she was running back through the doorway she ran smack into the wall!!! In just the few sec that it took me to get to her and scoop her screaming body up I could see a huge bump already forming on her forehead. Boy...did I feel horrible and of course Brandon did not go light on the guilt trips.
So the moral of the story...we are not perfect. At least our kids forgive us and still love us despite our faults. Well at least for now they do, I don't even want to think about the teenage years. I try to pretend that those don't exist for us.
A few weekends back we decided to go on a family picnic. I had just spent the day cleaning out the shed and found a wicker picnic basket that was given to us for our wedding. I thought it would be fun to pack up dinner and walk to the park with our authentic picnic basket and have some fun family time. As I was doing the last min packing (If you are a mom you understand what this means. Running around the house like a crazy person trying to think of anything you might need that would make this outing easier on you. Grabbing things like jackets, a change of clothes, your child's favorite drink, toys, and lollipops in case of an emergency bribing session. This process is very important because if you forget anything your entire trip may be ruined and end in tears and tantrums and I am not talking about the kids!) Brandon was outside loading the kids into the double stroller...unattended I might add. The evening was beautiful, the sea breeze was sweet. We took off singing "the ants go marching" it was perfect. Well almost. The stupid authentic wicker picnic basket was to big and heavy to fit in the bottom of the stroller so after watching Brandon make many failed attempts of holding onto the heavy basket with one hand and pushing the stroller with the other I offered to push the stroller and Brandon carried the picnic basket. We happily made it all the way to the last crosswalk before the park and I realized that the curb for the crosswalk was rather high and I was going to need some momentum to get over it. So I sped up and gave the stroller a strong push but instead of the stroller going over the curb it full force hit it and Peyton went flying out of the stroller onto the sidewalk! Of course my first reaction was to cradle my crying daughter in my loving arms and kiss the injury's....well ok maybe not my first reaction...My first reaction was to yell at my husband of course... "You didn't strap her in! What are you thinking?" Peyton's foot was bleeding and scratched up in several places and I made the mistake of showing her the blood which made her cry even harder. So Brandon scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way to the park. I got the stroller safely over the curb with Amber still in it. Concerned about Peyton's foot I began walking quickly to catch up with them when all of the sudden I felt the weight change in the stroller and I stopped and looked down and Amber had slid down into the basket of the stroller. In disbelief I thought, He didn't strap her in either?! I yelled at the top of my lungs "This is why you aren't allowed to be alone with these kids for any significant amount of time because they might die!!!" It was at that moment that I noticed a nice elderly couple walking by us with disapproving glances...oops. We asked Peyton if she wanted to go home and she said no. So we stayed at the park despite the constant complaining and crying out "I miss my foot!" which I thought was very philosophical of her. Brandon feeling a tad bit guilty I am sure, told her we could stop for ice cream on the way home and that seemed to heal it right up. I of course forgave Brandon but not without telling the story to several friends and family and giving him a hard time for the next few days. Brandon told me later that he made the conscious decision to not strap them in because he decided that they were old enough now. Whatever!
Ok so fast forward to this weekend...this is my failed parent story...told you I would get to it...So I was vacuuming the house. Amber is our little scardy cat. She is scared of a lot of random things like, a voice talking back to her on the telephone, or when mom has a towel on her head after the shower and Santa Clause, Easter Bunny forget it but, nothing is more frightening to her than the vacuum. So the moment she saw me getting the horrible thing out she hurried into her bedroom to hide. Peyton loves to "help" me vacum so she was "helping" and I could tell Amber was feeling left out. She wanted to be apart but just couldn't get up the nerve. I watched her out of the corner of my eye peeking around the doorway at us but then jumping back in if we got anywhere near her. It was pretty cute. When we were all finished vacuuming I thought I would have a little "fun." I waited by Amber's door for her to peek out again and I was going to pretend to push the vacuum towards her. (I know mean huh?) Well instead of her peeking out this time she must have finally got up the nerve to walk out of the doorway and she walked right into the vacuum...not knowing that it was there she freaked out and thinking that she was running back through the doorway she ran smack into the wall!!! In just the few sec that it took me to get to her and scoop her screaming body up I could see a huge bump already forming on her forehead. Boy...did I feel horrible and of course Brandon did not go light on the guilt trips.
So the moral of the story...we are not perfect. At least our kids forgive us and still love us despite our faults. Well at least for now they do, I don't even want to think about the teenage years. I try to pretend that those don't exist for us.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Lead Me
Heard this song on the radio the other day that captured my attention so much that I had to sit in the driveway waiting for the song to end so that I could hear who it was by. It was written by a band called Sanctus Real and the song is called "Lead Me". Here are some of the lyrics.
I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...
“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?
Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?
