Oh, the Discoveries

The mind of a toddler is a curious thing. Or perhaps it's better said to be a mysterious thing... you never know what's about to pop out of the mouth at you!

E has been been very busy these past few months making discoveries, venturing to new heights... literally and figuratively, and becoming a little leader... or revolutionary, depending on who you ask.

rocking on the horse at San Marco park

While friends were in town we ventured to a new park, close to the river. So fun! The kiddos loves watching the people fishing on the side of the road and we must have been good luck because in the 10 minutes we were there they caught 5 fish! E has figured out how to clamor up small slides and discovered the joy not only of going down the slide, but of riding down head first....Eeek! Took me a while, but I'm letting go of my neurotic 1st time mom fears and letting her find boundaries a little more on her own now (applause... thank you thank you...)

A frequent field trip for us now is to feed the ducks. Not sure what it is, but we seem to have the Dr. Dolittle attraction with smelly, gross-stuff eating aquatic birds, geese in particular. This day though, we were lucky and not mobbed by geese and able to feed the resident ducks. Jarrod will tear up the bread, some of the birds will even eat out of his hands! We give a piece to E, and well.. she smashes it in her hands for a while then eventually drops it. Anticlimactic. But she quacks right along with the critters with excitement.


Another discovery, and I'm sure all kids go through this at some point, has been the belly button. I think God made belly buttons mostly for the entertainment of toddlers. Whether we're changing diapers, in the bathtub, or simply happen to run a hand over our belly, we can't help but stick a finger in that little crevice and giggle! She calls it "Bey But". Gotta jot that in the baby book. Speaking of which, any other mom's completely lose the baby book by this time? I'm sure I can sift through and find it, and I've been piling on the guilt... her scrap book of the first year, still have months 10-12 left to do. Goal: finish before Dec and arrival of #2! I'm totally okay with making #2's scrapbook on snapfish. I want to be a scrapbooker... I really do. I want to be a crafty mom. (see earlier post about squares and figure eights) But scrapbooks just aren't it. My new endeavor is painting... don't get your hopes up. We're not talking scenery or portraits, but geometric patterns. This square's gotta have lines to follow!

playing with Silas. Perhaps arranged marriage isn't a bad idea.....

The little leader. Whether it be in church nursery, at a friend's house, the zoo, or target. E likes to climb. EVERYTHING. We've gotten used to this, and there are a few rules we've set that seem to prevent most would-be-lip-splitting-falls, but trying to stop her from climbing up everything is about as likely as keeping ice cream frozen all the way home while driving in rush hour. Don't plan on it. There are a few things E was doomed to inherit from her parents, one being a competitive streak a mile long. So in nursery, she'll climb to the very top of something, then looks down at the other kids (all younger) and suggest they follow her asap. At the zoo, she kept talking to this little boy till her started trying to follow up the play alligator, then she smirked as he couldn't get to with her. This power could be used for good: she takes toys to crying babies to cheer them up, or for evil: I foresee E convincing #2 to partake in some devious activity ....

Hey! We match! Love seeing giraffes at the zoo

In other news, Jarrod has started the fall semester, it'll be really busy through mid-October, but then should slow to a manageable pace. We're stoked after this semester, there are just 7 classes left! That's right, count 'em, 7!!We might survive this M Div after-all :) After that, we still have no clue, but are fully confident that the Lord will lead. I've started working on a catechism with E.  It's super basic, but seeing as how she's just 1.5 years old, it fits. It's great accountability to me: teaching her biblical truths like God created everything and singing songs like 'this little light of mine' spurs me to stay in the Word, to pray hard, and to keep studying. I've been meditation on 1 John the past week, especially chapters 1-2. John makes it clear that there is a firm line between those who know, love and follow God and those who don't. I think in our pseudo-include-everyone-make-no-distinctions mentality we gloss over the fact that there are sheep, and there are goats. You can't be half sheep-half goat. 

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:3-6, ESV)

The grace we receive from the Lord through Jesus Christ, that saves us. This grace (through the Word, prayer, accountability with other believers, etc) reaches to the deepest crevices of our hearts and changes everything. We cannot stay the same. We are driven to love what God loves, calling evil what God calls evil, living as He calls us to live. We can't claim our hope is in Christ when our lot is obviously thrown elsewhere. It should be clear to all those watching our lives and listening to our speech that we are followers of Christ. Not because those works save us, but because when we realize who has saved us, from what and to what great lengths He went to do so... we can't help but respond with praise and an obedient life. 

Time for mom duties to resume... but I hope this encouraged you.

Till the next edition,

-the Reeds