Planning Ahead

Sarabeth, passionately, when she was seven years old: "Mommy, I need sewing lessons and French lessons now! I mean, how can I be a fashion designer in Paris unless I can sew and speak French?"

Last year she took sewing lessons. This year she is studying French. Next stop, Paris!



Modeling pants, apron, and zipper bag she made in her sewing class.

Modeling a skirt she made in sewing class.

Safety Advice

I used to hate it when my mother put our Valentine and Easter candy on top of the refrigerator... and now, I find myself putting my children's Valentine and Easter candy on top of the refrigerator. My children have various ways of dealing with this frustration.

Christopher, sweetly, at four years old: "Mommy, will you get my candy bag down for me? Because if you don't, then I would have to climb up on the counter to get it out, and I might fall down and sprain my head, and then I would have a cast on my head, and that wouldn't be good. So, will you get my candy bag down for me?"

History Lesson

Sarabeth and my mother have always had a very intellectual relationship, regularly discussing important subjects such as the world of Narnia, Greek mythology, and poetry, to name a few. Once, during a discussion of American history, four-year-old Sarabeth inquired: "Nana, were you born around the Civil War?"

Sin Nature

So, back when Christopher was barely two years old and said only a handful of words...

I noticed the glass was broken in a picture frame on my family room end table. Since Sarabeth never touched anything that wasn't hers, and Christopher had no boundaries at all, I was pretty sure who the perpetrator was. I called both children over to the couch where I was sitting and showed them the broken glass. I asked Sarabeth about it, and she obviously had no idea what had happened. Next, I looked over at Christopher and asked him if he knew anything about this. I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he took a few moments to formulate his answer. Then he slowly turned, pointed to his sister and said, "Sa-beh do."

Opposition

Recently Sarabeth saw a bunch of people sitting in lawn chairs outside a game store near Target. She wondered aloud why they were there and what they were doing sitting in lawn chairs. I explained that they were probably waiting in line for a new game release, and would perhaps even spend the night in their lawn chairs, so they could be some of the first people to buy the new game. She rolled her eyes, made a face, and said: " I am totally not in favor of that!"

Smart girl....

A Priceless Moment

I love the toddler stage, when kids first start talking. I love to hear them try new words, and I especially love it when they start sharing their thoughts and ideas. Then you really start to get a look at their budding personalities and hear what's in their hearts. When Sarabeth was two, she was so creative and funny and interesting. (She still is, but this post is about when she was two!) Anyway, one night, when Sarabeth was two, Chet was so overcome with the way she expressed herself that he called me at a friend's house, where I was visiting, just to tell me the story....

Sarabeth made a stage with her blocks, then put all her Little People characters up on the blocks. When Chet asked her what they were doing, she explained, in her sweet little toddler voice, "They're singing and praising the Lord."

May she always have a heart for God!

Wise Advice

Potty training is just not fun. Sometimes I'm not sure who it's harder on... mommy or child? (Actually, I'm pretty sure it's hardest on mommies.) Here's one of my favorite memories from when Sarabeth was three years old.

I always asked her to go potty before I put her clothes on, but she usually said she didn't have to go. Even when I sat her on the potty, she wouldn't go. So, as you can imagine, I was very upset when she told me she had to pee right after I put on her ballet tights and leotard. I was fussing and fuming and chastising and complaining as I sat her on the potty... then she sweetly and quietly encouraged me: "Calm down, Mommy. You just need to trust God and do your best and use your imagination, and everything will be okay."

And it was.

Who's the Boss?

Last night, Sarabeth and Christopher sat outside with the next-door neighbor children, waiting for their soldier daddy to return from his year away in Afghanistan. At one point during the waiting, I was sitting inside at my kitchen table working on the checkbook (not nearly time for him to arrive yet) when Christopher raced inside, ran past me, thundered up the steps, thundered back down, and ran past me carrying a stack of nice blankets from his bedroom.

Mommy: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Those don't go outside! Put them down, bud! .... Okay, you can take the brown one... only one.

Christopher (putting most of the blankets down):  I want the red one.

Mommy (deciding the red one was more patriotic):  Okay, you can take the red one.... (as Christopher races past without slowing down).

Mommy (calling out to Christopher's back): Did it ever occur to you to ask permission for anything??

Christopher (matter-of-factly, just before the door slammed shut behind him):  No....


Hmmm... just as I thought.

Growing Pains

Sarabeth is very proud of being the older child in our family, frequently asserting all of the natural and assumed rights of that position in the birth order. Christopher is gaining on her in height, however, and Sarabeth does not appreciate that her younger brother is basically as tall as she is. She is especially offended that Christopher has a bigger bicycle than she does. She was complaining vehemently about the bicycle issue recently....

Sarabeth: It's SO not fair that Christopher has a bigger bicycle than me! People might think he's older than me! If anyone thinks he's older than me, I'm gonna be SO mad. If someone asks or thinks Christopher is older than me, they're gonna get a piece of me!

Mommy: You mean a piece of your mind?

Sarabeth: Yeah, they're gonna get a piece of my mind!

Watch out, world.

The Faith of a Child

Christopher, in the car yesterday: "God's house is my favorite place to be."

Mommy: "Why is that?"

Christopher: "It just is. It's part of my family history."

A few moments of silence, during which we drove by several churches.

Christopher: "The only God's house I like is our church, the church we go to... and heaven, that we go to when we die."

 

 

Random...

Sarabeth, at four years old:

"Mommy, what do Spanish princesses call their basements?"

Photo Source: Internet

Strange But True...