Ok...confession time. There are days I just don't feel like being a mom. There... I said it... and I would bet money that I am not the only mom that has ever felt that way. The last couple of days have been very difficult for me because I have been exhausted. I just came home from a 3 day conference that was full of late nights and early mornings and not only that I was awakened several times during those nights with an unhappy baby wishing she was in her own bed at home. It drained me. People who are not moms can come home from a trip like that and get some rest, but not a mom. I was up at 6:45am the next morning and back to mommy duties. There was one moment between unpacking, laundry and dishes where I found myself drifting off to sleep on the couch while the kids were watching TV ( I know horrible isn't it?) and I was jolted awake by Petyon practically jumping on my face saying "Mommy, get up. You have to play with me!" I tried explaining to her "mommy is tired she needs to rest" but of course that was like speaking a foreign language to her. Right than I had this sort of Deja vu moment except I was the little girl jumping on my exhausted mom not having a clue in the world why she JUST WOULDN'T GET UP! oh so funny how the tables turn. Yes God..."Give me the strength to be everything you have called me to be. Lead me."
I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...
“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?
Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?
Ok...confession time. There are days I just don't feel like being a mom. There... I said it... and I would bet money that I am not the only mom that has ever felt that way. The last couple of days have been very difficult for me because I have been exhausted. I just came home from a 3 day conference that was full of late nights and early mornings and not only that I was awakened several times during those nights with an unhappy baby wishing she was in her own bed at home. It drained me. People who are not moms can come home from a trip like that and get some rest, but not a mom. I was up at 6:45am the next morning and back to mommy duties. There was one moment between unpacking, laundry and dishes where I found myself drifting off to sleep on the couch while the kids were watching TV ( I know horrible isn't it?) and I was jolted awake by Petyon practically jumping on my face saying "Mommy, get up. You have to play with me!" I tried explaining to her "mommy is tired she needs to rest" but of course that was like speaking a foreign language to her. Right than I had this sort of Deja vu moment except I was the little girl jumping on my exhausted mom not having a clue in the world why she JUST WOULDN'T GET UP! oh so funny how the tables turn. Yes God..."Give me the strength to be everything you have called me to be. Lead me."
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The Child's Angel
My brain is full at the moment. I don't even know how to begin to process all that I witnessed at the Catalyst conference this week. (If you want to know more about Catalyst you can go here: http://www.catalystwestcoast.com/catalyst.php) For me, when I feel I am in a fog of emotion, I write and it helps to clear the air. So this entry is more for me than anyone else but maybe it will help clear the air for someone else too.
Before Catalyst I was becoming more and more sickened by the growing statics of child abuse in our world today. Its funny how before you have kids these things bother you but after you have kids these things keep you up at night. I have been kept up at night more times than I can count after hearing things like 20,000 images of child pornography are posted illegally online every WEEK, or that 1 in 58 children are being raised in abusive homes this year, or that every year 15 million children die of hunger. These things bother me beyond words and I have questioned why God would allow it. I recently went through Beth Moores Bible study on Revelation and got some comfort on this topic after coming to the realization that God does not let these things go unnoticed and there will be a day when God will avenge the blood of those who have been abused. I have great comfort knowing that there is a day coming when God will say ENOUGH! and all the abuse will stop in an instant and his wrath will be poured out on the earth. For those who have been wronged he will create a new earth for them where they will not think about nor even remember what has happened to them and the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more (Isaiah 65:19). I love, love, love Isaiah 65:20 "Never again will there be an infant who only lives a few days" and vs 23 "no longer will there be children who are doomed to misfortune for they will be a people blessed by the Lord!" Amen to that right!
So I was extremely moved that Catalyst would spend sometime on the topic of abused children. Kay Warren and Wes Stafford (the President of Compassion) both gave incredible talks on behave of children here are just a few of there points.
1. Did you know that if one family from every four churches in America would adopt a foster child there would be no more foster care in America???
2. Mathew 18:10 - Children have their own personal guardian Angels and if we were able to see them we would fall down in fear of them and never lay a hand on a child again.
3. Did you ever notice that Jesus said "LET the children come to me" He did not say "BRING the children to me" If we would just get out of the way they would come to him.
4. Very soon after the account of "Jesus blessing the Children" found in the gospels, he was put on the cross. Children were among the last people to bless Jesus.
So just in case you ever had any doubt rest assured that JESUS Loves Children! Even now as Peyton is running down the hall with a balloon between her legs screaming "I love my Balloon Horse!" and Amber is throwing every single DVD off the shelf for the 5th time today I can not wipe this smile off my face knowing that the GOD of the universe finds great delight in my Children.
Before Catalyst I was becoming more and more sickened by the growing statics of child abuse in our world today. Its funny how before you have kids these things bother you but after you have kids these things keep you up at night. I have been kept up at night more times than I can count after hearing things like 20,000 images of child pornography are posted illegally online every WEEK, or that 1 in 58 children are being raised in abusive homes this year, or that every year 15 million children die of hunger. These things bother me beyond words and I have questioned why God would allow it. I recently went through Beth Moores Bible study on Revelation and got some comfort on this topic after coming to the realization that God does not let these things go unnoticed and there will be a day when God will avenge the blood of those who have been abused. I have great comfort knowing that there is a day coming when God will say ENOUGH! and all the abuse will stop in an instant and his wrath will be poured out on the earth. For those who have been wronged he will create a new earth for them where they will not think about nor even remember what has happened to them and the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more (Isaiah 65:19). I love, love, love Isaiah 65:20 "Never again will there be an infant who only lives a few days" and vs 23 "no longer will there be children who are doomed to misfortune for they will be a people blessed by the Lord!" Amen to that right!
