March 2013 Review

Lots of time cuddling, this photo taken on a lazy morning when I slept in and Jackson came to cuddle with me in bed. He brought books and read quietly beside me.

And lots of time in the Kindness Closet (hall closet converted into a fort).

The second week of spring break, I came home from work one day to find my two kids crammed into the Kindness Closet with their babysitter and her little brother. They were hiding from me. I laughed!

We celebrated a good friend’s 50th birthday with a surprise party his wife had been planning for months. He was definitely surprised!

We went to a Native American Pow Wow for the first time. It was held at a nearby university and it was fascinating. The kids loved the activity, dancing, regalia, and atmosphere.

Katie was mesmerized by the Head Woman, who helped lead the procession at the start of the Grand Entrance. Katie asked to meet her and have a photo taken with her. We found out her name is Esther.

After the Pow Wow, we walked nearby on the Washington University campus and found these awesome little huts. I have Googled lots of phrases (“Washington University twig huts,” “stick fort,” “hedge huts”) and can’t find any information on them other than a few photos taken by other people. It’s a mystery, but a fascinating one! The kids had fun running through them… and so did we! What I wouldn’t give to have one of these built in my backyard.

Afterwards, we left the university and drove to a city coffee house owned by friends Dan met at church. We snuggled in to the window seat, had an afternoon snack, read some books, and talked. Joy!

I took this photo on the 17th because this blog is for marking the milestones in our lives, as well as the mundane moments. Does anyone else have a pile of laundry that is taking over the laundry room?

Our church is full of incredibly talented artists. While walking around the building one day at work, I passed an area the artists set up where they were creating masterpieces with melted crayons. This art became the backdrop for the entire Easter celebration at all three of our church campuses. It is even cooler in person!

And this is another piece of art they created, also with crayons. Somehow I know if I were to attempt this, it would never turn out this stunning.

Jackson became a composer this month. He sat down at the electric keyboard and started playing, and wrote down the notes he played in the order he played them. Here’s his music. Later, Katie played it on her recorder too.

The HUGE change for the month was I went corn, dairy and gluten free. The doctor thinks it will ease the inflammation in my body, which will counteract my lupus and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I didn’t go corn, dairy and gluten free all at once; it’s been gradual since March 9th. So far, the changes I’ve seen include a little weight loss and I can actually get my rings off my fingers even in the morning (which is my worst time of day for swelling). It sounds like a minor thing, but it’s a sign that something is working. I’m also off one of the six medications I was taking for heartburn. That’s a nice benefit! This photo shows one of my first really fulfilling gluten-free meals. I found a gluten/corn-free beer (that I actually like!) and made a rice-crust and non-dairy cheese pizza. I really liked this meal and it has been one of my go-to meals for the last month.

At the end of Spring Break, I took the kids to a new museum nearby called Myseum. There were lots of interactive exhibits, including this metal wall with magnetized PVC pipes. It’s a life-sized marble run, and the kids loved it!

One of my other favorite things at Myseum was this area called Seaweed Swamp. Pool noodles are strung from a metal grid near the ceiling, and they hang vertically in the air. The pool noodles are about a foot off the ground and pretty close together, so you can’t really see through them. It’s a fun sensory “swamp”, although I wouldn’t go in there if you are claustrophobic because you can get a little disoriented.

The last day of Spring Break was Palm Sunday. It was supposed to be spring-like, yes? NOT in St. Louis! We got a foot of snow and it was the worst snowfall in the area in thirty years. I was at work that morning when the snow started, and it came down so fast that we cancelled 11am church services. I usually get home in about 20-25 minutes, but it took me an hour that day because the roads were so incredibly bad. I prayed the entire time (out loud!) and finally made it home. It was a wacky day. We had planned to celebrate Jackson’s birthday with family at Chuck E Cheese, but cancelled. Which was for the best because Dan had to take Katie to urgent care that morning due to a really sore throat. We thought it was strep, but it turned out to be just a plain sore throat!

As if the snow wasn’t bad enough, my sister had arrived in town the day before. She was spending the first part of her Spring Break with us. Our plans were cancelled and we spent about two days in the house watching TV and letting the kids play video games. There wasn’t much else we could do! This is my sister on the couch pretending to have a WILD Spring Break. Ha!

