Here I go again. Expounding on a book written by Elizabeth George. This time the book is called "A Woman's Walk with God". She takes the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control - and writes an entire chapter on each attribute.
One of the first sentences that I read really stepped on my toes. Okay. Make that a paragraph. It's taken off page 11.
"As you and I walk together through God's list of the fruit He deserves in our life, we'll look not only at their beauty and bounty but also at each individual fruit. But we must never forget that all nine fruit stand together: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control make up our walk with God. They are like a string of Christmas lights - there is one string with many lights that, when plugged into the electrical socket, all light up at once. However, if one bulb goes out, the entire string goes out. That's how God's fruit is borne in our lives. No one of them can be missing, and all must be evident to be God's fruit."
Ouch. Why is it that I forget that every single one of those must be present if I want to be a woman who lives completely for God?
It's actually very obvious. I already knew that I must have all of those active in my life all at the same time, but I tend to think that I can leave one out for a few hours and still be considered a woman of God.
Not true. So not true.
The first whole chapter is on love. That word is a frequent word in the Bible.
One whole chapter is devoted to it in fact. 1 Corinthians 13. 'Love' is a tall order.
Elizabeth George has a few principles listed to help the reader better understand what love really is.
1. Love is an act of the will. In other words I can choose to love or I can choose to not love. In the words of Dr. George Sweeting, "Love is work. It demans a continuous, twenty-four hour a day commitment." Only through God's grace can we have that kind of love for all around us.
2. Love is action - not just words. Everything I do during the day should be an act of love for my family. You know the cleaning I don't particularly enjoy? The cooking that isn't my very favorite, but must be done three times a day? The laundry that I truly do enjoy...especially when I can see it flapping in the breeze? Each of those are acts of love....IF I do it all with a smile on my face, that is.
3. Love reaches out to the unlovely. Pretty self-explanatory. It's so easy to show our love to those who are happy, content, etc., but send me a person who is whiny and grouchy with life in general and I have a tougher time showing much love. Why is that? Maybe because I think that if a person is just going to whine anyway I don't need to waste any time on them. Shame on me. It could be that the person who whines just simply needs someone to show them a little of God's love.
4. We need God to help us love. That's pretty obvious. Each and every morning I need to ask God to help me love. Help me love completely and help me love unconditionally. It's a struggle for me sometimes. I know that I am required to love my children even when they are doing the exact opposite of what I have asked of them. I know it's a sin to hold a grudge. And yet I find myself doing it anyway on occasion. There is no excuse. God loves me unconditionally and thus I must love others unconditionally....with HIS help.
5. Love expects nothing in return. Mmm-hmmm. Nothing. Just because I slave away in the kitchen for hours every day doesn't mean that my family should treat me any different. John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you." No if's, and's, or but's in that verse. Jesus says I must love everyone and so I must. He says nothing about expecting to get great accolades if I do as He commands.
(Bold print and italics taken directly from the book.)
Love is simply the sacrifice of self. (Definition from the book.) It takes time. It takes patience. It takes giving of myself even when I feel like there is absolutely nothing left to give. It takes a deep-rooted connection to the giver of love....Jesus Christ.
We'll end this little lecture to me with a list that is in the book, 'A Woman's Walk with God'.
1. Begin loving the people God puts in your path by first loving those people at home. As the saying goes, 'What you are at home is what you are!' So BE a woman who walks in God's love....at home.
2. Go to God throughout the day for a fresh supply of His love to share. At the first hint of waning love, look to the Lord of love.
3. Remember that your assignment is to serve (Galatians 5:13).
4. Remember Jesus, who "did not come to be served, but to SERVE, and to GIVE His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28, emphasis added).
There you have it. The first fruit of the spirit.
LOVE.
Let's step away from the computer and pass it on! :)
Life With Littles
Monday, March 21, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Snippets
It's been one of those weeks. All three children have been sniffing and snorting around.
The littlest has gone on a strike against sleep. Sleep at night, sleep during the day (aka naps). All have gone by the wayside. In the place of our happy little guy, we have a grumpy granola who wants to do nothing but..um...cry. And be held.
Don't get me wrong. I love to hold him and I wouldn't trade him for anything...but I would love to have our littlest happy and well again!
The second littlest guy isn't letting his cold and lack of sleep affect him. Not emotionally anyway. He isn't sad. He isn't any more rambunctious than usual. He's just, well, how do I say it? In his own little world. He knocks pictures off walls, feeds the puppies when he's supposed to feed the kitties, picks on his sister to find out just how loudly she can scream.
Not that any of that is unusual. Since we came home from Russia with the little brother, the second's behavior has escalated. I think he's suffering from the loss of the baby-of-the-family status. We're praying that he gets back to 'normal' soon.
The oldest and only girl is suffering from the cold in an emotional way. She isn't sleeping as well as usual at night which causes great gales of tears over everything that happens.
