..."childhood sing-a-long..."

My husband's younger brother and wife live in our former city, a quarter of a mile from our old house.  What fun it would have been if we had stayed put and not moved 3 states east to Indiana... raising cousins in the same neck of the woods. But... that was not in God's plan. (I dont' know why the crazy website is formatting this with underline....)

My tale today is however set in that little Kansas suburb.  I love my sister-in-law dearly.  She is an only child, and calls me her "sister-by-a-different-mother."  She is an excellent sounding board for me, and will keep me in check if/and/when I get too crazy,
being one of my voices of reason...

Last weeks phone "conference" included a delightful tale about our 

3-year old nephew.

The local school district (where I happened to have joyfully taught & lived) continues to offer the Parents as Teachers Program.  An amazing feat as school districts are struggling with funding all over our nation.

Parents as Teachers hosts a weekly playdate in a preschool type playroom in one of the districts classrooms.  To wrap up the playdate the instructor gathered the children for circle time on the carpet.  They were singing songs, taking requests shouted out from the wee-ones... "The Wheels on the Bus," "Mary has a Little Lamb..." 

Our little nephew shouted out "Jesus Loves Me."  All adults were dead silent.  The instructor gave my sister-in-law a wide eyed look that silently said, "Tell him, no we can't sing that here."

But my steely-loved-one remained silent & gave the instructor a shoulder shrug and look back that said, "I am not going to silence him."

So the intructor asked the towheaded tri-year-old, "Can you help me?'"  Our sweet little nephew began singing... soon all the children were belting it out.... the parents were even joining in... in this "public school" sing-a-long.

What I find interesting is this... everyone knew the words, but were scared to sing them.  It was the children who had to lead.  Once they started singing, it broke the ice and the others (the grown-ups) followed.

What lesson is to be learned from this tale?  In the New Testament books of Matthew & Luke,
Christ tells his disciples to not hinder the wee-ones...

"Let the little ones come to me.... do not hinder them... for the kingdom of heaven is their's."

Sometimes the most poetic words are from the mouths of babes. How will you sing dear reader? Quietly? Silencing your inner child?  Will you belt it out for all to hear?

..."I brought you into this world..."

A Mother's Day tribute to my mom.... she brought me into this world... and as Bill Cosby said on the Cosby Show ... "I can take you out." ☺

My mom has given me life... she has sacrificed her dreams, to raise my sister & brother & I ....

And I am mighty proud to say she did an excellent job... we are all successful, usually-law abiding, God fearing beings ...  we all work (I'm the only one earning a salary of hugs & kisses), pay taxes... have graduated from Kansas State University (yes we attended & graduated WHERE we root) ... & we all married purple (Doug, red & blue do make purple ☺) ... my mom even reared one doctor, my sister has a doctorate of physical therapy... wow, what amazing kids she raised...

My mom put college on hold to start a family... she & I even commuted between Western Kansas and nursing school, until the combo became too daunting.... she chose mothering... such a great model that life & plans change... what you thought you'd be doing when you were 20 isn't what you'd do for a lifetime... but she will always be a mother. She has gone on to become a successful residential real estate appraiser, now that we have all 'flown the coop'... something she might have never envisioned when she was a young teenager...

I was an only child for half a decade... savoring the spotlight of my sibling-less life...a rather selfish tot truly... my dad told me once that he could tell what kind of day mom & I had had when he would return from work... it we had butted heads, we'd be on seperate sides of the house... if we had spent the day in harmony, we'd be making dinner side by side... I was very stubborn & wanted things my way... wow, I had a lot 'growing' to do, even as a toddler...

My dad told my husband this story on the eve of our wedding... when I was 3-4 years old & my blankets would work their way off during the night... I would call out to my mother..."Cover me up..." until my mom would crawl out of bed, climb the stairs to my room and cover me up...

My dad told my husband... "Now it's your turn to cover her up."

Even as an adult my mom has a sixth sense when it comes to her kids... during a rough day nearly 10 years ago, my mom called me out of the blue... the Lord knew I needed to hear the voice from the womb I had originated...

My mom is at my boys beckon call... flying to Indiana to 'kid-sit' & chauffeur, attend roller skating parties & be the mash potato chef  ... so my husband & I can get away and remember why we fell in love... or attend a business meeting in a far away land...