Because our church cancelled Palm Sunday services, they decided to stream the entire service online instead. The church has never done that before, so it was pretty cool to see the worship and the message from the comfort of home. AND we also got to watch it on our cool new TV! Dan and I haven’t bought a TV for about 13 years. Our old one was small and weighs about 115 pounds because it’s as deep as it is wide. (A dinosaur!) We have finally caught up to the 21st century and gotten a “smart” TV. The high definition reception gave my brain a workout for the first few days as I started at the screen open-mouthed at how crisp people look on TV. It was like the “fourth wall” of a movie was broken through and I could see these people aren’t really hobbits and dark lords; rather, they are actors playing characters. (We flipped on Lord of the Rings as the first thing we watched on the TV). It truly blew my mind.

My sister was here to celebrate Jackson’s birthday a few days early. Since he missed his big family outing to Chuck E Cheese, she gave him a present on snow night. This was his face when he opened the Skylanders Giants character he wanted so badly. Mary also gave him two five-dollar bills, and he thought he was RICH!

In usual St. Louis fashion, school was cancelled the next day even though most roads were clear. Mary and I decided to take Katie and Jackson to Chuck E Cheese on our own. Jackson was very happy about that! We had fun with the kids and Mary and I even went head-to-head on our own trivia game.

This photo demonstrates one of the MANY reasons I love my job. Y’all know I work at a church that has multiple locations. In order to preserve staff unity, every employee goes to the main location on Wednesdays. We have ministry-specific meetings, catch up with coworkers, and attend a mandatory staff lunch. That means anyone who works at a satellite campus has to bring their portable office with them, which means their laptop and files they need and whatnot. This also means the regular office space is inundated with lots of people, so we all find a chair or coffee table to make into a temporary office for the day. You can walk through the building and see random people holed up in any available chair in the foyer and sometimes even in the nursing mothers room. A brilliant manager decided to make one of the KidzCrossing classrooms into a temporary work area. She has been setting up tables there, but recently decided to make it into a really nice space. So she put tablecloths out, nice lamps for prettier lighting, and even added a candle. This was my favorite part, though: the day she unveiled it, she had chocolate-covered strawberries and sparkling juice for everyone to enjoy and to make the off-campus employees feel welcome. I love that someone made a point to give us a “home away from home.”

The big event in March is sweet Jackson’s birthday. He turned six this year, and we celebrated the day with dinner out and presents at home. This is the huge shark pillow Dan bought for him at Cabela’s. He’s been sleeping with it every night and he loves it.

The last day of March was Easter Sunday. Our entire family went to work with me. Dan volunteered at both morning services, and Katie led worship in the Preschool classroom. Jackson went into the Kindergarten classroom, where they were taught the response to the phrase, “Chris is risen!” The response is, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” Jackson wrote it on his dry erase board. I love how proud he looks, and I especially love that his spelling makes “indeed” look like “and dead.”

After work, we spent Easter afternoon with Dan’s family. Jackson got to open his birthday presents from the extended family, and this photo shows the t-shirt quilt Grandma made him from all the shirts I’ve decorated for him in the past. One of the squares in the middle is a denim  hat he used to wear in the summers. Grandma figured out how to include it in the quilt too. I love the memories this represents.

Easter Sunday’s weather was completely opposite of Palm Sunday, so we took the kids and their cousin on a walk to a nearby playground. It was a lovely end to March, and my soul is aching for spring weather to HURRY UP ALREADY!

Hoodies + Bookmarks

Katie wears a hoodie as if it’s a security blanket. She wears one every day and almost every moment of every day!  Her favorite is a blue and pink geometrically-striped hoodie. Today I nabbed it from her coat hook and took it to the laundry room to wash it. Before I threw it in, I emptied the pockets and this is what I found:

My girl has scraps of paper stuffed in her jacket pocket, and a paper clip too. No big deal, right? But guess what she uses them for: every one of these is a bookmark she has been using in her library books. For a mom who also loves to read, these little bits and scraps make me incredibly happy. How I love that girl!

Happy 6th Birthday, Jackson!