So. Yes. It's been a pleasant week.
A couple days ago, I decided that there had to be some good in the week. I was right. I looked around the house and found several things to snap pictures of that brought a grin to my face.
Will's toothbrush 'charging'. He so badly wants to be just like Daddy.
Addie's efforts at a drawing of a person on the chalkboard. Don't ya love the belly button?!
The way JN cocks his head sideways when he looks at something that he's trying to figure out...
Seeing Will playing nicely with his little brother....
Hearing Addie's "AWESOME" when I asked her if she wanted to make cookies....and noticing that she's wearing her favorite tights for the third day in a row....
Sometimes it's the little things that make it all worth while. The little things that make me remember just how much I love where God has placed me in life.
It's hard to remember that when two out of three children are crying at 1:00 in the morning. One from an earache and the other for reasons known only to an 18 month old.
SO. I made a decision. On the days when it seems like I just can't put one foot in front of the other any longer, I'm going to take a walk around the house. It might have to happen several times in one little week just as it did this week, but there will be little things along the way that will perk me back up again.
I do love where God has placed me, I just need reminders at times.
The littlest has gone on a strike against sleep. Sleep at night, sleep during the day (aka naps). All have gone by the wayside. In the place of our happy little guy, we have a grumpy granola who wants to do nothing but..um...cry. And be held.
Don't get me wrong. I love to hold him and I wouldn't trade him for anything...but I would love to have our littlest happy and well again!
The second littlest guy isn't letting his cold and lack of sleep affect him. Not emotionally anyway. He isn't sad. He isn't any more rambunctious than usual. He's just, well, how do I say it? In his own little world. He knocks pictures off walls, feeds the puppies when he's supposed to feed the kitties, picks on his sister to find out just how loudly she can scream.
Not that any of that is unusual. Since we came home from Russia with the little brother, the second's behavior has escalated. I think he's suffering from the loss of the baby-of-the-family status. We're praying that he gets back to 'normal' soon.
The oldest and only girl is suffering from the cold in an emotional way. She isn't sleeping as well as usual at night which causes great gales of tears over everything that happens.
So. Yes. It's been a pleasant week.
A couple days ago, I decided that there had to be some good in the week. I was right. I looked around the house and found several things to snap pictures of that brought a grin to my face.
Will's toothbrush 'charging'. He so badly wants to be just like Daddy.
Addie's efforts at a drawing of a person on the chalkboard. Don't ya love the belly button?!
The way JN cocks his head sideways when he looks at something that he's trying to figure out...
Seeing Will playing nicely with his little brother....
Hearing Addie's "AWESOME" when I asked her if she wanted to make cookies....and noticing that she's wearing her favorite tights for the third day in a row....
Sometimes it's the little things that make it all worth while. The little things that make me remember just how much I love where God has placed me in life.
It's hard to remember that when two out of three children are crying at 1:00 in the morning. One from an earache and the other for reasons known only to an 18 month old.
SO. I made a decision. On the days when it seems like I just can't put one foot in front of the other any longer, I'm going to take a walk around the house. It might have to happen several times in one little week just as it did this week, but there will be little things along the way that will perk me back up again.
I do love where God has placed me, I just need reminders at times.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Did you hear me?
That is a question that is asked a little more than frequently around here. If there is such a thing as a little more than frequent anyway.
Our eldest child has hearing issues. Perhaps, if you know her in person, you have noticed that you have to repeat yourself several times before she catches everything you say.
Perhaps you have noticed that she watches your lips when you talk rather than watching your eyes.
Perhaps you have noticed while talking to her on the phone that she says 'huh' a lot.
Perhaps you've noticed that she says many words incorrectly.
Perhaps you don't know her and didn't know any of that. Or perhaps even if you do know her you didn't notice it.
Trust me. It's all true.
For a long time we thought we just had a severe case of selective hearing. A case of "I'll listen if and when I want to".
It wasn't until I started teaching her kindergarten last fall that I realized that we might have a legitimate hearing problem.
Her desk perches neatly in one corner of our office-school-sewing-toy room. (Sounds huge, huh? It's not. Maybe eight feet square.) It's the only corner that was empty and it fits perfectly. There is only one problem with the location. It makes it so her 'bad' ear is toward me.
The first few weeks of school I got so frustrated cause I would tell her what to do and she would just sit there. When she would finally hear me, she had to turn her head to look at me before she would know what I was saying. I realized then that she was watching my lips.
The second sign I had was when I was teaching her the sounds for the letters. D, B, P. All three of them sounded exactly the same coming out of her mouth. She had to watch how I formed them with my mouth before she caught on that they weren't the same sound. Makes learning a little difficult when you can't hear the difference between sounds.
