Daniel-isms

It's been a while since an installment of Daniel-isms. I had to share these with you since 75% of my readers are also my kids grandparents(:



1.) The other day as we were leaving to get the kids from school Daniel pitched a big ole fit about something. I fussed at him and sent him to the van. We rode to school in silence. Then as we sat in line to get the kids from the back of the van I hear,

"I just love you Mom."



"I love you too buddy."



"I'm sorry I was mean to you" (remember he is FOUR!)



"It's ok D, I know you were just sad you couldn't go with Poppy. But thank you so much for saying you're sorry. That makes me so happy."



"It makes my heart feel better."



How amazing is that? My four year old gets that saying sorry makes his heart feel better, AND he can actually verbalize that thought. I know adults that can't do that! What an awesome little soul he has. I can't wait to see what God does with him!



2.) The other day the boys were being kind of wild in the house (weird right?) and Jason told Daniel to settle down. His response..

"Daddy, I just got some fight in my body."

Please Help!

MAT has received a matching grant to help get Bear and Fedna here. Please help if you can.

http://medicaladvocacyteam.blogspot.com/2008/12/update-and-challenge.html

Christmas, so far

We went to Daniel's Christmas Program at school. The irony of the wiseman role did not escape us!

We found the perfect tree.

We decorated it.

We set up the nativity....and then Daniel proceeded to play sky dive off the roof of the manger with the wisemen.

We celebrated with Emily and Noah since they were leaving for FL.

We baked.

And baked.




We tested our wares.
All is well here and we are ready and waiting for the big day. I feel so blessed in times like this. I look at my kids and my home and my life and I just marvel at how abundant and lavish God's love is. I pray this Christmas the birth of the saviour is real to you, and that you experience His love in new and amazing ways!

Gettin' Real

Real honest that is. I may not publish this, but it will do me good to get it out. Here goes. At family devotions Jason has been talking about coveting. With the whole consumer Christmas thing happening we want our kids to be content with the things they have and not obsess about this or that toy. Anyway, I sit there and nod my head wisely all the while feeling the hypocrisy rise within me. Honestly, I don't covet things. And it's not because I am so holy or something. It is just not my particular weakness. What I do covet is so much worse. I don't covet what someone else has, their new car, or house, or outfit. I covet their entire life. Wow, this sounds weird even to me. Let me explain. An example could be that I find a blog of someone with like 10 kids or something and they're all, "we are so blessed, our children are a gift, we homeschool them all, blah blah," and I start wondering why they can handle 10 kids and I can't, or why God saw fit to use them that way and not me, or why they can homeschool 10 and I am about to pluck my own eyeballs out homeschooling one. Or I read about missionaries in other countries and think their life must be so much more interesting than my hum drum days. I mean, they are on the battlefield for goodness sakes. What do I do? Cook. Clean. And Repeat.

So what does this boil down to? Discontentment. Pride. Lack of faith in my Saviour and what He is doing in my life. It is, as Phillip Keller describes in his book, "A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23" the epitome of spiritual fence jumping. I am not happy with the field my shepherd has placed me in and so I look for greener pastures.

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk where you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. And after saying this He said to him, "Follow Me."

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?". When Peter saw him he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come what is that to you? You follow Me!"

John 21:17-22

I LOVE Peter. I can so relate to him. Impulsive, over-eager, under-intellectual. He means well. He really does. And here is the Lord giving him a chance at redemption after Peter had denied him. It is beautiful...right up until Jesus prophesies for him a gruesome death (which can be read about in church history - try the Book of Martyrs or Josephus' writings). Then all of a sudden Peter is like, "hey what about him (John), what do you have planned for him?" Jesus replies with a 'mind your own beeswax '. Jesus just asked Peter if he loved Him, Peter said yes, and Jesus says you will die for following me, now come on let's go. He makes no apologies for His plan. He does not try to make things even or equitable. In fact John does go on to live a long life and dies a natural death on the island of Patmos.

