Firm Foundation

The other day, I asked Beatrice what Easter is about and she promptly replied, "bunnies." If you know me in real life or have been reading the blog for awhile, that little statement felt like a big mommy failure. We don't do Santa, we don't do tooth fairies, we don't do Easter bunnies. We don't put a lot of emphasis on the secular side of holidays, especially the Christian ones. It's important that our children know the Reason for the season, and bunnies are not it. Although Beatrice loves a good bunny.

After I told her about Easter, - speaking of, do you know how difficult it is to teach a 2.5 year old about the cross and the resurrection? I was explaining that God sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins so we can live in Heaven with Him for eternity if we make Him Lord of our lives. Around the part where I told her that He rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father, I noticed a vacant look in her eyes. I asked her if she understood what I was telling her and she said, "what I got on my hand, mama?" Age appropriate crucifixion explanations are not my specialty - I realized that she will always think Easter is about bunnies unless we teach her otherwise. The world doesn't exactly portray Easter and Christmas for what they truly are: celebrations of the greatest miracle on Earth, praise God!

I decided that I was going to fight hard to instill biblical teaching in my daughters. It is my job after all. Talk about [My] commands [with your children] when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 6:6-7 It is up to JD and me to make sure our girls not only know what Easter is about, but also what God says about them and expects from them. So I made a list of Bible verses for them to memorize.

Photo by Sara Rose Photography.

Memorizing Scripture was a big part of my childhood. My parents sent us to private Christian school and each week from Kindergarten on, we had to memorize a verse or chapter from the Bible. Having that foundation laid in my life as a young child has played a significant role in the choices I have made throughout my life. I want to lay the same foundation for my daughters.

Photo by Sara Rose Photography.

We started with John 3:16. It took a few days of me saying sections of the verse and having Beatrice repeat them until she said it on her own from start to finish. Little stinker won't say it when I get my camera out. You can watch her saying it with help here. Now we are working on Ephesians 4:32. Here is the list if you are interested in teaching your children to memorize Scriptures:

For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16


Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Eph 4:32


I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13


And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19


For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23


Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6


Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Eph 6:1-3


Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of great courage, do not be afraid, do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you. Joshua 1:9


Children, obey your parents in all things. This pleases the Lord. Colossions 3:20


Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matt 5:9


I don't think it's ever too early to teach kids what God's Word says. I think these 10 verses are a good starting point for little kids. They're good for the parents too. Start laying a firm foundation today, lest your Easters be filled with bunnies!

Flying Alone With 2 Babies

I am finally ready to talk about my experience flying to Tennessee and back by myself with both girls. I was pretty terrified of the whole ordeal before I actually boarded any planes and let's just say, my fears were realized. It was a pretty terrible experience. One that I will never encounter again if I can help it. I have an intense fear of flying so even without all of the crying and not-pooping and drunk guy, flying is never fun for me. But add the crying, not-pooping, and drunk guy and my experience went from bad to really freakin awful.

The Crying

The flight to Tennessee was less bad than the flight returning home. Beatrice was a perfect angel and played happily with Barbies, my laptop, and everyone around her. Penelope was not so happy. She cried nearly the entire time. Thankfully, there were a few other families with babies on the plane so I got a lot of sympathetic looks. The returning flight however, everybody cried. And by everybody, I mean Beatrice and Penelope and no one else on the completely full flight. I was the only traveler onboard with small children so I received no sympathetic looks. Just looks of be-quiet and please-make-that-baby-stop-crying.

Not-Pooping

Beatrice poops like twice a week. She waits until the very last minute, gives me a look and whispers, "I need to go." She gave me the look at the Nashville airport 30 minutes before we boarded our flight. I was so relieved since she hadn't gone in a couple of days and really didn't want to deal with taking her to the tiny plane bathroom. We went to the airport bathroom 3 times with no luck. I bribed her with everything to no avail. Once we boarded, she gave me the look and whispered she had to go. 5 tries, all false alarms. I was a nervous wreck thinking she was going to have an accident on the plane. Not to mention, it was a huge ordeal getting in and out of our seats.

Drunk Guy


On the returning flight, a tall, quiet guy sat next to us. He made small talk, talked to the girls, and read his book. Then he started to drink wine. Lots and lots of wine. He very quickly went from nice, quiet guy to belligerent, drunk guy. I wouldn't have minded so much if he didn't cross personal space boundaries by touching all over Penelope, hollering incoherent things at Beatrice, and finally passing out on me. For 2 hours, his heavy, lifeless body flopped onto mine. He had the aisle seat so we were trapped. By the time we landed, I was certain he was dead. It took several minutes and a few people to rouse him.

I was never so relieved to de-board a plane. My nerves were shattered, my body sore, and I was exhausted. I vowed to never fly alone with the girls again. I don't think they are too eager to fly anytime soon either.

Weekend Adventure: Breakfast

We didn't adventure too far away from home this weekend. We are still recuperating from all of the traveling we did the last 2 weeks. Plus, California is expensive. Gas is over $5 a gallon in some places and driving isn't fun when it costs an arm and a leg. It's either eat or drive and we chose to eat.

We went to breakfast.

JD found this little diner a few months ago and kept raving about the crazy omelette combinations like bacon cheddar jalapeno and asparagus with hollandaise. I love unusual food combinations so after considering many of the options, I decided upon the gourmet veggie omelet (golfball sized sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, onions, and fresh tomatoes with tons of jack cheese) and home fries smothered in spicy tomatillo sauce.

It was a ton of food. It was good, but next time I'm going with the cheddar jalapeno waffles. Yes, I said waffles. I also drank about 3 gallons of coffee. It was so good.

