Hide and Seek Analyzed

Have you ever observed small children playing a game of hide and seek? The most enjoyable part for my 2 year old son is to be found. In fact he doesn't even try to hide very well - like he doesn't want to be forgotten or be out of contact for too long. Now apply that to our relationship with our heavenly Father. His greatest desire is for us to seek him and find him. His greatest joy is our pursuit of Him. Something to ponder.

Hardest Phrases to Say

1. I don't know
2. I'm sorry
3. I love you
4. I was wrong
5. I need help

All of them require vulnerability and honesty and can be the hardest phrases to willingly say at times.

Praise Him for Himself

Although it be good to think upon the kindness of God, and to love Him and praise Him for it; yet it is far better to gaze upon the pure essence of Him and to love Him and praise Him for Himself.
Author Unknown

You don't have to understand God to enjoy Him. He is knowable and yet He will never be completely known. Bill Oudemolen

Baby Tyler - 2 months

More Fall Fun

Clement Park
Matthew, Anna and Joseph had fun playing together.

Tender Moments

I love to hold a sleeping baby! I think Tyler could sleep in any position.

Sanctifying Moments

Well....I went back to work last week. I think that sentence alone says a lot to most Moms. What I've come to realize is that the more relationships I have, whether work or personal, the more I can no longer present myself as having it all together because one way or another I am revealed. Classic tale...last week at MOPS we were all telling our stories of "mother brain" (it takes over after pregnany brain). I was recounting the time I accidently locked Matthew in the car on a hot summer day and had to be rescued by the fire department. Not even two hours later I was at Target and wouldn't you know, I locked my keys in the car. Fortunately I had already gotten Tyler out, but Steve had to wake up Matthew and come rescue me again.

Then there is my Son whose two year old brain leads him to many "what if" scenarios to see how things work. Wednesday I surprised him in the act of using a pen to pry off the keys on my laptop (company owned laptop). I lost it and honestly I don't know if I would have done anything different if I had to do it all over again. Before children I considered myself a pretty in control, easy going, not easily angered person. It is amazing how much a two year old can push my buttons!! As I was driving to work on Thursday I was struck by how much God uses children to sanctify Moms (and Dads). That still small voice also reminded me that He is my Father and how often my relationship with my son is, or should be, a reflection of my relationship with Him.

So...tomorrow is another chance for me to practice what little tidbits I learn each day and another opportunity to exerience God's sanctifying love.

Does Your Head Hurt?

“If something is demonstrably the wrong thing to do…you don’t necessarily need an alternative in order to cease doing it. In order to stop beating your head against the wall, you don’t need something else to beat your head against.” Peter Scholtes

Golden Days

I love fall!! The cooler weather, cozy sweaters, hot cider, pumpkins and most of all the changing colors of the foliage. I miss Maine's burnt oranges and blazing reds, but Colorado has the beautiful golds. The mountains are speckled with gold in amongst the Evergreens and when you have the snow capped peaks in the background the scene is "a chocolate sundae for the soul" as Barbie would say.

These pictures were taken at the park at the end of our street. Even Tyler was smiling! They're a little dark as it was dusk and a storm was moving in, but you get the idea.

Boys Will Be Boys

I observed Matthew playing with some boys yesterday and came away from those interactions with questions about parenting. Where is the line between being protective in a healthy way vs. unhealthy? And/or when do my actions change from being regarded as "good" to being labeled as "bad" when allowing my child to behave as a "normal" kid when playing with other children?

My son and his little friend were acting more like siblings than friends yesterday, picking at each other, knocking each other down and almost duking it out on the floor. It is behavior we expect of boys, but when should I as a parent step in to break it up and reprimand my child as opposed to letting them work it out and learn to respect each other? Are those concepts too grown up for a two or three year old? I want him to learn respect, compassion, loyalty, negotiating skills, learn to lose, and learn how to win. It seems to me that if he were to begin to learn some of these skills before school, when I am not there to referee, that he would find survival a tad bit easier.

But....there are challanges to allowing little boys to "work it out". First, they can very quickly escalate to hurting each other, and second not many moms that I've talked to are willing to let it happen - as the behavior is not considered socially acceptable and third, it takes a lot of work for parents to try to teach these concepts instead of just putting the child in time out or punishing the behavior (granted sometimes the behavior is worthy of discipline!) Some of these thoughts spring from reading two books "Raising Cain: protecting the emotional life of boys" and "Wild at Heart" (sorry, I can't remember either author at the moment).

I would love to hear your feedback - especially Moms with boys.