Spring Break starts tonight! We have the next week off of school and the kids are all excited (and so is Mommy!). We started it off right, at least in my opinion, by going to church for the Stations of Cross. I always look forward to this during Lent and was really looking forward to it because Dax has recently started asking about the cross and Jesus. I thought it would be really good for him to see what it was all about and get his questions answered. I was very proud of all four of the older kids. They listened intently, sang along, kneeled when they were supposed to, and after the service, they asked if they could go look at all of the stations more closely. I stood back and watched as the four of them, led by Drew, went to each station and discussed it. They ended their mini-tour of the church in the chapel and Drew showed them the tabernacle where Jesus' body is stored. I walked in as they each knelt at a kneeler and said a prayer. It was a wonderful moment that brought tears to my eyes and I thought, maybe I'm not doing such a horrible job, maybe all of my hard work will pay off, maybe they are all getting and going to turn out alright. I really should know by now that these moments are always cut short by a quick jolt of reality, but somehow I still like to live in my ignorant bliss of motherhood. I quietly told the kids it was time to leave and they all stood up and began to walk out . Suddenly, Dax stopped, ran back to the tabernacle, leaned forward and quietly whispered "I love you Jesus" (wait for it, wait for it), started to walk out, and then quickly turned around and said, very sternly, "But you're gonna die!" That's my very literal 4 year old! This is the same kid who two weeks ago was explaining how much he loved this "popcorn shaped like chicken". I didn't say a word because Drew was quick to defend the KFC popcorn chicken we had just gotten. He calmly explained that it was chicken shaped like popcorn and if it was the other way around it would be called "chicken popcorn". Dax didn't buy it. He says it has always been his favorite kind of popcorn! Come to think of it, he has been quite entertaining lately. This morning, he woke up very early, stumbled into my bathroom where I was getting ready for the day, and tiredly said, "Mommy, do you know why I am up so early?" "I rolled over and there was baby slobber on my pillow!" I asked the obvious, "Dax, did you drool on your pillow while you were sleeping?" Well, let me just say, he was very offended by this suggestion and decided it must have been Drake, since he is obviously the baby who has slobber!
As I marvel at the way my four year old's mind works, I am reminded of how quickly these times pass when Drake decided to (finally) stand up and take off across the living room this week. I admit that he really is behind with the whole walking thing, but I also admit that I was kind of glad to keep him my baby as long as I could! I guess I still struggle with that balance of keeping them young, but allowing them to grow!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Lent--I have never liked you!
How is it that Advent, that time leading up to Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, and Lent, the time leading up to Easter, is my absolute worst? Advent is all about cheer and giving. There are decorations and anticipation. Lent is all about sacrifice, fasting, and self-denial. Not really the best Catholic selling-point! About the only positive to Lent is that McDonald's finally has a market for their filet-o-fish sandwiches. Does anyone ever really order those at any other time of the year?
We always try to hide all of this from our kids of course. We act like we are just as excited about Lent as we were for Advent. They each have a countdown to color their 40-day journey towards Easter. We keep strips of paper on the table and every night, everyone takes a turn filling one in with a kind act they performed that day. By Easter, we usually have a paper chain that goes all the way around our kitchen. It sounds really wonderful, until I realized that every day this week, Daxton's kind act that he has reported to the family was that he was nice to Grace and Alex at the babysitters. It wasn't until 3 days into in the midst of praising him for being so nice that Drew leaned over and whispered, "Mom--you know Grace and Alex haven't gone to the babysitter's for two years now, right?" Dax just got that sheepish grin and said, "well I haven't been mean to them?" Obviously, he is missing the point. In his defense, his Lent started off pretty rough. Going to church to be told that someone is going to rub dirt on your forhead is a hard-sell to kids. He was very nervous and watched anxiously as our turn was coming. My mom and Shawn had finally gotten him calmed down and explained to him that it didn't hurt, it was just ashes, etc. This seemed to calm him and Shawn thought he had gotten off without a complete meltdown until Dawsyn leaned over and told Dax that the ashes don't hurt, it's the sharp, rusty nail they use to carve them into your forhead that does! You can imagine the cooperative walk up the aisle. Shawn was trying to drag a crying Dax with one hand and calmly pinch Dawsyn's arm with the other.
But, we keep reading our Lenten readings every day and talking about our kind acts and what we are giving up (Shawn-pop, Jill-my favorite foods, Drew- 10 minutes of TV a day, Dawsyn- 20 minutes of TV a day (only because she couldn't be outdone by Drew), Delaney- playing the wii, and Dax who changes his sacrifice daily), and rushing towards Easter. We are also preparing for Dawsyn's First Communion. She got to taste the bread and wine yesterday at her class. I remember Drew screwing up his face at the bitter taste of the wine. As I watched Dawsyn's classmates come back with varying looks of having just had what must have been poison. You can imagine my dismay when my daughter took a big chug (her breath still smelled like it an hour later), and got a huge smile on her face and exclaimed, "That was great! I really like that stuff!" Wonderful! I have a second grader who loves the taste of wine--just another worry to add to my growing list.