The third and final straw was when she got a cold last December. She could not hear at all. At all. Just like this weel. I could talk to her in a normal tone of voice while standing directly beside her and she didn't hear a thing.
To say it is frustrating would be an understatment.
We took her to the doctor for a hearing test two weeks before we left for Russia. It was amazing. Her right ear works pretty well. Her left? Not good. I was standing about two feet behind her during the hearing test and could hear the buzz buzzing in her ear long before she did.
We were referred to a specialist...and today is that appointment.
She's nervous. Very nervous. I don't know what she thinks is going to happen, but she must be expecting the worst....like them cutting her ear off or something.
We can't wait to find out what the problem is. Hopefully it's simple and within a week or so she'll be hearing out of both ears.
Our eldest child has hearing issues. Perhaps, if you know her in person, you have noticed that you have to repeat yourself several times before she catches everything you say.
Perhaps you have noticed that she watches your lips when you talk rather than watching your eyes.
Perhaps you have noticed while talking to her on the phone that she says 'huh' a lot.
Perhaps you've noticed that she says many words incorrectly.
Perhaps you don't know her and didn't know any of that. Or perhaps even if you do know her you didn't notice it.
Trust me. It's all true.
For a long time we thought we just had a severe case of selective hearing. A case of "I'll listen if and when I want to".
It wasn't until I started teaching her kindergarten last fall that I realized that we might have a legitimate hearing problem.
Her desk perches neatly in one corner of our office-school-sewing-toy room. (Sounds huge, huh? It's not. Maybe eight feet square.) It's the only corner that was empty and it fits perfectly. There is only one problem with the location. It makes it so her 'bad' ear is toward me.
The first few weeks of school I got so frustrated cause I would tell her what to do and she would just sit there. When she would finally hear me, she had to turn her head to look at me before she would know what I was saying. I realized then that she was watching my lips.
The second sign I had was when I was teaching her the sounds for the letters. D, B, P. All three of them sounded exactly the same coming out of her mouth. She had to watch how I formed them with my mouth before she caught on that they weren't the same sound. Makes learning a little difficult when you can't hear the difference between sounds.
The third and final straw was when she got a cold last December. She could not hear at all. At all. Just like this weel. I could talk to her in a normal tone of voice while standing directly beside her and she didn't hear a thing.
To say it is frustrating would be an understatment.
We took her to the doctor for a hearing test two weeks before we left for Russia. It was amazing. Her right ear works pretty well. Her left? Not good. I was standing about two feet behind her during the hearing test and could hear the buzz buzzing in her ear long before she did.
We were referred to a specialist...and today is that appointment.
She's nervous. Very nervous. I don't know what she thinks is going to happen, but she must be expecting the worst....like them cutting her ear off or something.
We can't wait to find out what the problem is. Hopefully it's simple and within a week or so she'll be hearing out of both ears.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Meet the author....
...of this blog.
I'm sure you think that you know me just from reading all this stuff that I put out here for the world to see.
I doubt you really do.
For instance, did you know that I really don't like to talk?
Pick your teeth up off the floor now. I'm sure that by the way I ramble on and on here on this blog you all think I'm a total chatterbox. :)
But seriously, I could go for an entire day and not say a word and be perfectly happy with that. Just one day, though. I remember back before our children came into our lives with a leap that I would make a phone call just so I'd have somebody to talk to.
Times have changed.
Anyway. Here's a few random things about me. Maybe after you get done reading you'll say..."Yep. She's as weird as I thought." or "Wow. How did she get to be so strange. Her family seems so normal." Sorry about that!
1. I love the Lord. Some days I am confident that my children would doubt that. Sad. But true. You can pray for me that my light will shine strongly to my children. Why is it that our little families, the ones that we love the most on planet Earth, are the ones who get the brunt of our bad days?
2. I love my husband. He truly is my best friend. As much as I love going on supper outings with my girl-friends, I love going with my husband even more. That is, when we get the opportunity. Once in the last 2 1/2 -3 years really isn't a fair trial.
3. I love my children. They are a blessing that for five years we didn't know if we'd ever get to have. As frustrated as I get with them sometimes, I can't imagine life without them.
4. I read. As much as I can, which isn't much these days. Unless I'm rocking little JN.
5. I don't really enjoy working outside. Flowerbeds tend to go to pot around here. I'm doing better than I used to as it means a lot to Jason to have pretty flowers, but I still don't enjoy getting dirt under my fingernails...and, no, I don't like to wear gloves either.
6. I don't particularly enjoy having a garden. Sure, it's nice to have fresh produce out my back door, but it's not so nice to have to go pick that produce. I can't complain though. It's our food for the entire summer...and the winter too, if there's plenty to can. Our grocery bill is next to nothing when the garden is producing well.
7. I grind much of my own flour and make all my own bread. Does that really make me weird? Sorry. Jason loves homemade bread...and so do I. It's worth it.
