Proof

Poor little schmoo. She's being a real trooper though & only complaining that i'm making her sit still too long while i clean it. Crazy.

weighed in the balance & found....

Mollen got a huge blistering infection where a hang nail went wrong. She had told me it hurt one night awhile ago & i had taken the nail clippers to it & even when she said, "it still hurts!!" i said, "it's good enough!" (thinking this was just a getting out of going to bed tactic... - she's really awesome at those..)
Anyway, today my dad was snuggling her (my mom & dad are here for a visit! Yippee!) & he bumped her toe & she almost shouted, "OUCH!! That's my owie toe!!" i thought that was quite a reaction for a little person who is usually as tough as nails, so i called her over. There was a huge white lump on it rimmed with red. i felt horrible. i went upstairs to get some hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound & as we walked back downstairs, Mollen informed me:
"i guess you're a bad mom after all..."
Yeh... weighed in the balance & found wanting.

Giving up for Lent...

Lent seems to be more of a Catholic observance.


It's not something that has been a huge part in my upbringing in church - & yet it's something that, as one pastor put it, serves as a sort of tenderizer for our hearts in the days leading up to remembering the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.


i love the idea of preparing our hearts by having a daily reminder for 40 days, of the sacrifice of Jesus. i've never quite known how to incorporate that into our lives - with little ones...


Earlier this year, Cai & i were in a bookstore & she found a little book about Lent - with daily scripture readings. She asked me what Lent was & when i explained it to her, she decided she wanted to observe it - & bought that little book with her own money.


Now that Lent is finally here - of course - the little book is missing. So, we've been scrounging in our hearts and brains for an appropriate way to observe it.


A friend suggested to me a "Lent Jar". She said that when she was little, they would fill the lent jar with little papers, each with a written daily sacrifice. Over the course of Lent, they would pick one for each day. Cai loved the idea - so we set to work getting one ready.


Some of the scraps of paper read: No tv, no computer, 5 minute tidy, play a game with a little one, make a card for someone who needs one, no sweets, "silent supper", copy work from scripture... etc...


i'm hoping that these daily reminders will open up opportunities for conversation about Jesus - who loves each one of us so much - & that as we enter the time of year when we remember all that God has done for us - Passover, Sacrifice, Resurrection... that our hearts will be soft enough to be drawn to Him.

Psalm 91

My little guy, has had night frights since he was very little. Sometimes it has been about a pancake, the cat in the hat, a sister, fighting 'bad guys'... Sometimes we have no idea what he's scared of & it's hard to wake him up or comfort him. One night, he was picking the shadows his window cast out of the air and eating them - eyes wide open - fast asleep.
It's become even more of a challenge since Gage started sleeping with him. Gage is an extremely light sleeper & i can imagine that it must be terrifying to hear all that thrashing, moaning and calling out in the night. When my mother in law was last here, i was talking to her about this problem & she told me to read Psalm 91 with Charter at night before he goes to bed. Now, bedtime at our house is *not* a strength. By bedtime, i'm bagged. If i could quit one little tiny part of motherhood, it would be bedtime (and cleaning bathrooms). i'd love to retire it to daddy. i lack patience at bedtime because (i'm selfish) i'm longing for a little time with Neil. An uninterrupted conversation... or a few moments of silence... snacks in bed... watching a tv show... i kept forgetting to add this Psalm to our night time routine of, "jammies, teeth, pee" - but last night i remembered...
i called Charter & Mollen (who has trouble sleeping without daddy) into my room, tucked the blankets around their little toes & pulled out my bible & we read this Psalm:

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Then we prayed together - & i sent them to bed.
Gage woke at 3am 'cause he had a rumbly in his tumbly - but the other 2 slept through. Maybe it's a coincidence... & maybe it won't happen again tonight - but i have no doubt that putting God's word in their hearts and minds at bedtime can only bring good things.

sisters

On Saturday, we packed up the family & went to Wetaskiwin. My nephew had another wrestling tournament & we decided to go watch & cheer. When we went a couple of weeks ago, i was shocked to see girls wrestling... it's just not something i would have ever... EVER wanted to do in highschool... first, there's the outfits... ummm... not flattering... & then there's the fact that you grab another girl - with spit flying - & try to wrestle her to the ground...

Really? They sign up for this??

So, we were watching the wrestling & suddenly, we heard my other nephew pipe up from behind us... "Hey, look - a boy's gonna wrestle a girl - this is gonna be interesting."

(No, they didn't have boys wrestling girls... it was just one of those funny misunderstandings...)

This time Jess & co. couldn't make it so, this Saturday, it was just us & the Fehlers. We filed into a *packed* gymnasium - with our 13 children in tow. It was a little nutty - but i was so glad i got to go. Stephanie & i locked eyes & visited as quickly as we could. After Wyatt's matches were over, we went to McDonalds for ice cream - admired each others babies - laughed at our preteens & tried to squeeze as much into our brief encounter as we could.

As we drove away, i sighed, 'Thank you, Neil'. i love how he makes these things happen.

Then on Sunday night, Jess & her crew showed up at my house. Teeny Wes having already changed so much since the last time we saw him. They were spending the night on their way to a family get away at Radium. i made jess climb into bed with me where we could nurse babies, change bums & entertain whichever little ones wanted to visit with the mamas. i have no idea where Neil & Curt were.

i miss my sisters.

i love that they are such a sweet encouragement to me - but i wish we lived closer.