MINE!!!

A strange phenomenon is happening in our house for a SECOND time. The FIRST actually never saw its rightful end. A is still procliaming to the world what is hers and only hers. But gee wiz! Do we have to initiate our youngest into the selfish club at such a young age?

in the car today: i gave my kiddos a little basket of toys each that a freind had given me for them. As A sat examing and wanting to open every package that was in her lap, she finally realized that i was not going to cave to her request to marker/stamp up the car. So she turned to M"s toys and asked for one of many books in his lap. Since I am trying desperatly to teach her the value and joy of sharing, I wanted to teach him the same, so I asked him if he would share a book with with A.

"MIne" he yells across the backseat. I am so used to hearing this word it took me a second to realize that it had been delivered from a different set of pipes than normal.

Then I proceded to give an object lesson to my daughter.
" See, when you don't share your toys, you are teaching him to not share his toys. if you would share your toys, he would learn to share with you."

The lightbulb goes on... and she hands over her packaged up new stamp markers.

I was quite impressed. But I am still in shock about the inevitable tone of conversations to follow. I anticipate becoming a little crazier than normal....

Medellin, Colombia here I come!

This is where I will be in 5 days!

New babies!

Joey Shelley was born on December 28 (from Tiffany and Delwyn),





and Kegan Smith was born on January 3 (Holly and Jesse).

I got to hold both today! I forgot my camera:( but i got some great cuddles!

malachisms

 

we have been hearing from various sunday school teachers and babysitter how hilarious our little man is, that is quite the entertainer or class clown. Here is fast one he pulled on me.

We were on our 17 hour drive from Arizona to Sac, and i was feeidng Malachi graham crackers cuz the boy never gets full.

M: uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh....
Mom: I look back to find him pointing towards his window with no cracker in hand, "sorry buddy, if you dropped your cracker you dont get anymore" (he likes to make a game out of this one...)
M: pulls out his other hand from behind his back with the cracker in hand, and smiles mischieviously, " ha ha ha"

where does he learn this stuff... he is only 15 months old, i am beginingg to think we have a houdini on our hands.

arwynisms

 

i have had sooo many arwynism momemts in the last month but in the flurry forgot most of them. Here is one that cracks me up every time i tell it to people. Yes... she is definately my daughter!

so we have taught her the different parts of her body along with the sacred ones. We have taught her how the sacred ones are to be treated and that they are for her only... and as she has asked we have taught her about her brother's as well... and how his are only for him. So the setting is in the bath tub.

A: grabs the plastic bath toy, a " crab" and reaches over to nudge Malachi's personal property with it.
M: Arwyn that is Malachi's you don't need to be touching it.
A: Arwyn no touch it, crab touch it.

well i couldn't argue with that, without laughing. Who ever taught her how to manipulate so greatly?

dwelling on the past

I know I have alot to catch up on here, so many pictures, thoughts and memories to share. But i stumbled across my friends recent blog and wanted to get it down before it was completely out of my head. I was reading this from my friends blog and it got me to thinking about Nostalgia myself. I guess I haven't resolved all my thoughts but I have come to some conclusions.

One of the things I learned in my Perceptions course, on how our senses relate to psychology, was that Music and Smells are the two strongest triggers for our memories. When I found myself "back" in those moments, often times I would wish that I was there again, that my life would rewind, and stay there. But as I have worked through those feelings of "grief" I have found myself in a new place. Not just a new place in time but a new place in perspective. I totally sympathize with Jeremy about remembering those times as the best times. So much energy, desire to learn, free time, and freedom. I have often wondered if I had known what the shift in life stages had in store for me, getting married and having children, would I have chose the same? or would i simmer in that stage and all its glory? Not that I would make a different choice in who I married or to have children or not. But would i put it off till I was "ready" for the change.

Maybe the process of falling in love is a gift from God in that we are so "swept up " in the person and the newness that the process itself kind of ushers right into the next stage, without us really seeing what will change. If we could see, maybe we wouldn't move on.

I have found that marriage and family have definitely taken my free time, energy, and so on. So I am not experiencing the wonder of all those elements combined any longer. But I have come to realize that my life will forever be moving into new stages, and in each stage My spiritual reality will look different as well.

I would say that spiritually my journey is more difficult in this new stage. The accountability of having a sounding board for your true self, in a husband. The new 'issues" that you have to learn to work on together. The time investing in this new relationship to keep it healthy, these all vye for your time and energy. Changing the relationship with you and God. Children showing you even more that you are not perfect, in fact impatient, sometimes angry, and even hypocritical. At this point my relatiosnhip with God is built less on feelings and "highs" and more on knowledge of God and His promises. It is definitely refining me on a faster track than before.

And I have come to love this stage, I am becoming who I was created to be much faster than before. My faith is growing on a deeper level because I am not relying on my feelings to guide my progress. I am having to rely on God's promises and actually make my theology my reality.

So, is it ok to wish for times past? or just enjoy the sweetness of them? can we fully enjoy the present when we are still grieving over the past? Jesus mourned change, even when he had the power to keep the "change" away.

Anyways... interesting topic, thanks Jeromy.