8. I don't enjoy going shopping. Once a year or so I'll hit a city with my mom and sisters-in-law, but that's typically enough for me. I really don't even enjoy going to the grocery or to Wal-Mart. It's a pain and I just spend money.
9. I like to stay home. The other day Addie asked if we were ever going anywhere again. :) She loves to go. And do. And shop.
10. I like animals way better than I ever thought I did. I must anyway. If it weren't for me, we would not have cats, a pony, or the two puppies right outside our back door.
11. I love M&M's. I'm sure that's a shock.
12. While talking is something I don't particularly enjoy, I love to write. Surprised? Jason has learned that if something is bothering me, he can skip asking the question and just get me a pen and paper. It's so easy to put my words on paper, but not so easy to form them in my mouth so they can be spit out.
13. Someday. I'd love to write a book. I'd do it now if I weren't so busy keeping up with the house, my husband, the children, etc., etc. And it'd also help if I had a topic to write about. Most books seem to be centered on a specific topic.
14. I say talking is not a big thing for me, but if you ask the right questions, watch out. Questions about adoption, or attachment, or bonding, for example. And on rare occasions I will have opinions about other topics as well. :)
15. I despise cleaning my house. Bummer that I like it to be clean. My poor mom likely despairs at my lack of cleaning and organizing. Could that be why she cleaned and organized my cupboards a couple days in the last couple weeks? She used the excuse that stuff was dirty from the remodeling that went on here..... Really though. I am far from a neat freak, but I'm trying to improve. Jason was used to everything being spotless and organized before he married me. It was a huge shock for him to find out that it isn't every woman's first priority to have a spotless house. That all being said, it gets cleaned once a week....and the floors get swept more than that...and the toys are picked up and put away every day before nap time and before bed time. It does help to have children capable of helping. And for now...they still like to clean. :)
16. I never rearrange my furniture. It's fine where it's at. Why ruin a good thing? We lived at our last house five years and the furniture only got moved once. We've lived here for 2 1/2 years and it's just like it was when we moved in. It works.
17. New clothes aren't a big deal to me. A year or so ago I decided that it was time for some new dresses only to discover that many of the dresses in my closet were ones that I wore when I was teaching school...seven years earlier. I could get by with only a few dresses that I really like. I've always been that way. Ask my Mom. She never enjoyed taking me shopping.
18. Schedules are nice, but they never go as planned around here. Jason comes home daily for lunch sometime between 12:00 and 1:00. He's home for supper sometime between 5:30 and 7:00. The children nap sometime between 10:00 and 11:00. About the only thing that is a for sure is that we will all be up and at it by 6:00-7:00 at the latest and we will strive to be in bed by 8:30-9:00 in the evening. I should say, we strive to have the children in bed by then. The next couple hours are our 'couple time'. The time that we catch up and simply enjoy each other's company.
That's me. Call me a country-bumpkin if you want to. I'd laugh and agree. I was raised on a farm...helping load hogs out of Dad's hog barn and trying to keep up with my three brothers. I have always been far from a girly girl. I didn't spend much time playing with dolls when I was a little girl. I specifically remember getting a basketball from my brothers for my birthday when I was young just so I would quit taking theirs. I love to play softball.
Maybe after reading all that, you can better understand some of the random things that get posted here. Maybe. Our life is random. And I love it. I love having the freedom to hop in the pick-up at a moment's notice to run to town with Jason. Of course, it's not quite that simple with three children to take along, but it still happens frequently. I love plugging along through the day with no specific agenda to keep.
I love my life as a wife and mommy...though I have to admit that some days I have to be reminded of that. I love the fact that we live in a climate that allows flowers and a garden...even though I don't particularly enjoy caring for them. I love having a house to clean...at least we have a roof over our heads.
One thing that going to Russia has taught me is that I have literally no reason to complain. Russia isn't even a third world country in my opinion. It's not even that bad. I could live there myself if they had good M&M's. :) Really, though. Something about heading out of our little comfort zone has really gotten to me. It's not as easy to find things wrong with our house/life after living over there for a grand total of eleven weeks in the past 3 years.
For some reason, God has blessed us far beyond our deservings
I'm sure you think that you know me just from reading all this stuff that I put out here for the world to see.
I doubt you really do.
For instance, did you know that I really don't like to talk?
Pick your teeth up off the floor now. I'm sure that by the way I ramble on and on here on this blog you all think I'm a total chatterbox. :)
But seriously, I could go for an entire day and not say a word and be perfectly happy with that. Just one day, though. I remember back before our children came into our lives with a leap that I would make a phone call just so I'd have somebody to talk to.
Times have changed.
Anyway. Here's a few random things about me. Maybe after you get done reading you'll say..."Yep. She's as weird as I thought." or "Wow. How did she get to be so strange. Her family seems so normal." Sorry about that!
