Things I Want to Remember...

During this season my day gets started before I can fully open my eyes, errands are scheduled down to the minute to finish before nap-time meltdowns, I am learning more Disney songs to sing in the car than I thought my brain could ever hold, a favorite morning routine is snuggling on the couch, I have developed a new appreciation for Dr. Seuss books because they are easily memorizable, and $2 for bubbles is the best toy investment I could make...

These are memories I want to keep:

- E1 is fascinated by bugs. She'll ask "momma, this nice bug or mean bug?" Nice ones she'll stoop down to inspect and push along out of the road and into the grass. Mean ones (ones that bite), she frantically waves her arms in the air while running away.

- She got a bug bite on her leg. We talked about it all the time, "momma, leg itchy!". Now every itch, be it on her leg, arm, belly or nose.... it's a bug bite. When I tried to tell her it was just at itch, "no momma, bug bite and a itch".

- Potty training, while it results in a little more laundry (what's a few more shorts anyway?), yields tons of interesting conversations. I didn't think the "birds and the bees" talks would start this young! I keep rehearsing a line from the show 7th Heaven, 'if we talk about it all the time, it'll be less awkward'. Not to that point yet.... but hopefully before puberty strikes :)

- E2 was once nicknamed crinkles because of her love with all toys that crunched and crinkled. We're reconsidering that perhaps we should have chosen 'the lazy susan'; this girls gets on her belly and spins spins spins! She'll go after toys, but mostly she chases E1. E1 is starting to catch on and will try to stay out of sight. It's a workout for both!

- E1 is in a twin bed and loves it. There is a side rail that goes part of the way to prevent any middle-of-the-night-roll-offs, but she is convinced that in order to get out of bed, I must be in the room. (Totally not a bad thing!) Each morning and after nap I will hear "MOMMA!!! I WAKE!!!!!! TIME GET UP?" and as I walk into her room, she'll leaning over the rail waiting for my okay to get out of bed. Sweet girl!

- E2 has learned that going backwards is frustrating when what you want is in front of you. She's working on crawling, but can only go that one direction.... for now.

I love my girls and this season where they are both so young and we spend so much time together. I am not the perfect mom: I miss teachable moments, begrudge reading a book for the 5th time that afternoon, try to will the clock forward to 8pm when it's only 5. But I want this time to matter. I know it's fleeting. I know my job is to cling to the cross and raise these girls to be young women equipped to love the Lord with their whole hearts and live their lives in line with that love. What a blessing that we get to have fun along the way!

Interruptions

Being a mom has taught me a lot of things. There's the sweet mushy stuff: knowing how to rock away a bad dream, kiss a scraped knee, smile at the sight of a sleeping child. There's the spiritual stuff: whoa, I need Jesus. And whoa-man, so do my kids.

And then there's the intensely practical.

I never realized how incredibly inefficient I was until now. I mean, I used to shower, brush teeth, clean the tub and cook dinner... all being separate events. And now... if I find myself in the bathroom, alone, you bet I'm getting all those, or at least a few of them, done at once! This is not meant as a brag at all, more a reference to the crazy-always-going life we're living right now. I think I need to pray for super-human powers once E2 becomes more than "inch-worming" mobile. Or a third arm. Bring on the awkward stares, there are times when ya just need another hand!

But on to more important matters. Crazy as life may be, it's important to be interrupt-able.  (cue film)
While at Hobby Lobby last week, making a last minute purchase to finish a project, E2 and I were pacing up and down the aisles looking for a specific item. We passed by a woman,

"Excuse me ma'am, can we get past you?"

"Oh, of course! Oh my... what a lovely baby. How old is she?"

"Thank you, she's almost 5 months"

"This may sound weird, but could I smell her?"

pause.... "um, sure, okay"

And the waterworks begin. This woman, probably in her 50s, was brought to tears by E2. Unsure of what to do, I laid my hand on her shoulder. She then began to tell me about her daughter, Shayna, whom she only got to know for a few days before she went to be with Jesus. E2 reminded her so much of her own daughter. "Something about her face" she said. We talked until the store closed. Praying together, able to praise God for His sovereignty and goodness even when we can't understand why things happen. Though her eyes still glistened with tears when we parted, they were depicting joy, not sorrow. As she walked away, all I could think was "wow God, that was unexpected.  I thought I was just coming in here for beads!"

How wonderful it is, as Christians, to know and be able to rest in the fact that the Lord has all things entirely in His control! We don't have to stress like the rest of the world, we don't have to grieve hopelessly. There is hope, both for today and tomorrow. We know He is always working to make us more like Jesus.

In other news, we had the privilege of dedicating E2 in church on Mother's Day. I appreciated the explanation given to the church... dedication is  not salvation for the child. It's more about the parents, making a public commitment to raise the child up in light of Scripture. I love that it is a public testimony because parents (us chiefly among them) need help! I don't think my requests for the third hand are going to be granted any time soon, so I must rely on the Body of Christ. There are godly women who have wrangled more kids than two, and done it with a joyful heart and graceful hands. I need to come under them. There are others I can help. There are opportunities to serve all around, we just have to be interrupt-able to see them. (see first 3 chapters of Francis Chan's Multiply to hear a better explanation)

Ok, so to end with a funny story....

I took E1 grocery shopping today. There are many ways I know for sure this is my kiddo. Aside from being my physical clone, she has a disney fixation. Only 1 movie at a time, but she'll pick one or two scenes and want to watch them constantly! She's even figured out how to turn on the dvd player and start it up. Anyway, while walking to the register, E1 sees a plate with the characters from Frozen on it... cue the lights cause this little peanut let out a power ballad of "Let it go" all the way out to the car. People smiled and even chuckled at her... she wasn't phased a bit. Just happy to sing "Let it go.... let it go..... let go...... no cry..... let it go"

Family Fun

Finally! Some family pictures........

look at those cheeks!!

Definitely a daddy's girl

The sweetest girls

sister love

My big girl! Can't get enough of those eyes

... this is more like us :)

mmm... shoulder kiss?

the girls of the house

Family that prays (and plays) together, stays together

the Reeds