Hi, Sugar Boy! It’s your big day, and you have been counting down to your birthday for quite a while now. Your joy was tangible when I woke you this morning. I love when you are so excited about something that it makes everyone around you excited too.

You are a big six year old, and you have no idea what sort of influence you have, do you? When I think of life-changers, six year olds don’t come to mind for me. But you… oh, you’re a different story. You create ripples and splashes everywhere you go! Sometimes it’s a huge cannonball of a moment when we’re at a store and you have a tantrum that everyone can hear. (Ha!) Other moments aren’t as grandiose, and yet they still leave an impact.

Yesterday, for example, we had an acquaintance drop something off at our house. The woman brought her 8 year old son, who was painfully shy. He could hardly stand to look at anyone’s face because he was so withdrawn. The boy sat on the far edge of the couch, behind his mom where no one could see him. He faded into the background while everyone chatted. Meanwhile, you were slowly bringing each of your favorite toys into the room and demonstrating how they work, and looking over at this boy each time. Once or twice you tried to give the toy to him, and he wouldn’t accept it. So you found another toy and played with it. Finally, you cracked through this boy’s shell and after 30 minutes, he followed you downstairs to our basement playroom. The next thing I know, you were chasing each other through the house with Nerf guns.

Can you understand what I’m saying with this example? My son, you are a charmer. You love people, and your need for interaction with them breaks through the barriers they build around themselves. You are persistent (oh, how I know this!) and when you find something you want, your tenacity is unyielding. I’m grateful for that, although I still need to figure out how best to harness that character trait!

Your fifth year had a few struggles too, and we weathered lots of changes: I went back to work. You started Kindergarten. You were diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity, then ADHD and anxiety and depression. We’ve had an uphill battle for a while. Some days, I muttered under my breath wondering whether I would survive the unknowns we face.

And then, we have a good moment or a good day, and my hope is restored and I catch a glimpse of who you might be when things start making more sense. I see your undiluted sweetness and your desire to make people around you happy. You crave laughter, and are triumphant when you make people crack up. You are a living, breathing oxymoron: seriously silly! I’ve always suspected you will be voted Class Clown in high school.

This year’s growth has been fun to watch. Just the other night when I was brushing your teeth, I saw your six-year molars poking through. You ran through the house showing everyone, calling them your “motors.” A day later, you kept asking to see them again. This past year has also been a huge milestone in your learning abilities: you can READ! Every time you grab a book and plop yourself down to read, my heart does a cartwheel because you are so stinkin’ smart. I also love reading the work you bring home from school, and the ways you have navigated writing and spelling. There’s nothing better than a story written by a Kindergartener!

And last week, you hit another creative milestone: you wrote your own music. Daddy set up the electric piano for you, and you sat in front of it and played keys and wrote down the notes in order. It looks like gibberish, but it is actually a musical composition. Wow! You love music, especially singing it out loud in the car. When Katie rehearses for leading worship at church, you practice right alongside her and your energy is astounding.

This year we also started some sports activities. You had a taste of karate in the fall, and then started gymnastics at the beginning of the calendar year. It’s been fun to watch your confidence grow and your appetite for trying new things.

You are growing and changing every day, sweet boy. Laughing, fussing, learning, singing, and loving with your whole heart. There is no doubt in my mind how much you love your family: me, Daddy, and Katie. I love being the object of your love, and hope you feel how much I adore you in return. We have so much in store for us this coming year, and I can’t wait to see you get wet as you dive in and experience it all.

I love you!

Mommy

Easter Centerpiece

I saw this beautiful photo on Pinterest and showed it to Katie. [Unfortunately, I can’t find a link to the original source. If someone knows, feel free to comment and I’ll link to it!]

I asked her if she wanted to recreate it with me, and she said yes! We spent a Sunday after work at Michaels and picked out some moss and terra cotta pieces to use. We found some white rocks in Katie’s rock collection, and also at Leftovers. We borrowed the rest from a neighbor’s landscaping (with permission!).

Katie dug up some dirt from the yard, and Jackson collected twigs for the crosses. We started by putting dirt in the shallow dish and embedded the small terra cotta pot sideways in it.

