Mothers of Wee Ones

"He gently leads those that have young." ~ Isaiah 40:11 

I frequently think on this verse when I am having a tough day, feel impatient, act grouchy, want to keel over from sleep-deprivation, lack the energy and enthusiasm, or even when it seems like it takes more than I've got to even talk or smile or move. And it is in those moments when these words come to me. Minister to me.

Because I know that He is leading me, each day and each step. He is my faithful Guide. I have my eyes on Jesus, and His word is lighting my path.

It's the word "gently" that gets me. Obviously, He knows the hard-core nature of the work of those that have young. It is tough stuff. And it seems never-ending, always-needed. Not a spare moment. Not a spare breath. Often, not even a spare thought. And, you know what we need? Gentleness. Oh, yes. I may forget diapers, water, clothes, snacks, my mind, and a good attitude. My devotional time is scattered and haphazard (not that it should be or has to be) right now and is not at all what it used to be like before kids. Completion is a thing of the past. But, He understands that I have young. He is gentle in His dealings with me. And, I know that there is more than enough Jesus-grace for mothers of young, who may or may not be in their right mind some [most] of the time.

Thank You, Lord, for gently leading this mother of young!

Oh, How I Love Her

To honor my own dear mother, I decided to write my "10 things I'm thankful for" this week about her. They are on my Attitude of Gratitude page, but they are below, as well:

Mama,

THANK YOU. I cherish how...

1. when you lovingly stroke my face with your cool hand, my breathing becomes deeper, I ache less, my mind stills, and I am soothed.
2. your eyes dance and your heart warms when I laugh.
3. just hearing your voice relaxes my whole body.
4. you will do whatever you need to do to be there for me.
5. you make laying down your life to serve your family seem so easy.
6. you can win people over with your charm.
7. being practical (almost as much as me) does not dampen your fun-loving nature.
8. I can say (or not even speak) whatever I want and not have to worry about it because you love me unconditionally.
9. I notice your submission to my dad a lot more now that I'm married.
10. by far, the thing I am most thankful for is that we get to be together forever because of Christ (praise God for softening our hearts enough so that we could receive the grace of God offered to us through Jesus)!

I love you,

Coming or Going

• This has to be short because this is a loooong week with Ricky suddenly being called to work in another county two hours away (commuting four hours every day this week). It's thrown a wrench in our plans, but we are surviving with the help of friends! Ricky is gone 12-3 hours each day, which means that he never gets to see Micaiah and Aolani is going to bed late and waking up early.
• Very glad to learn that North Carolina's Amendment to ban same-sex marriage has been upheld by 61%. [So thankful for early voting!]
• We just found out that Ricky has passed one more part of his certification testing, which means he has three of four under his belt. However, he must retake the hardest part again but not until October.
• I had food poisoning (I think) this morning that knocked me out for two hours, but then I was all-better, praise God!
• Oh, and I got a seat belt to use on my wheelchair. I love it; I feel so much safer, especially handling babies!
• Ummm... Micaiah just erupted on me twice and is now cooing ;) Sorry, that must be it for now!

Yes, this is just play; Micaiah is not eating solids yet. Aolani got a big kick out of putting her brother in her booster chair, strapping him in, securing her bib on him, and pretending to feed him!

• I want to make sure I have the "Romans Road" (five verses from the book of Romans that give a sort of outline that a person"walks" down to learn about how to gain eternal life) memorized well before moving on from Romans. The first two verses are Romans 3:23, which reads for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the second verse, Romans 6:23, reads For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I'm Good -- A Rap That Wraps

for (from) the Persecuted Church... lyrics below to help you follow along ;)



I hear that troubles coming for me death is at my doorway
Fear says Imma perish but that ain't what my Lord say
He said I ain't guilty though I still ain't have my court date
Tasted and I've seen even though it's just a foretaste
I don't know what they feeling I don't know what they thinking
But my soul's invincible like Mario when he blinking
They see me full of joy like "I don't know what he drinking?"
Cup is full of living water bro I sip it and thank Him
Yessir may not win grammy or get another stellar
But I get rewards from my Lord there ain't nothing better
I may not jot again I may not sell a milli
But I've been purchased by my king He's forever with me
So what they talking bout no they can't knock me down
Yessir I do feel pain but Jesus got me now
That's why I'm making noise that's why I'm running hard
That's why I go gorilla spitting monkey bars

Partner now you know I'm good to go
Pressure creates diamonds and fire refines the gold
Ain't nothing on this planet that satisfies my soul
I'm living for tomorrow today is out of control for sho
I'm good take all my money
I'm good here come the pain
I'm good ya they can kill me
I'm good to die is gain
I'm good I ain't saying that we don't feel any pain
I'm just saying you can't take us out the game
Cause homie we good

I done been through the fire
I survived all the floods
And them writers is with me they all covered in blood
Drag my name through the mud they can hate they can gossip
But my passion for Jesus they ain't never go'n stop me
I was dead I guess that made me better than I ever was
Look at me I'm good partner I'm on my forever buzz
If everything I have is taken I can take it
They say I never make it I know the person who made it
My life is hidden in Him so when I die I gain
And Jesus really be walking with me so how I'm lame?
My life is full of pain problems and such
But I'm focused on forever in eternity's touch
While the world try to fight me Pharisees try to stone me
I am Tebow in the fourth quarter they can't hold me
Ya the Lord is my coach got me off in the zone
Tell my mama that I'm good when he carry me home