1. I love the Lord. Some days I am confident that my children would doubt that. Sad. But true. You can pray for me that my light will shine strongly to my children. Why is it that our little families, the ones that we love the most on planet Earth, are the ones who get the brunt of our bad days?
2. I love my husband. He truly is my best friend. As much as I love going on supper outings with my girl-friends, I love going with my husband even more. That is, when we get the opportunity. Once in the last 2 1/2 -3 years really isn't a fair trial.
3. I love my children. They are a blessing that for five years we didn't know if we'd ever get to have. As frustrated as I get with them sometimes, I can't imagine life without them.
4. I read. As much as I can, which isn't much these days. Unless I'm rocking little JN.
5. I don't really enjoy working outside. Flowerbeds tend to go to pot around here. I'm doing better than I used to as it means a lot to Jason to have pretty flowers, but I still don't enjoy getting dirt under my fingernails...and, no, I don't like to wear gloves either.
6. I don't particularly enjoy having a garden. Sure, it's nice to have fresh produce out my back door, but it's not so nice to have to go pick that produce. I can't complain though. It's our food for the entire summer...and the winter too, if there's plenty to can. Our grocery bill is next to nothing when the garden is producing well.
7. I grind much of my own flour and make all my own bread. Does that really make me weird? Sorry. Jason loves homemade bread...and so do I. It's worth it.
8. I don't enjoy going shopping. Once a year or so I'll hit a city with my mom and sisters-in-law, but that's typically enough for me. I really don't even enjoy going to the grocery or to Wal-Mart. It's a pain and I just spend money.
9. I like to stay home. The other day Addie asked if we were ever going anywhere again. :) She loves to go. And do. And shop.
10. I like animals way better than I ever thought I did. I must anyway. If it weren't for me, we would not have cats, a pony, or the two puppies right outside our back door.
11. I love M&M's. I'm sure that's a shock.
12. While talking is something I don't particularly enjoy, I love to write. Surprised? Jason has learned that if something is bothering me, he can skip asking the question and just get me a pen and paper. It's so easy to put my words on paper, but not so easy to form them in my mouth so they can be spit out.
13. Someday. I'd love to write a book. I'd do it now if I weren't so busy keeping up with the house, my husband, the children, etc., etc. And it'd also help if I had a topic to write about. Most books seem to be centered on a specific topic.
14. I say talking is not a big thing for me, but if you ask the right questions, watch out. Questions about adoption, or attachment, or bonding, for example. And on rare occasions I will have opinions about other topics as well. :)
15. I despise cleaning my house. Bummer that I like it to be clean. My poor mom likely despairs at my lack of cleaning and organizing. Could that be why she cleaned and organized my cupboards a couple days in the last couple weeks? She used the excuse that stuff was dirty from the remodeling that went on here..... Really though. I am far from a neat freak, but I'm trying to improve. Jason was used to everything being spotless and organized before he married me. It was a huge shock for him to find out that it isn't every woman's first priority to have a spotless house. That all being said, it gets cleaned once a week....and the floors get swept more than that...and the toys are picked up and put away every day before nap time and before bed time. It does help to have children capable of helping. And for now...they still like to clean. :)
16. I never rearrange my furniture. It's fine where it's at. Why ruin a good thing? We lived at our last house five years and the furniture only got moved once. We've lived here for 2 1/2 years and it's just like it was when we moved in. It works.
17. New clothes aren't a big deal to me. A year or so ago I decided that it was time for some new dresses only to discover that many of the dresses in my closet were ones that I wore when I was teaching school...seven years earlier. I could get by with only a few dresses that I really like. I've always been that way. Ask my Mom. She never enjoyed taking me shopping.
18. Schedules are nice, but they never go as planned around here. Jason comes home daily for lunch sometime between 12:00 and 1:00. He's home for supper sometime between 5:30 and 7:00. The children nap sometime between 10:00 and 11:00. About the only thing that is a for sure is that we will all be up and at it by 6:00-7:00 at the latest and we will strive to be in bed by 8:30-9:00 in the evening. I should say, we strive to have the children in bed by then. The next couple hours are our 'couple time'. The time that we catch up and simply enjoy each other's company.
That's me. Call me a country-bumpkin if you want to. I'd laugh and agree. I was raised on a farm...helping load hogs out of Dad's hog barn and trying to keep up with my three brothers. I have always been far from a girly girl. I didn't spend much time playing with dolls when I was a little girl. I specifically remember getting a basketball from my brothers for my birthday when I was young just so I would quit taking theirs. I love to play softball.
Maybe after reading all that, you can better understand some of the random things that get posted here. Maybe. Our life is random. And I love it. I love having the freedom to hop in the pick-up at a moment's notice to run to town with Jason. Of course, it's not quite that simple with three children to take along, but it still happens frequently. I love plugging along through the day with no specific agenda to keep.