I mounded the dirt up around it as best as I could, and then put moss on top. I pushed some rocks in place while Katie was busy clipping the twigs so they were the right size for the crosses. I wrapped twine around the twigs, and we pushed them into the moss. The finishing touch was finding a big, round rock to place in front of the empty “tomb.” Here’s how ours turned out:

We had enough supplies to make two, so we made a small one and a larger one. I love the way they look, and I’m excited to display one of them throughout Holy Week on our kitchen table. I think I’ll take the other to work with me.

Show Up Randomly

This post was originally written for a blog my church publishes for our volunteers. The blog helps the volunteers as they learn how to be leaders in different areas of their lives, especially with the kids they serve in our ministry.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines random as “a haphazard course” and also “without definite aim, direction, rule, or method.”

When the authors of Lead Small talk about showing up randomly in our small group members’ lives, I don’t think they mean to do it without aim or direction. Maybe my administrative assistant glasses are too thick, but I can’t imagine showing up without direction. I mean, how would you ever get someplace? You’d be making wrong turns all day long!

I think showing up randomly means YOU have intention and premeditation. The random part comes when THEY don’t expect it.

You are in relationship with those in your small group. You know a little bit about their families and who is in them. You know if they tend to run late because they are compromising with their children over what clothes to wear to church. You know if one of the children you lead has a pet that just died. You know their ages and stations in life.

But, honestly? You don’t need to know anything about a person to show up randomly in his life. You can show a random act of kindness to a stranger in the drive-thru line at McDonald’s as easily as you can show kindness to your mother when she needs yard work done at her house. The random part comes as a result of who YOU are, not who the recipient is.

Who you are is built upon the foundation God has poured in your life. When you invite Him in and allow Him to love you, your life will be changed. When you mess up and feel ashamed, and then the realization hits that He doesn’t withhold His love no matter how badly you messed up, it unearths something unbelievable in your heart: grace. And when you experience that undeserved grace, it starts seeping out into the rest of your life. You offer it to others, whether they deserve it or not. You start showing up in random ways, because that’s how God shows up in your life. It’s an extension of who He is, not who you are. Because you’ve been loved so extravagantly by Him, you can love others the exact same way.

My favorite scripture is the Message translation of Philippians 4:13 which says, “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

He makes you who you are. Open your eyes to see the random ways He loves you, and then open your hands to love on someone else.

Be Present

This post was originally written for a blog my church publishes for our volunteers. The blog helps the volunteers as they learn how to be leaders in different areas of their lives, especially with the kids they serve in our ministry.

I have a handwritten Post-It note on my desk at home that says, “What your kids really want is YOU.” I put it there six years ago, when Katie was about three years old. I was getting caught up in the culture of “buy more and go bigger.” I mistakenly thought I should show my love to my child by giving her everything she wanted. What I quickly realized is giving her everything she wanted left me broke! And it just left her wanting more. There would never be enough STUFF to fill the desires of her heart.

I was reading a parenting book and came across that quote, “What your kids really want is YOU.” It hit me upside the head and reminded me Katie wanted to be with me, not a fuzzy-headed dolly. She wanted me to read books to her, not plop her in front of the television. She wanted a walk around our neighborhood, not isolated playtime in the basement. She needed a sit-down-home-cooked-meal kind of love, not a drive-through-speed-by-never-slow-down parent. She needed me to be present in her life.

This past Sunday in Team Time, we talked about being present in the teams we serve on at The Crossing. It means showing up: predictably, mentally, and randomly. What does being present look like? You give your word and you stand by it. You don’t cancel unless there’s an emergency. You commit and sometimes you make a sacrifice to see that commitment through. When you show up, you engage in conversation. You look people in the eyes when they are talking. You smile and you listen. In short: you treat others the way you want to be treated!

Love consistently, interact often, and give lavishly, because the bottom line is this: what your kids really want is YOU. The same thing applies to your significant other, your boss, your siblings, your parents, your best friend, and God too. They all want your presence, not a fuzzy-headed dolly to play with. Not a drive-through meal. Be present and show your heart to others. Engage and enjoy!