My mom & dad have driven 30 hours round trip to visit.... driven 10 hours to watch me run a 10 second race as a teenager... chaperoned me on a trip to perform in the Macy's Day Parade in 1990, opening my eyes to a big big world out there...

My mom used to leave my siblings & I 'to-do-lists'.... her motto being 'do something productive & constructive each day'..... I am thankful for the life lesson that 'working hard, is better than hardly working'...

I asked the boys what their favorite memories of Grandma are:
going on 'rabbit hunts' (walking Ginger the head of ranch security) in the cedar windbreak...

Being read to & now reading  Mercer Meyer's Little Critter books to Grandma... she has an extensive library...

Going on adventures in Grandma's attic to find a tote of toys saved from my siblings childhoods... all mementos stowed away to share with the next generation...

Eating Rice Krispie Treats for snack time in their fort in Kansas, cooked by Grandma...

Eating Grandma's fried chicken & mashed potatoes with her white country gravy.... AND chicken & noodles plopped on a pile of mashed pots.....

The modern day pampering of a mother  and grandma...

This had me thinking of a Biblical mother in the Old Testament... she did her best to 'pamper' her son, Moses....

Moses' birth mother knew to save her son, she had to sacrifice her own feelings & had his sister Miriam place Moses in a basket in the river... cleverly places where the Pharaoh's daughter would be bathing... then Moses' mother strategically got a job being Moses' wet nurse in Pharaoh's palace.... (paraphrased from the book of Exodus 1 - 2)

The Lord chose mothers to bring us into this world.  Mothers make sacrifice after sacrifice for the greater good of their children.  My mom has sacrificed for me....her first born who was an unpleasant teenager... a college student who would disrespectfully break curfew, sending my mother out to scour the ditches of the country roads near our home... me who moved over 1/4 of the way across the country .... me who sometimes just needs to hear the voice of my mother when homesickness sets in... reminding me of the girl she raised me to be...

... and for that I thank the Lord... I am blessed.

... "oohh, la, la..."

Today my youngest son's class celebrated Mother's Day with a Spa for Mom.... what a fun morning... his teacher is really something else... she is one of the most amazing educators I have encountered...

We received an official pink invitation saying "Ooooh La La" ... with an RSVP card... when we arrived we rotated stations with our child. First we played multiple hands of 'Go Fish' ....

Next we moved on to a listening station & listened and read along to "Are You My Mother" by Dr. Seuss & dined on a buffet of Godiva chocolate and cookies... we washed it down with a refreshing glass of lemonade...

The next stop was was the most devine.... the pedicure station... my son soaked and washed my feet in a foot bath... I felt a little like a disciple being cared for by Jesus... my son used gentle hands to apply apricot scrub & wash it away...

Next he painted my toe nails... a light silver.... ever so meticulously...

The next station was a manicure & neck massage station... he teacher has shown them how to 'wipe' the extra polish off the brush, so you don't drip... she had suggested they karate chop & sprinkle rain drops on our shoulders (massage them)...  my son loved filing my nails... with his tongue out, deep in concentration...

This reminded me of the last time a man painted my toes.... huge and pregnant.... 216 pounds of pregnant..... it was winter & I was pregnant with the very boy who painted today's pedi-master piece.... I was fat & wanted my toenails painted to feel pretty.... I asked my husband to paint them... to be beautiful in labor & delivery.... my farm raised, brothers-only, Midwestern man sat at my feet and painted my toes... a true act of love!

... Our last station was reading in the class Reading Hut... my son chose a book by Robert Munch. Such a fun author I wasn't familiar with. He was proud to be exposing me to one of his favorites.

Next the students each gifted their mother with a melomane plate decorated by their 6 year old artistic selves... a special note scribed by my youngest... who could only write his name nine short months ago...

The kindergarten teacher ended our Spa treatment with a touching prayer & a story by Marianne Richmond... "If I Could Keep You Little."  My son climbed upon my lap... growing up so fast he fills it up to the brim.