I love my life as a wife and mommy...though I have to admit that some days I have to be reminded of that. I love the fact that we live in a climate that allows flowers and a garden...even though I don't particularly enjoy caring for them. I love having a house to clean...at least we have a roof over our heads.
One thing that going to Russia has taught me is that I have literally no reason to complain. Russia isn't even a third world country in my opinion. It's not even that bad. I could live there myself if they had good M&M's. :) Really, though. Something about heading out of our little comfort zone has really gotten to me. It's not as easy to find things wrong with our house/life after living over there for a grand total of eleven weeks in the past 3 years.
For some reason, God has blessed us far beyond our deservings
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday Surprises
So sorry about the missing in action stuff. Maybe you didn't even notice, but I didn't post anything yesterday.
Really. I do have some excuses.
1. I'm tired.
2. I'm tired.
3. I'm tired.
There. Three reasons. And I really am tired if I can't even think straight enough to come up with some globbedy-glob for the blog.
Why am I tired?
Mainly because my littlest papoose is ill. Nothing serious, I hope. However, his annoying cough in my ear all night followed by a cry didn't allow for much sleep to take place Sunday night. It was sad.
The poor little guy. Yesterday was a rough day for him. Naps didn't really happen. His morning nap amounted to about 1/2 hour, when it's typically 1 1/2 hours. His afternoon nap amounted to about 15 minutes...thanks to his big brother thundering down the steps at top speed while hollering something to Addie. Not overly condusive to naps. That and the cough that doesn't allow him to snooze properly.
Anyway. Sunday we didn't do too much. Due to the world's nastiest colds residing in three out of our three children, we opted to stay home from church to not subject the rest of the congregation to the sniffles and snorts. Instead, we gathered around Jason's phone to listen in to a church service.
The children were thrilled.
That afternoon we lazed around until we finally felt officially lazy. Then we headed outside to visit with our critters. All was well.
Jason's parents came by after visiting their newest granddaughter. They didn't stay long, but it was fun to see them!!
Supper was ready about 6:00, and then Jason suggested that we get out of the house and haul the children off for a little surprise.
That doesn't happen too often, especially not when they aren't feeling too well.
So. We spruced up. And we hopped in the pick-up to head off to town for some ice cream.
Addie and Will were so excited. The whole way to town they held hands (I guess in an effort to keep themselves calm) and kept guessing what the surprise was going to be.
Will thought we were going to Grandma's, where Grandma would give each of them a 'plesent'. I think he meant present.
Addie was sure that we were going to church..."but that wasn't a very good surprise if so". She clarified by saying that that's what we do every Sunday so it wasn't a surprise to go to church. "It's just normal."
Both were sufficiently surprised when Jason pulled in at none other than their very favorite restaurant. McDonalds.
They held hands the whole way into the restaurant on their own accord, and proceeded to hold hands until we were at our 'tall' tables. Why do I keep pointing out that they were holding hands, you ask? Simply because it's nice to see occasionally that they can/do still love each other and get along. ;)
The Hot Fudge Sundaes at $1 a piece were a hit.
So were the games that were beside us. Of course, the games were a second choice. Regardless of the 40* temp outdoors, their first choice was to play on the playground. But the door was locked. And Daddy and Mommy neither one was in the mood to ask them to unlock it.
Jack was there too. He's just pretty quiet when it comes to voicing his excitment.
Something about sitting in the chilly outdoors watching the children go down a slide didn't seem overly appealing.
The sadness was abundant when it was time to head home as that meant it was bedtime, but home we came.
We need to do that kind of thing more often. It made the week ahead of me a little more exciting.
Random. I like that.
Really. I do have some excuses.
1. I'm tired.
2. I'm tired.
3. I'm tired.
There. Three reasons. And I really am tired if I can't even think straight enough to come up with some globbedy-glob for the blog.
Why am I tired?
Mainly because my littlest papoose is ill. Nothing serious, I hope. However, his annoying cough in my ear all night followed by a cry didn't allow for much sleep to take place Sunday night. It was sad.
The poor little guy. Yesterday was a rough day for him. Naps didn't really happen. His morning nap amounted to about 1/2 hour, when it's typically 1 1/2 hours. His afternoon nap amounted to about 15 minutes...thanks to his big brother thundering down the steps at top speed while hollering something to Addie. Not overly condusive to naps. That and the cough that doesn't allow him to snooze properly.
Anyway. Sunday we didn't do too much. Due to the world's nastiest colds residing in three out of our three children, we opted to stay home from church to not subject the rest of the congregation to the sniffles and snorts. Instead, we gathered around Jason's phone to listen in to a church service.
The children were thrilled.
That afternoon we lazed around until we finally felt officially lazy. Then we headed outside to visit with our critters. All was well.