We sat on the patio, ate our weird omelets, drank coffee, and colored with our girls on a beautiful Sunday morning. It wasn't the wildest weekend adventure we've ever had, but it was just right for our tired little family.

Did you adventure this weekend? Link up in the comments if you did!

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Hard

Beatrice is 2.5 now and while parenting a 2 year old is fun and wild and exhausting and exhilarating, it is also hard. Really, really hard.

The hardest part about 2 is the endless battles over everything/nothing. My child is very strong-willed and is determined on doing the opposite of whatever I tell her.

"Put on your shoes, please."
"Imma put on my socks instead, mama."
"Take a sip of your water."
"No, Imma eat a grape."
"Let's go outside."
"Imma stay here and color."

It's frustrating and adorable at the same time. It's mostly frustrating though because obedience is important. And since she's determined to do the opposite of what I tell her, she is disobedient a lot of the time. Disobedience yields discipline and discipline is the hardest thing about 2.

It was just a short time ago that she was a baby and totally compliant and happy with whatever I did for her. Now she gets spankings and consequences and lectures about obedience. 2 is so hard.

I want to raise her to be honest and kind to people, to respect authority and to love God. Discipline is hard, but it promises to whittle away the rough edges of selfishness, pride, and disobedience.

I find myself really struggling with which battles to choose. She's little and is still learning how to express her emotions. She is testing the waters on which behaviors are allowed and which are not. I am doing my best to make on the spot decisions on which ones are allowed as well. Most nights I go to bed repenting for my shortcomings and asking God for wisdom with this little one. She's 2 and 2 is so hard.

I was told if I stayed diligent with discipline at 2, there wouldn't be a great need for it at 8. I'm hanging onto this wisdom. Please be true, please be true, please be true.

2 is hard, but I love this girl madly. She can be difficult and disobedient, but she is also sweet and helpful and hilarious. She is precious to me. 

I want to enjoy this hard stage with her, I want to survive it with her, but mostly, I want to do right by her. I find myself fumbling a lot because it is so hard to have such a cute, little person be downright defiant to my face. I want to get it right before she remembers how mommy wasn't so natural at this parenting thing.

Training up a child is hard and most days I don't know if I'm doing anything right, but I'm up for the challenge. This girl is the best. I am honored to be her mama. This makes me really proud to call her mine:



2 is hard, but it's almost over! I hear 3 is harder. Oh boy...

All photos by my talented friend, Sara Rose.

Homebound

After driving a bunch last week, I joked that we weren't going anywhere for a week. Little did I know, that statement ended up being prophetic. My Tennessee license expired on my birthday. I found this out after the fact and because it expired, I have to take a series of vision, written, and driving tests to be issued a new one. Because I have 2 kids and no valid driver license, it is going to take some strategic planning to be issued a new one. I am homebound until further notice.

It's not so bad being forced to stay home. My girls are loving playing with their toys and taking routine naps, my laundry is not piling up, and I've been cooking a bunch. I have also been studying the California driver handbook. It's long and intensive. I told JD I'm actually glad this happened. Otherwise, I never would have learned all of the rules of the road. I'm going to be a really knowledgeable driver when the State gives me my license back. Unlike all these years of just winging it out there. Weeeeeeeee! Just kidding...


Tomorrow is the big day. JD took the day off to help shuttle me to and fro. I am pretty confident the written and vision portion of the test will be easy peasy. It's the traffic cones and parallel parking that has me a little psyched out. Exactly how far is 100 yards away? Double broken lines mean what again?? I may be homebound for a little while longer...

Not Long Enough

I just dropped my brother and sister in law off at the airport. They followed me here from Tennessee to spend spring break with us. We had a fun week beach-hopping, exploring L.A, and staying up late. When it was time to send them on their way, I cried like a baby all the way home. I'm not ready to let them go.

I always cry when I send our family back home, but it was different saying goodbye to Seth and Jenny. They are more than our family, they are our dearest friends. We lived with them for 2 months before our big move to California. They love my girls like their own and are such a huge support to us. I love them deeply.

I came up with the greatest plan: Seth and Jenny must move to California! They can live next door and we will pool our resources like we did during the 2 months we cohabited. Grant and Jenni must move too (my other brother and sister in law who I am equally close with). Jamie too. Then this whole California adventure will be much easier. So it's settled then? Everyone's moving? Excellent! We shall live here:

Even if they don't move (they never said no...), the good news is we live in a fun area that lures people back to visit us often. I am busy planning our next adventure, guys.

I have a feeling it's going to be harder to bounce back from their departure. My heart is heavy with the pending loneliness that is sure to come on Monday once JD returns to work. I hate these stupid goodbyes. 1 week wasn't long enough.

Lessons

I once drove around with my check engine light on for a year. I knew I needed to get my car checked out, but it didn't seem urgent to me. I figured the engine would explode or fall out or something if it was that serious. When I finally took my car in, I was told my catalytic converter went out (went bad? broke?) and if I waited about a month longer, the warranty would have expired and I would've been $1800 poorer. Ouch. Lesson learned, get things checked out and don't ignore big warnings. Got it.

Tonight, my tooth broke in half. And although my tooth has been abscessed for 2 years I gotta say, I didn't see it coming. I knew it was in bad shape. I haven't been able to eat on the left side of my mouth for several months due to the cold, searing pain emitting from that tooth. But I never guessed it would just crumble to pieces in my mouth. Now I have a broken, jagged half-tooth that's probably going to need to be pulled. Blech. I feel so dirty with my broken tooth and soon to be gaping hole in my mouth. 


Don't be like me. If your car has a red flashing light, it's probably best to get that looked at sooner than later. And if you have a rotten tooth in your mouth, get it checked out before it breaks in half. To be continued...