Partner now you know I'm good to go
Pressure creates diamonds and fire refines the gold
Ain't nothing on this planet that satisfies my soul
I'm living for tomorrow today is out of control for sho
I'm good take all my money
I'm good here come the pain
I'm good ya they can kill me
I'm good to die is gain
I'm good I ain't saying we don't feel any pain
I'm just saying you can't take us out the game
Cause homie we good

Hey man we been beat down we been persecuted, laughed at, ridiculed and mocked but that ain't go'n stop us. No sir. We good. We know where our eternal resting place is at!
Hey trip talk to em man.

I know that Imma suffer that will only make me tougher
Death is just a doorway to take me to my faithful lover
The lover of my soul is with me you can shake me brother
But you can never knock me down and take me under bring the thunder
Let the storms come to hunt us and hurt us
They can't take our Lord from us bro we got us a verdict Not Guilty
He's with us and He stays present He never leaves me
He even gives me stage presence

Partner now you know I'm good to go
Pressure creates diamonds and fire refines the gold
Ain't nothing on this planet that satisfies my soul
I'm living for tomorrow today is out of control for sho
I'm good take all my money
I'm good here come the pain
I'm good ya they can kill me
I'm good to die is gain
I'm good I ain't saying that we don't feel any pain
  I'm just saying you can't take us out the game
Cause homie we good!!!

Budding and Building

• Ricky's parents came to visit over the weekend and celebrate his birthday, which was last week. We went to Biltmore Estate one day (mainly to see their flower gardens in bloom) and installed the dryer. [I forgot the softness of clothes after being dried! Luxury.]

Egg salad sandwiches with Aolani

Ricky's parents have a stroller that they used for Aolani. {When it is just us four, I usually wear the baby and hold Aolani's hand while she walks beside me. Ricky pushes me. However, if we are going to a restaurant, we leave Micaiah in the car seat and put it (him) on my lap to carry.}

• Verses to memorize (last and still) this week: Romans 1:16-7 ~ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes -- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

How Being Right Can Make You Wrong

I listened to parts one and two of this mini-seminar about marriage this past week by Andy Stanley, and he mentioned a story from which he got a good lesson that I want to put into a cute, succinct phrase of my own.

Being right does NOT authorize you to respond wrongly.

Your spouse may have forgotten something or done something annoying or flat-out not do something they had promised to do or not even care, but we are to:

show respect
edify
strengthen
be kind and gentle
support
encourage
love
build up
give grace
forgive
empower

...with our words and actions (see Ephesisans 4:29). I may be right about a matter, but I automatically go into the red zone of being wrong the moment I start nagging or raising my voice or criticizing or complaining or using ultimatums or thinking up "punishments" or use an irritating tone of voice or just glaring... Okay, as you can see, I can be childish, petty, and (oh-so) despicable. Simply, I am the one in the wrong. The examples are endless, so I won't bother giving one ;)

Oh, and I think this concept is definitely not restricted to marriage (spouses and parents tend to bring out the worst in you!) but can apply to any relationship of any sort.

Be kind and affectionate towards one another,

forgiving each other,

just as in Christ God forgave you.

~ Ephesians 4:32

Up and Through

• We now have a new game in our date night rotation, which we so enjoy: Upwords. Similar to Scrabble but more fun and challenging to us. If you like word games...
• Measured the kiddos over the weekend: Aolani -- 29 lbs, 34.5" tall; Micaiah -- 13.5 lbs, 25" long.
• One fun activity I did with Aolani was to put her on my lap and view baby pictures/short videos of her on my computer. She really liked it (didn't move a muscle, kept wanting more); although, I tried this before with her a few months ago, and she did not "get" it. I guess she is old enough now to understand.
• We went to open new bank accounts last week. Micaiah came with us, and Aolani went to play with some friends. Anyway, typical baby days -- Micaiah exploded and needed an outfit change right as we are walking out the door, pooped again at the bank, and again upon arriving home! As of right now, he has not pooped in three days (I guess we need to go somewhere)!

 

• Micaiah's mishaps: has suddenly become extremely noisy (vocal, babbling loudly and constantly), is now very distractable (we now have to nurse alone in the bedroom to get him to focus), loves to watch his sister and fusses when she leaves his field of vision, grabs his bibs and jerks them off the moment I turn my back, abhors being on his tummy (probably means he will not crawl -- early or for a long time before walking), slowly phasing in the use of the baby bands (and just using the sling for when he needs to nap on me), oscillates between three and four naps a day (a nap usually lasts a measly 45 minutes), and his favorite toys right now are: the foil protein bar wrapper, my water bottle, my hair, my watch, burp cloths, and a teething rattle that Aolani used.
• Aolani's antics: favorite (and oft repeated) phrase "I do that", has mastered her fake laugh, says empty and reach and "Now, I get chocolate", and (a reluctant confession on my behalf) copied me yesterday saying "Now" and "Please honey" and "Stop it."
• One morning we caught her gingerly holding two real eggs that she had gotten out of the unlocked refrigerator and feeding them to her donkey. [How did she carefully get them out of the egg carton without breaking them?]
• We did two activities with her this past week: cleaning pennies (simple and frugal) and using a piece of fabric to create a hide-out (at first, I held it out to my side for her to walk through and then run through like a bull).