Jason's parents came by after visiting their newest granddaughter. They didn't stay long, but it was fun to see them!!
Supper was ready about 6:00, and then Jason suggested that we get out of the house and haul the children off for a little surprise.
That doesn't happen too often, especially not when they aren't feeling too well.
So. We spruced up. And we hopped in the pick-up to head off to town for some ice cream.
Addie and Will were so excited. The whole way to town they held hands (I guess in an effort to keep themselves calm) and kept guessing what the surprise was going to be.
Will thought we were going to Grandma's, where Grandma would give each of them a 'plesent'. I think he meant present.
Addie was sure that we were going to church..."but that wasn't a very good surprise if so". She clarified by saying that that's what we do every Sunday so it wasn't a surprise to go to church. "It's just normal."
Both were sufficiently surprised when Jason pulled in at none other than their very favorite restaurant. McDonalds.
They held hands the whole way into the restaurant on their own accord, and proceeded to hold hands until we were at our 'tall' tables. Why do I keep pointing out that they were holding hands, you ask? Simply because it's nice to see occasionally that they can/do still love each other and get along. ;)
The Hot Fudge Sundaes at $1 a piece were a hit.
So were the games that were beside us. Of course, the games were a second choice. Regardless of the 40* temp outdoors, their first choice was to play on the playground. But the door was locked. And Daddy and Mommy neither one was in the mood to ask them to unlock it.
Something about sitting in the chilly outdoors watching the children go down a slide didn't seem overly appealing.
The sadness was abundant when it was time to head home as that meant it was bedtime, but home we came.
We need to do that kind of thing more often. It made the week ahead of me a little more exciting.
Random. I like that.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Re-cap of our Week
What a lazy week. Just the kind of week that I love to have. Nothing quite like looking at the calendar and realizing that there is only one day with anything written on it.
Monday was the day that I finally made it to Jason's sister's house to clean. And did it ever need it. We left there in a mad dash the day that we moved two weeks ago. The careful plan that I had laid to head back the next day to spiff things up didn't happen. Once we were finally home again, I found that I was quite content to just stay home.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the best plan in the world for her house. I was disgusted to find out that I had left potato peelings in the sink, and food chunks under the table. Sheets were all washed but the beds still had to be made. Cobwebs were abundant.
How in the world do cobwebs form anyway? We'd only been gone for two weeks.
The day we moved was a hectic one. Jason found out as I was fixing lunch that he had about 1 1/2 hours to make it to the vet with his sick ram...and in that time we had to eat lunch, throw all our belongings into the pickup, take it to our house, unload it all, hitch the trailer, load the ram. Therefore, everything was done in a mad dash. Hence, the wreck. I'd like to think that it would have been better cleaned up had I had more time.....
Susan would have been apalled had she walked into her house before it had been cleaned. I was apalled. It made me think of the return of Jesus and of a poem that I memorized years ago while still in school.
IF JESUS CAME TO YOUR HOUSE
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two,
If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you'd do?
Oh, I know you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest,
And all the food you'd serve to Him would be the very best.
And you would keep assuring Him you're glad to have Him there,
That serving Him in your home is joy beyond compare.
But when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door,
With arms outstretched to welcome in your heavenly visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in,
Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn't heard,
And wished you hadn't uttered that last loud nasty word.
Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus come right in, or would you rush about?
Oh, I wonder if the Savior came to spend a day with you,
Would you just go on doing the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
Would our family conversation keep up it's usual pace,
Or would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing and read the books you read,
And let Him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you planned to go,
Or would you maybe change your plans, for just a day or so?
Would you be glad to have Him meet with all your closest friends,
Or would you hope they'd stay away until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on,
Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person to spend the day with you!
-Written by Lois Blanchard Eades, sung by Red Sovine
The whole time I was cleaning, that poem, the bits and pieces that I remembered, kept cruising through my mind. Seriously, what if she had come home earlier than we thought she was going to? How embarrassed I would have been had she come home to see the disarray that her little place was in.
Trash bags sitting in the garage, dirt left on the floor that was dragged in from our car. The place was an absolute wreck.
I could make you a whole list of excuses to try to make myself look good, but really there is no excuse.
In the same way, I have no excuse to offer Jesus if He questions me on my reading choices, or on the music I listen to, or on the words that come out of my mouth, or on the way I treat my family when I get a little worked up, or on the thoughts that run through my mind if my husband kind of irks me.
He knows all that without actually showing up physically at my house for a day. He lives with me all the time.
Do I really and truly think that He's not going to see me? How silly if I do think that.
Anyway. We got the house cleaned up and the mess it was in offered me the opportunity to think about my own life on a day to day basis. Sometimes it's good to have some physical evidence to show just how easy it is to get off track.