He is my shepherd and I am his sheep. I don't want to be a discontented, wandering, fence jumping sheep.

Lord, fill me with the grace I need to live the life you have given to me. I so love you, and I want to honor you with what I have. Help me to seek what you want for me, and not seek what you have already given to someone else. My life is for you. Help me to quit trying to reclaim it!
Amen.

Merry Christmas From Leo

Yes, that is a chihuaha ornament, and no I didn't buy it. It sure does make me smile though(:

AMEN!

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

Urgent Need

This was in my in box this morning. I personally can vouch for this organization and the people invovled. Please pray about helping these babies get the care they need. Thanks.

Dear friends,

You know I hate sending out mass emails, I really try to only do this in urgent situations. Well, this is one of those of urgent situations.

We have two babies in Haiti that are in desperate need of help. Both babies have Spina Bifida. Fedna, the older of the two is actually pretty stable. The baby, Berlange, is in critical need of surgery and is fighting for his life. We have a doctor and hospital here in the U.S. ready to provide medical care for both of these babies, but the medical clinic that is processing their paperwork is very low on funds. They need about $500 per child to process all the necessary paperwork in Haiti. That is $1,000 that they just don't have. PLEASE if you feel called to help, check out our blog and follow the link to donate. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. www.medicaladvocacyteam.blogspot.com

Also, feel free to share this need on your websites, blogs, or with family and friends. We greatly appreciate all your help and prayers for this sweet babies.

Salem Richards

Chaos and Peace

This is how it felt to let go of P-Bear. My whole heart is trying to balance the contradictions. Everything in me loved him like a son, but I knew he wasn't going to be mine. I feel overhwelming peace about his family, but I want him back in my arms. It's nice to have more time on my hands, but I'd give anything to be crazy busy again. I know God is directing his life and it's not really about me. So I surrender to whatever He's doing.

Please pray for him and his new Mama. This adjustment time can be so hard. And the Enemy hates to see a child enter a family of believers, so he will be on the prowl.

Progress and Homeschool

"I recently went to the dr. and had only one complaint. Headaches. If it is a headache day it's over. The headache dictates that I accomplish nothing and will ultimately leave me wanting to die. I cannot predict them. They come. Then they go. I have no control. In the realm of family I have an attachment challenged child that is kind of like that. When that child is capable of acting calm and loving then the whole family is peaceful. When that child is not capable of being calm and loving then the entire family pays the price, I get nothing done but damage control, and I fall into bed that night feeling spent and stripped down to nothingness."



The quote above is me in late October. I don't remember what had happened to make me say it. That alone is progress. I truly feel a genuine bond, a genuine sense of love and security happening with G. And quite honestly I attribute it to homeschooling. Of course some days it makes me want to kill him and vice versa I am sure. But the amount of time we spend together creates lots of moments. Chances to get to know each other. Opportunities to make decisions about how we are going to interact. And lately we are both making better choices. Add to that the fact that school caused HUGENORMOUS amounts of stress for him and you now have a much more peaceful child. He is really making such progress in the areas of impulse control. It is both funny and scary that now instead of doing whatever pops into his head (slamming a door, throwing something, whatever) he dialogues it. This morning I asked him to do something, which in the past would have caused a tantrum. Instead, as he walked up stairs to do it he said, "I'm just gonna go downstairs and knock over the tree and break all the ornaments." Of course he didn't, and I think the fact that he heard himself say it out loud made HIM see the ridiculousness (is that a word?) of it. He did what he was asked and came downstairs in a normal mood. Progress.

I also have to put in a good word for a new curriculum I just found. Five In A Row. It is truly wonderful for any attachment challenged child. It is the most low threat curriculum I have ever found. It encourages snuggle time and is very adaptable to what your child can handle on a given day. So, if you need something like that, go check it out or email me for more details(:

The Beach