Super Hero Powers

My 3 year old is priceless. Lately we have been watching Curious George in my bed before we start they day. This morning he says to me "Mom, I am thirsty". I say "can you wait a few minutes until the show is over?" He says, "no Mom, I need water so I can have more super hero powers and it can't wait!" I must say that all of this conversation happened over a commercial, and right when I was getting up to get him some water, because he has to have his super hero powers, Curious George came back on and he no longer needed his water. What a blessing he is! I never thought of water giving us super hero powers, but I have a friend who has been encouraging me to drink more water. All I can say is that if I would have known that I would have special powers from drinking water, I would have been drinking more of it! It also got me thinking about the Living Water that we need. I am thankful that I have that to drink and to quench my thirst, because I do not know how I would survive with out my Jesus!

First times...

It is easy to forget what it was like when really started to understand what Christmas was exactly. When your parents would bring out the tree and start to decorate it, how exciting that was just because you knew that it something exciting was going to come. Then, when it was all done, we would turn the lights off and just look at our masterpiece twinkling and sparkling, and giggle with excitement. As the days went on and the end of the month would get closer, I would begin to get even more excited, just wondering what exactly I would be getting under the tree on Christmas morning. Finally, it was Christmas eve! We would get through the day, then go to church, and then it really hit..... Santa was coming!!!!! Christmas eve night always seemed like such a long night to me. The excitement and anticipation would be more than I could handle sometimes. I am sure over the next month I will share more stories with you, but tonight it is all about my kids. Mostly about my youngest, little E. He is 3 and he is so excited about Christmas he is about to bust. Today after church we were walking through Walmart and "Santa" was walking down the isle. Little E just got so excited that he ran up to him and gave him a big hug. This is huge for him because he does not just go up to anyone, but for some reason, this year, he is really into Santa. Later we saw him in the back of the store and he sat on his lap and just smiled. It was precious! All little E wants for Christmas is a new choo choo (he is very into Thomas the train) and that is all he is talking about too. Little E keeps adding to his story about what is going to happen during this Christmas season, and I am loving his story each and every time too. He gets so excited ever time we talk about it, or watch a movie about it. He is starting to get that he will get presents on Christmas morning and I think I am more excited to see his face than anything. He was telling me today that he is not really going to go to sleep, but fake it so he can get up right away and get his presents. I don't know how this year is going to play out completely yet, but I do know this much, it has been such a blessing to watch him discover this holiday. It has also been neat to listen to my older two explain what is going to happen, and tell him that Jesus is really the reason for Christmas and how all of it makes Christmas special!

So Fast...

Kids grow up so fast. One day they want to sit on your lap and cuddle, the next they want nothing to do with you. Well, not to that extreme, but something like that. My older two kids are in an art class on Friday mornings and they are becoming so independent. This morning they wanted me to just drop them off, because they are "old enough" to go in by them selves now that they are 8 and 5. I could watch them, but still, I guess I am not ready for them to do things on their own yet. I guess it is time for me to let go some and let them start doing more things on their own, like going into art class with out me walking them in. I guess I am still glad to have my youngest, who still wants to hold my hand when he gets out of the van, because he does not like being too far from me. I wish I would have cherished those memories more instead of just letting them go by. I am trying to stop more and just watch them as they are growing, because before I know it they are going to be out on their own. I am just so thankful that the Lord allowed me to have this time with them and to be their mom. What a blessing they are!

Timing, Tone and Temperature.

I am a part of our churches Upward Basketball leadership team. It has been such a blessing to be a part of this group. The Lord had me step completely out of my comfort zone and in doing so has blessed me for it. Anyway, we are half way through the season and yesterday we had a meeting to prepare for the rest of the season and to plan the awards ceremony. One of the leaders prepared a devotional and it really got me thinking. He was sharing that when our kids "act out" it usually isn't the best time and we need to stop and take just a few seconds to think about what is going on and maybe even why it is going on. To try not to make a mountain out of a mole hill. I thought this was funny at first, but this happens to me all the time, especially with my oldest son. It may be something little, but because of where I am at, I tend to over react and probably make something bigger than what it needs to be. Next is tone, how am I coming across to my kids in my tone? Most of the time in these situations my tone is anger, and that isn't good. Our tone creates the temperature of the situation and if my tone is anger, then I increase the temperature just by reacting to what ever the situation is. So, all of this got me thinking yesterday about how I want to handle situations with my children. I want to take a minute to listen to what is really going with my kids so my tone is under control, even if I am upset, so I do not increase the temperature of the situation. If I control my timing and tone, the kids behaviors won't be worse because of my reactions to their situation and hopefully the mole hill will remain a mole hill or even better disappear all together instead of me creating a mountain.

My Olympic Champions!

Okay, so like many of us I love watching the Olympics. It is fun to see team USA do great things and of course win the gold metals. But, what has been more fun for me this time is letting my kids stay up and watch some of the Olympics with us. My daughter wants to do gymnastics and she is studying their every move on the television. My son, well he is just interested in sports and so anything he watches he tries to imitate. This past week he has been running, and flipping and landing on our couch on his head like the vaulters do. I know that if we had anything to hang from he would be trying to swing on them too. It is just so encouraging to watch my children learn from the people they are watching on television and the really neat part is they don't care who wins. They just want to be like any of them because to them they are all someone to be like. So, that has taken me to the Lord because I want them to stand out, and I want them to not just want to be like anybody they see. I want them to see Jesus and to follow Him where ever He leads them. I know they are young still, and the Olympics is a fun thing to watch and want to be like, but I just made me more aware of how impressionable they are right now. So, I hope someday I will be in the Olympics stadium watching my kids work for their gold metal. Until then, I am enjoying them play because they are already my champions and gold metal winners.