Sunday, January 27, 2013

grace and monster trucks

asher: dear God, thank you for everything You do...and for my family. i love them. please help me to grow big and strong so that next time i can go see monster trucks and i won't be scared and i will stay and watch them with my friends. i love you. amen.

we got asher tickets to the monster truck rally because we thought he would LOVE it. he and bryan went last night with some other dads and little boys from church. as you can tell from his prayer, he was very scared of the whole thing. bry said that asher was ready to go before the show even started, but bry convinced him to stay at least until it began. when the show started and asher realized just how loud the trucks were, he couldn't stand being there.

well, the whole reason we got tickets to monster jam was because we thought asher would enjoy it. when bry realized that asher was thoroughly NOT enjoying it, what did my husb do?

did he try to make asher feel guilty by telling him how much money we spent on those tickets? no.
did he tell him he was being silly and irrational for being afraid? no.
did he force him to stay and sit it out in fear? no.

my sweet husb took asher out for ice cream. bryan showed our boy grace by leaving the show, even though it had barely started, and went to get ice cream instead. when they got home, asher snuggled down in the bed between bry and me and we all watched a movie together on netflix.

ice cream, snuggles and family move night? i'll take that over monster trucks any time.

and the best part: asher LOVED it.

here's to being a family that strives to breathe grace into our children's souls every, single chance we get. and may the grace we give point them to Jesus Christ from whom all grace flows.


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Saturday, January 19, 2013

"naptime"

nate: mommy? mommy? i not take a nap...
* i hear him flopping around in his crib
nate: oh! oh, good job, nate! mommy? i frow away my socks! hmmm...bye, bye socks!
* i hear him jumping up and down in the crib
nate: mommy? where are you? i wanna watch tawains. thomas and perwcy. yeah, tawains.
*silence for about 2 seconds
nate: daddy? mommy, i wanna see daddy.
*presumably waiting for daddy to respond
nate: daaaaaddy? where are you? i wanna watch tawains, dad! thomas, dad.
*he starts to fake cry
nate: daaad? uhhhhhhuh huh huh huh! oooooooooo!
*he stops the fake cry
nate: weeeeelll, i not take a nap. guys? guys? i not take a nap!

that kid wasn't lying. never did he ever take a nap.

in the potty

nate: mooooommmmy? where aaaare you? i went pooooopoooo! but not in da pooootttty!
* i go in his room.
me: nate, i'm going to change your stinky diaper, but then you have to go back to bed. it's naptime.
nate: ok!
as i'm changing his diaper, he says
nate: i go pee pee too!
* then he starts to pee as i hurriedly cover him up with a diaper.
me: tot! wait! pee pee and poo poo go in the potty, stinker!
nate: hahaha! yeah, dey go in da potty, mom!

we haven't officially started potty training yet, but we have introduced the concept to nate. i've been trying to change his diapers in the bathroom and let him sit on the potty to try. so far, he's peed in the potty 3 times. i can't decide if it's encouraging that he knows he should be using the potty, or annoying that he thinks it's funny not to.

O potty training, thou art the bane of parental existence.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

vesuvius

me: i don't know why my face is so broken out.
bry: wifey, you have about 1 pimple.
me: you mean, 18? and not pimples, mt. vesuviuses.
bry: oh, yeah. you're right. now that i'm really looking at your face you have like 40 pimples all over the place!
me: 40 vesuviuses, husb. get it right.
bry: i believe it would be vesuvii. 40 vesuvii.
me: sigh...40 vesuvii...on my face.
bry: you're crazy.

i'm glad he still loves me even when my face is about to volcanically erupt.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

grace upon grace

asher: mom? i think i wanna climb this tree.
me: um, ok. how are you going to get up there?
asher: well, i'm not sure because i'm a little too short to reach.
*we both stare at the tree for a minute, analyzing the situation.
me: well, i could give you a boost and help you up there.
asher: yeah! ok!
*i push him up into the crook of the tree
asher: alright! now i just need to climb to the very top.
me: alright. how are you going to get there?
asher: i just need to figure out a way to get to that other branch.
me: yes, but let me tell you something about climbing trees. as the branches get smaller, they also get weaker. that means the small ones can't hold big boys up. they're only for squirrels and birds to climb on.
asher: yeah, ok. i can make it to that next big branch though. i just gotta make it to the top so that i can see the whole world! and if i fall, your job is to catch me.
me: i will certainly try to, lovey.

let me just go ahead and confess that my instinct when he asked to climb that tree was to say no. i wanted to say, "no. that tree is too big and you are too small. you could fall and get hurt." although it would've been true, i think that response would've crushed his little tree-climbing spirit.  thankfully, i've been reading a book called Grace Based Parenting: Set Your Family Free by Dr. Tim Kimmel. Dr. Kimmel has been teaching me to try to parent my children the way the Lord parents me.

grace upon grace upon grace.

it is a sweet cycle that is consistently pointing our family back to Christ. i cannot distribute grace without remembering from whom i first received it. every time the Lord uses me to breathe the sweet breath of grace into my children's souls, i pray that they understand a little more about who Christ is and what he has done.

my big boy asked me to climb a tree today. i was nervous. i didn't want to let him. but then the Lord reminded me that what Asher was asking to do was not sinful or wrong. i had no right to crush his little boy dreams of seeing the whole world from the top of a small tree. instead, my job as his parent is to show him grace by giving him a boost, guiding him on the climb, and being there to catch him if he falls.

GraceLaced Mondays

favorites

nate: wook at me, mom!
me: i see you, tot! but you shouldn't be standing on the table!
nate: but wook at me, mom!

he takes a lot of pride in scaling impossible obstacles. "look at me" and "i stuck" are two of his favorite phrases.

they usually go hand in hand.

text message

me: lurbing yewp is earsy curse yer beauterfurl... larlarlarlarlar...larlarlarlarlar...laaarlaaarlaaarlaaarlaaarlaaaaaaaaar!
bryan: i'm a little incredulous that you took the time to type that...i love you.
me: hahaha! it did take a while. it was a labor or lurb, husb.

if only you could hear me singing it...sigh.