• Verses to memorize this week: Romans 1:16-7 ~ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes -- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Make Your Prayers Global

This post might be a touch premature as we are in the process of trying to make our prayers more global, but oh well. In a desire to encourage others to evangelize through prayer (especially remembering to pray for the world), I want to share a couple ideas.

1. Prayer Station: We have a map of the world hanging in our main room to remind ourselves to pray international prayers and remember just how itty-bitty we are (lest we start focusing on our personal 'world' and forget others). Also, we hope to get the kids familiar with the world at large, all the countries, our location, and overall geography. Under the world map, we have a few "prayer pillows" for anyone to rest on or kneel on while praying. The "prayer pillows" were made by the locals in other countries (got them here).


2. Prayer Pail: I got this idea here. I just finished putting my pail together. Basically, you write different needs (family, neighbors, leaders, church, organizations, missionaries, countries, Persecuted Church...) on jumbo Popsicle sticks (I used markers). After dinner is over, every person grabs a stick a says a short, little prayer for that need. When Aolani gets more verbal, we will have her repeat our prayer for the need she drew until she can pray without our help.

Our Hawai'ian Princess

I could not pick which of the following pictures from this little photo session to post in last week's mosaic, so I made a little flash video and just included them all (way too many cute expressions)!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin', Keep Those Parents Goin'

• Another crazy weekend. Ricky's parents came down to help us balance life ;) Ricky's dad rode with him down to Atlanta for more court reporter testing, while Ricky's mom stayed with me to help take care of me and the kiddos. Ricky feels unsure of the testing results. Micaiah chose to wake up three times that night to keep Ricky's mom on her toes. Aolani had an absolute blast with all the new clothes and play. And, I got to sleep in, twice. We are anticipating a weekend of no plans.
• In case you didn't know, Ricky and I are opposites. Black and white. [At least personality-wise.] Ricky always says that I have converted him from his ways to my ways. And I laugh. Because it's not true. Anyway, we finished filing our taxes a few days before they were due this week. [So, we have been busy!] If it were done according to me, taxes would have been completed two months ago. Before we were married, Ricky turned his taxes in hours before the deadline. Yep. Now, who has converted to whom??
• Since our dryer stopped working before Micaiah was born last December, I have been hanging our clothes to dry -- every day. {Secretly, I enjoy this, but with the many demands of my toddler and baby -- well, my time is limited.} Long story short, my mom hassled the company and got me a brand new dryer at no charge! It's still sitting in its box in our main room waiting to be installed, but wow :)
• We went to the dentist last week, and we managed a job, wheelchair, nursing baby, and a toddler by: going late afternoon (after nap time), choosing a time when court was not in session, taking Aolani to a friend's house to play with other kids, nursing the baby in the car (parking lot) while Ricky got his teethed cleaned, and then Ricky wore Micaiah in the Ergocarrier while my teeth were cleaned. Success!

• Micaiah has begun to wake up twice during the night. He started this practice the night of his four-month birthday. I chalk it up to a growth spurt and a little belly. I could not decide which of the following two pictures to post (I just love his birthmark and his illuminating smile!):

Micaiah is teething (drooling a ton, drenching every outfit in no time, and chewing his hands constantly)

• Aolani's antics: loves to say pray, lives in her new rain boots because she can pull them on herself, and squints (closes her eyes really tight) every time you ask her to smile...
• In the first picture of her reading to her best friend, teddy bear "Gunny", she is reading a Point-n-Play Interactive book series with Elmo (a gift from paternal great-grandparents). Aolani loves these books! In the picture below, she is listening to Ricky's family read the book to her via a recording. She loves Hallmark's recordable books, too!

• Okay. Basically, I want only one thing for my children -- to love and know Jesus intimately and fully. However, there are two minor (comparatively) things that I wish to pass on to my kids: to drink water (and enjoy it) and desire to read (consume, devour) books. So far so good. Aolani craves water. She has never had juice or cow's milk (just Mama's milk still); I do not want to introduce the concept of sugar in a drink, yet. This helps a lot, I know. As for books -- not having a television helps, I'm sure -- we surround her with many different kinds of books and her own bookshelf. Yet, she still rips pages, but I don't want books to be forbidden to her in any way. Solution? Maybe. I ordered a lot of 60 thin, Scholastic books for $28 off of Ebay. I put a fourth of them in a basket at her disposal. This way, she gets a bunch of new books to "read" and if she tears a book up (like she did today), then it is okay by me. No worries and no tape! Just oh well by me and enjoyment by her ;)

• Still need to work on last week's memory verse: Romans 15:5 ~ May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.