Tears filled my eyes as I listened to his teacher read.  Each page talked about something we wish we could do for our kids forever.... pick matching clothes, but then we would miss seeing them choose a polka-dot shirt & striped pants.... rock them and sing nursery rhymes, but then we would get to hear them sing a solo in the school program growing up...

Such a great story... we have to let them grow up... learn thing for themselves.... find their own way in the world....

This takes brain on a rabbit trail... to a favorite verse from my Bible mandate...
"Every good & perfect gift comes from above... from the creator of the heavenly lights..." James 1:17 (paraphrased by me)

Our children are a good gift... a perfect gift... given to us from our heavenly Father...

The plate I was gifted today reminded me that yes, my son will grow up... but I have photos & mementos to document his journey ... to remind me of when he was still small enough to fill my lap...

For I really think the joy of mothering is in the journey... watching them grow and evolve into the men the Lord has planned for them to be...

I pray multiple times a day for both my boys... I pray for their future spouses, the little girl the Lord will some day have grow up to become their wife... I pray for my boys safety... their choices... their spiritual development... that the Lord will bless them with good & perfect people in their lives.

It's tough watching your kids grow up before your eyes... but if we trust in the Lord, he will unfold the amazing plans he has for them.

On this Thursday afternoon I am thankful the Lord has entrusted these two souls to me... I am thankful he has placed my son in his kindergarten teacher's class... the Lord's plan for my son is slowly unfolding... I can't wait to see what else He has in store!

..."‎don't gloat..."

I had a fairy-tale written to post today... in honor of the royal nuptials... it'll have to wait... the Ace from the infamous 'deck of cards' has been slain...

Yesterday stirred up a lot of memories of 9/11 for me.... I was in touch on facebook with a lot of old friends from our church plant in Kansas City... they were my support system back then...

One of them posted this scripture from Proverbs....

‎"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice" -Proverbs 24:17

On September 10, 2001 our church was dedicating our new building... Brock & I were leaders for a little pre-youth group called "Route 56"... it was for 5th & 6th graders.... and old highway 56 ran through Shawnee & DeSoto.... one of our 6th graders had inherited the 5th grade class pet rat.... each 5th grade class ran a science experiment with 2 rats... a healthy food rat & a junk food rat... at the end of the year there was a raffle to see who inherited them... one of you youth kiddos did... & he thought it should be at church for the celebration... it stowed away in his coat pocket... the coat was then hung on the racks lining the hallway.... the rat decided to go on an adventure, climbed out of the pocket & ended up staring at our pastor in the copy room.... crazy day dedicating our new church building... memorable non-the-less.... that 6th grade boy will always be part of my 9/11 memory.... he has grown into a man, an adult in the 9+ years since that day....

So the next day at school during our team meeting, I was telling the other 6th grade teachers this story... we were rolling with laughter... about to wet myself, being 5 months pregnant with our oldest....

Our principal came into the team room... to start the meeting we thought.... he told us to quiet & settle down.... I said, "No what you have to hear this story!" .... He said there has been an accident... a plane just flew into the world trade center.... 

Our laughter seized...... the whole day played out in slow motion.... I was pregnant & remember going home to lay on the couch all night... watching the news, thinking "what kind of a world am I bringing this new life into?"....

Brock & I spent time on top of the World Trade Center... he spent several months on Long Island in 1998 with the first company worked for out of grad school... It was so hard to wrap my brain around what had happened.  A place that my husband & I had occupied... a place filled with people... mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives.... was attacked. 

Our scanner is not behaving... I wanted to show you all a picture of us on top of the WTC... young & on top of the world. I wanted to share a picture with you that we have on our bar in the basement, us at Ellis Island... with the WTC & NYC skyline as our back drop....

So how do I feel about the death of the United States most wanted outlaw.... I was at first relieved... almost a decade in the making, a terrorist was brought down.... tumbled down like the buildings collapse he orchestrated....

But then I read my KC friend Sara's facebook status....

‎"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice" -Proverbs 24:17

the ancient wisdom of the book of Proverbs... I should not rejoice & brag & celebrate when and enemy falls....

Oh Lord, keep us and our country safe... shield us from evil until your son, Jesus our Messiah, returns to this earth.... help us to keep from gloating, rejoicing, celebrating in this death... help us to be your light unto this world.... amen