Bedtime Thoughts

Each night as I get ready for bed, I have an avalanche of thoughts that tumble through my head. Last night, I started writing them down and chuckling at how random my brain can be. I’m not the only one, right?

• Is agreeance a word?
• Why does my eye twitch so much now?
• Just know you’re not alone, ‘cause I’m gonna make this place your home. Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo-ooo… (Phillip Phillips song on repeat in my head.)
• Betty White was a beard for Liberace. How did “beard” ever come to be used?
• Ow. That ripped cuticle hurts.
• How does Dan fall asleep faster than I can even brush my teeth?
• …‘cause I’m gonna make this place your home. Oo-oo-oo…
• The Biggest Loser
• Walking Dead
• Duck Dynasty
• I should paint my nails.
• Where is my lotion?
• Itchy back. Why does the same spot itch every.single.night?
• I should write this stuff down.
• I haven’t blogged in so long!
• Does anyone read it anyway?
• No one reads it.
• Mmmmm… electric blankets.
• My sister will be here soon!
• I should go to sleep. Or at least read.
• Stop. Making. A. List.
• NOW.

February 2013 Review

February was the month of snow for us this season. Nothing beats the beauty of snow falling in the night while you watch from your window as the streetlights reflect off the snow.

Fun times for the kids in the snow.

Jackson has beautiful eyelashes. (I promise I didn’t put a flake on his lashes for this photo. It was just there!)

Ants finally arrived for the ant farm Jackson got for Christmas. I have been fascinated watching them work and dig tunnels. I’m amazed at God’s creation every single day.

I also captured lots of God’s creation from my living room window. This was the homemade card I made for Dan’s Valentine this year. I included a line from the song “All I Ask of You” that was sung at our wedding.

My friends asked me to do a photo shoot for their sweet boy, Levi. He  makes me melt!

And I can’t pick just one photo, so here’s another favorite.

One Sunday as I was leaving work, I stopped to talk to my boss for a moment. Jackson went over to a white board and starting writing math problems AND working them out on his own. I was so proud of his new abilities!

And my prodigy of a daughter has gotten SO good at playing the recorder that she has turned it into a nose flute of sorts. I’ll repeat my above sentiments: I was so proud of her abilities! (Tee hee. She makes me laugh.)

One of my goals for this year is to read more books. Because of Jackson’s diagnosis, February was spent reading non-fiction – including this book that was an eye-opener for me.

Speaking of reading, Jackson is becoming more and more proficient in his ability to read. I am amazed at how he picks up on words, and how I can literally see his brain processing as he sounds out new words.

More snow came, and the kids missed two days of school in a row. It was the week of President’s Day, so there were only 2 days of school that week. Cabin fever led us to a fun project: turning the hall closet into a permanent fort. We call it the Kindness Closet because I told the kids they need to be kind to each other inside it. We hung Christmas lights inside so they can read with the door closed. I confess I’ve done a bit of reading in there myself.

One evening, Dan got an impulse to dig out his box of Boy Scout memorabilia and show it to the kids. The three of them took immense joy in going through all the tools, patches, badges, and awards Dan earned. Jackson was most excited to find a whistle in the box. I gave him permission to blow it ONE TIME.

And another day of snow means another chance to get some snowflake photos. I could do this for hours at a time, if it weren’t so darn cold! You can see the reflection of my camera in this photo, which is straight out of the camera with no edits. I kind of like it this way.

We have a weekly tradition of going out to dinner with friends after church on Saturday nights, and Jackson is especially thrilled when our 16-year-old friend brings her boyfriend. Jackson adores this guy. Can you tell? We all kind of adore him, but I refuse to say it out loud in front of the poor kid, because he’s already been adored-upon by his girlfriend’s mother. I’m trying not to add extra sugar to the syrup.

Lastly, February was the start of a class at church that turned my memories upside down. This class is called Storyline, and it gave me perspective on my life and how God has orchestrated so many details to work for His purpose. I was undone and felt such deep love from my Father. Most of my homework sessions were spent with this binder, lots of notebook paper for writing notes, and a box of tissues. I did a lot of writing throughout class, and I’m hoping to share some here at another time. I am eternally grateful to the leaders of my church for writing this class curriculum so I could hear God speaking to me through it.