And then God reminds you that it doesn't really matter how many Lenten Readings you read, what you give up, or how many kind acts you do. What matters is that you meet him where ever you are. You don't have to hide or pretend because you can't. He knows your heart, and he knows your reality, and he knows that tonight, while you were trying to discuss your Lenten activities as a family, your 4 year old quickly brought you back to reality as he woke up from sleeping on the couch, walked up into the kitchen where the rest of the family was sitting around the kitchen table, walked over to the pantry, opened the door, and proceeded to pull down his pants and pee all over the garbage can. We all just sat there in disbelief for a second until Shawn said, "Dax! What are you doing?" At which point he "woke up" and smiled at us, then realized what he was doing and started to cry. Thanks for the reminder, God. As we cleaned up pee from the tallest, greenest toilet we've ever seen, and realized that finding God in that situation by looking at the innocent look on our little man's face, might be what Lent is all about. (but I'm still not letting them eat meat on Friday--old habits die hard).
We always try to hide all of this from our kids of course. We act like we are just as excited about Lent as we were for Advent. They each have a countdown to color their 40-day journey towards Easter. We keep strips of paper on the table and every night, everyone takes a turn filling one in with a kind act they performed that day. By Easter, we usually have a paper chain that goes all the way around our kitchen. It sounds really wonderful, until I realized that every day this week, Daxton's kind act that he has reported to the family was that he was nice to Grace and Alex at the babysitters. It wasn't until 3 days into in the midst of praising him for being so nice that Drew leaned over and whispered, "Mom--you know Grace and Alex haven't gone to the babysitter's for two years now, right?" Dax just got that sheepish grin and said, "well I haven't been mean to them?" Obviously, he is missing the point. In his defense, his Lent started off pretty rough. Going to church to be told that someone is going to rub dirt on your forhead is a hard-sell to kids. He was very nervous and watched anxiously as our turn was coming. My mom and Shawn had finally gotten him calmed down and explained to him that it didn't hurt, it was just ashes, etc. This seemed to calm him and Shawn thought he had gotten off without a complete meltdown until Dawsyn leaned over and told Dax that the ashes don't hurt, it's the sharp, rusty nail they use to carve them into your forhead that does! You can imagine the cooperative walk up the aisle. Shawn was trying to drag a crying Dax with one hand and calmly pinch Dawsyn's arm with the other.
But, we keep reading our Lenten readings every day and talking about our kind acts and what we are giving up (Shawn-pop, Jill-my favorite foods, Drew- 10 minutes of TV a day, Dawsyn- 20 minutes of TV a day (only because she couldn't be outdone by Drew), Delaney- playing the wii, and Dax who changes his sacrifice daily), and rushing towards Easter. We are also preparing for Dawsyn's First Communion. She got to taste the bread and wine yesterday at her class. I remember Drew screwing up his face at the bitter taste of the wine. As I watched Dawsyn's classmates come back with varying looks of having just had what must have been poison. You can imagine my dismay when my daughter took a big chug (her breath still smelled like it an hour later), and got a huge smile on her face and exclaimed, "That was great! I really like that stuff!" Wonderful! I have a second grader who loves the taste of wine--just another worry to add to my growing list.
And then God reminds you that it doesn't really matter how many Lenten Readings you read, what you give up, or how many kind acts you do. What matters is that you meet him where ever you are. You don't have to hide or pretend because you can't. He knows your heart, and he knows your reality, and he knows that tonight, while you were trying to discuss your Lenten activities as a family, your 4 year old quickly brought you back to reality as he woke up from sleeping on the couch, walked up into the kitchen where the rest of the family was sitting around the kitchen table, walked over to the pantry, opened the door, and proceeded to pull down his pants and pee all over the garbage can. We all just sat there in disbelief for a second until Shawn said, "Dax! What are you doing?" At which point he "woke up" and smiled at us, then realized what he was doing and started to cry. Thanks for the reminder, God. As we cleaned up pee from the tallest, greenest toilet we've ever seen, and realized that finding God in that situation by looking at the innocent look on our little man's face, might be what Lent is all about. (but I'm still not letting them eat meat on Friday--old habits die hard).
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Glasses and Girl Scout cookies
Dawsyn got her glasses this week. As of right now, she is still very proud of them! We also had to go pick up our Girl Scout Cookies to deliver. We were so excited for Delaney when she sold 271 boxes of cookies!!! Until we realized that meant we had to deliver 271 boxes of cookies!!!! It was quite the little assembly line we had going on this weekend as the kids, Shawn and I rushed to fill orders. :)
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