Christopher really likes to build things with Trio blocks. He's very imaginative: he's designed Barbie furniture (chairs, couches, beds), miniature dollhouses, steps, all manner of guns, swords, ships, planes, helicopters, rockets, insects, ice skates, and a walking stick, just to name a few. I understand most of his creations, but I found his latest one a bit puzzling. A few nights ago, after the children had gone to bed, I found this... a Trio block box full of toothpaste samples and brush picks. My immediate questions were: a) where did he get these materials, and b) what in the world did he plan to use them for? The next morning, I asked him about his collection of dental hygiene products.

Mommy: Where did you get this toothpaste, Christopher?
Christopher: I just got it somewhere.

Mommy: What were you going to use it for?
Christopher: I just needed it for something.

End of conversation. Christopher ran outside to play. Mommy confiscated toothpaste samples.

A Fitting Encouragement

Just thinking about last fall, when Sarabeth played soccer for the first time -- and when she told me: "Mommy, I shared a Bible verse with my team before the game. I told them about where the Bible says: 'I press on toward the goal to win the prize...'"*

So proud of my girl.

*Philippians 3:14

A Real Connection

So Christopher comes racing into the house, yelling: "Mommy, Mommy! You've got to come outside! There are two butterflies in the backyard, and they're hooked together!

It's Really in There!

Sarabeth recited the books of the Bible for me one night while I was lying in bed with her before she went to sleep. She did a great job naming them in order, and I told her, "Sarabeth, I'm so proud of you. It makes me happy that you love Jesus and that you're learning more about the Bible. That's really special for a mother. Actually, there's a verse in the Bible that says 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.'"*

Sarabeth giggled and said, "Oh, Mommy, I'm pretty sure you just made that up. It sounds sort of Lucy-ish."

Lucy-ish? Lucy-ish! What does that mean?

It's a real verse, my dear. I'll show it to you in the Bible tomorrow....

*By the way, this real verse is found in 3 John 1:4.

Did you hear my children screaming?

So, being the mean mommy that I am, I have assigned to the children the responsibility of folding and putting away clean laundry. They've been folding and putting away their own laundry for several years -- which they regularly complain about -- but they have a particularly adverse reaction to folding anyone else's laundry, especially Daddy's.

Sarabeth was so offended by folding Daddy's laundry yesterday that she actually called him at work (while Mommy was in the shower) to tell him not to dirty so many clothes, because she just didn't want to have to fold all of his many, many shirts. Daddy was quite amused, having his eight-year-old daughter instruct him on how many items of clothing he could use per week.

Interesting how having to DO the work makes one not want others to CREATE the work. I feel your pain, Sarabeth; I truly do.

Is That Me?

As I was looking through some old photos recently, Christopher walked up beside me and said, "Is that you and me?" "No," I told him. "Actually, that's Nana and me, Christopher. That's me when I was a little girl, holding Aunt Aya on my lap. Do you think you look like me?" He thought so.

With encouragement from a friend, Christopher and I staged a similar picture, so we could compare them side by side. Wow! We really do look alike! And I look like my mama!

I love old family pictures! Do you look like someone in your family tree?

It's Going to Fall Apart!

Last week we visited the home office of Mission India in Grand Rapids. We saw beautiful saris, handcarved wooden boxes, handpainted vases, and other amazing Indian handicrafts. The hit of the visit, however, was our opportunity to ride in a real rickshaw! It was purchased in India, dismantled and shipped to Grand Rapids, and reassembled in the lobby of the Mission India offices. Sarabeth and Christopher were both pretty sure it was going to fall to pieces if they got on it -- it was pretty rickety. The Mission India staff assured us it would hold our weight, however; and, as they pointed out, everything in India feels like it's going to fall apart.

Medical Opinion

"No babysitter" meant I had to take Sarabeth and Christopher with me to my gynecologist appointment. The children had books and toys with them, and during the exam, they sat in chairs against the wall. No big deal. I thought....

A few days later, Christopher was describing the experience: "And then the doctor put this big wrench in Mommy!"

Yep. Feels like a wrench, actually.

A Biblical View?

Jesus said: "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." (Matthew 5:39)

Sarabeth's interpretation:
"Christopher, if I hit you, the Bible says you're supposed to turn around and let me hit you again."

We're still working on this....

Great Point!

Upon learning that Ramesses the Great was said to have had dozens of wives and 178 children, Sarabeth exclaimed: "How could he ever give them all a piece of chocolate?"

Preemptive Action

Christopher handcuffed his own hands behind his back. Then he explained: "This is so I won't be tempted to hurt you, Sarabeth."

Good thinking!

I Don't Get It....

Christopher recently spent an evening playing at his friend Bryce's house. Ever since his visit, he has been telling me about Bryce's "clod," and how much he liked the clod, and how much he wanted a clod himself. He said Bryce wouldn't let him use the clod, but Bryce even had a special helmet for the clod. Personally, I have never heard of a toy called a "clod." Must be the latest thing, huh? I just nodded and said "uh huh" and so forth.

Finally, after days and days of hearing about this "clod," I asked Christopher: "So what exactly is this toy? I can't really picture what you're talking about." Christopher said, "You know, Mommy. It's like a 4-wheeler!"

Aha! I see, my son. It's not a clod; it's a QUAD.

That Hurts!

At the beach with the children today, I was putting sand in a bucket and helping them collect shells. Suddenly, Sarabeth exclaimed: "Mommy, you're playing with us! This is odd!"

Ouch... perhaps I need to play more!

Good Morning!

Sarabeth's first words to me this morning:
"Mommy, I have two phobias: spiders and enclosed spaces."
Huh?