So I was extremely moved that Catalyst would spend sometime on the topic of abused children. Kay Warren and Wes Stafford (the President of Compassion) both gave incredible talks on behave of children here are just a few of there points.
1. Did you know that if one family from every four churches in America would adopt a foster child there would be no more foster care in America???
2. Mathew 18:10 - Children have their own personal guardian Angels and if we were able to see them we would fall down in fear of them and never lay a hand on a child again.
3. Did you ever notice that Jesus said "LET the children come to me" He did not say "BRING the children to me" If we would just get out of the way they would come to him.
4. Very soon after the account of "Jesus blessing the Children" found in the gospels, he was put on the cross. Children were among the last people to bless Jesus.
So just in case you ever had any doubt rest assured that JESUS Loves Children! Even now as Peyton is running down the hall with a balloon between her legs screaming "I love my Balloon Horse!" and Amber is throwing every single DVD off the shelf for the 5th time today I can not wipe this smile off my face knowing that the GOD of the universe finds great delight in my Children.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Easter or Bust...
Well this Easter was a different one for the Kertson household. Thanks to a very contagious case of the stomach flu things were not so Eastery around our house. I had really been looking forward to this Easter, for one because Peyton now understands holidays and she has been looking forward to this since the day after Christmas. She was so excited to go on an Easter Egg hunt and to see the Easter bunny and of course this made mom just as excited to experience these things through her eyes. I was also looking forward to my parents joining us for the holiday. My Dad had a meeting with someone in Monterey the day after Easter so they thought they would make a weekend out of it and drive up the Motor home and be with us for Easter. So Everything was lining up nicely until...
It all started Thursday morning when I went to go wake Amber up and noticed she had thrown up all over her crib. At first I didn't think much of it since I had tried a new milk out on her that night and just thought that it had upset her stomach but as soon as I had got her all cleaned up and dressed for the day she threw up again. Ugh. My parents arrived that afternoon and I warned them of the sickness but in true grandparent fashion they did not care and jumped right in playing with their grand kids. By that night Amber seemed a lot better even ate a little dinner and was playing happily, she went to bed and slept through the night so I did not think much more about it until Friday night...it hit me! Spent the night at the toilet wanting to die! It reminded me of being pregnant which reminded me to fulfill my birth control prescription. Well all went down hill from there Saturday night Peyton...poor little baby threw up all night and Sunday night Aunt Laurie got it which lead a call to 911 for an ambulance to take her to emergency to get IVS. Monday my poor parents had to take the long 6 hour drive home throwing up the whole way in the motor home (they didn't even get to go to their meeting that they came down here for in the first place)...I could not feel more terrible about that. Of course they said seeing their grandchildren made it worth it but I think they were just being nice. Brandon was the only one in this family that some how escaped the wrath of this bug. He said its because he prays more than the rest of us...whatever! Looking on the bright side there is one good thing about having the stomach flu on Easter and that is that I actually lost weight on a holiday!
Today was a great day! The sun was shining the kids were healthy. I cleaned cleaned cleaned the whole house from top to bottom. Peyton spent most of the day making all her stuffed animals throw up. They even had little bowls that they threw up in. She actually is pretty good at making a gagging sound...not that I am proud of that. So much for Easter. Better luck next year.
It all started Thursday morning when I went to go wake Amber up and noticed she had thrown up all over her crib. At first I didn't think much of it since I had tried a new milk out on her that night and just thought that it had upset her stomach but as soon as I had got her all cleaned up and dressed for the day she threw up again. Ugh. My parents arrived that afternoon and I warned them of the sickness but in true grandparent fashion they did not care and jumped right in playing with their grand kids. By that night Amber seemed a lot better even ate a little dinner and was playing happily, she went to bed and slept through the night so I did not think much more about it until Friday night...it hit me! Spent the night at the toilet wanting to die! It reminded me of being pregnant which reminded me to fulfill my birth control prescription. Well all went down hill from there Saturday night Peyton...poor little baby threw up all night and Sunday night Aunt Laurie got it which lead a call to 911 for an ambulance to take her to emergency to get IVS. Monday my poor parents had to take the long 6 hour drive home throwing up the whole way in the motor home (they didn't even get to go to their meeting that they came down here for in the first place)...I could not feel more terrible about that. Of course they said seeing their grandchildren made it worth it but I think they were just being nice. Brandon was the only one in this family that some how escaped the wrath of this bug. He said its because he prays more than the rest of us...whatever! Looking on the bright side there is one good thing about having the stomach flu on Easter and that is that I actually lost weight on a holiday!
Today was a great day! The sun was shining the kids were healthy. I cleaned cleaned cleaned the whole house from top to bottom. Peyton spent most of the day making all her stuffed animals throw up. They even had little bowls that they threw up in. She actually is pretty good at making a gagging sound...not that I am proud of that. So much for Easter. Better luck next year.
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