Tuesday morning we did nothing. It was grand. It gave me the chance to clean up my own house a little. I'm amazed at just how much cleaning up I do on daily, no hourly, basis.
(Creating a fake laugh..one of his new favorite pasttimes)
Tuesday afternoon I took Addie to music class. Of course, JN went with me too, but Will got to go with Jason to work on the drill at his parent's. That worked out well for us all, Will going with Jason!! He loves going to work with Daddy, and, quite frankly, I love it when he goes too!!
Addie loves her music class. She comes home singing her little heart out. Nothing quite like hearing your child singing her way through the day. If a song is coming out, the heart is happy.
Then. We went shopping. Plant shopping. The day that I have been looking forward to ever since I saw our poor bedraggled plants that were frozen beyond repair when our furnace quit. I love having plants sitting around the house. Splashes of color, and I don't have to do much decorating.
Just a note. If you want some new houseplants, go buy them now. They're all on sale before they start getting new spring shipments. Bought seven large plants (two of them were well over four feet tall) for $70. I was pleased. I was even more pleased when I had insurance money to whip out to pay for them!!
Wednesday was a dreary day outside, so we were in much of the day. Bout time to wash the dishes after lunch, Addie started sputtering around about having a really ouchy ear. Not that I was surprised. Any time she gets a slight cold she ends up with an earache/infection as well. She's now on Sudafed for Children as that has worked in the past to keep it from hitting full blown infection stage. What amazed me is that it happened to hit right as I said it was time to wash dishes. :) She still had to wash the dishes...then she lounged on the couch with an onion stuck in her ear to take away the pain. Laugh all you want. It worked. Though I do think she is getting a bug or something. While playing with her 'laptop' she had to rest her head on her desk for a while as she was too tired to keep 'typing'. That's just not her.
Thursday we, the children and I, spent another day cooped up in the house. It was cool and wet outside, and that just doesn't seem like overly grand outdoor playing weather. Addie's ear didn't bother her at all. Next time...I'm heading for an onion again. Will was just Will all day, and Jack was just Jack. Though all he wanted to do was be held...so you can just imagine how much got accomplished around here.
Mid afternoon Dad and Mom came over to get Dad's smashed thumb doctored. You didn't know I'm a doctor? Me neither. In fact, I really don't enjoy doctoring in the least. They came, used my stuff, and Mom actually did the doctoring. Cheaper than heading to the ER and hopefully just as effective.
Not an overly exciting week, I'll have to say. How did this post get so long? Nothing happened, and yet you've likely polished off at least one cup of coffee reading about our uneventful week.
In closing, here's an update on the potty training. I'll have to say that there is basically no technique involved. He's running around with no diaper and no pants on as that helps me to remember to perch him on the potty chair. It's either I remember or I clean up messes!! He scooches all over the house on his potty chair simply cause I'm too....um....undisciplined to sit beside him waiting no him to go, and he's too much of a momma boy to be somewhere that I am not. Does that all make sense? Potty training here at our house isn't that huge of a deal...we just do what works and hope that it works in a timely manner.
AND...in other news. Look what my wonderful husband did.
(Photo credits to Addie Zhanna....not too bad for a first time photographer)
Flowers. And it's not even my birthday or Valentine's Day. Though he said they were for a belated Valentine's bouquet.
Not only did I get flowers, but he got a miniature bouquet for his other lady friend. Our daughter. He buys her flowers every year for either Valentine's Day or her birthday...or sometimes both. She loves it.
Will was a little ticked that Daddy didn't put his name on the cards too. Jason assured him that sometime he can get flowers for Mommy and Addie. That's all it took. Now he can't wait til he's big enough to buy flowers for us. For some reason I doubt if he will still have a desire to buy his mom and sister flowers when he's old enough to be buying flowers.
I have been well blessed.
Monday was the day that I finally made it to Jason's sister's house to clean. And did it ever need it. We left there in a mad dash the day that we moved two weeks ago. The careful plan that I had laid to head back the next day to spiff things up didn't happen. Once we were finally home again, I found that I was quite content to just stay home.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the best plan in the world for her house. I was disgusted to find out that I had left potato peelings in the sink, and food chunks under the table. Sheets were all washed but the beds still had to be made. Cobwebs were abundant.
How in the world do cobwebs form anyway? We'd only been gone for two weeks.
The day we moved was a hectic one. Jason found out as I was fixing lunch that he had about 1 1/2 hours to make it to the vet with his sick ram...and in that time we had to eat lunch, throw all our belongings into the pickup, take it to our house, unload it all, hitch the trailer, load the ram. Therefore, everything was done in a mad dash. Hence, the wreck. I'd like to think that it would have been better cleaned up had I had more time.....
Susan would have been apalled had she walked into her house before it had been cleaned. I was apalled. It made me think of the return of Jesus and of a poem that I memorized years ago while still in school.
IF JESUS CAME TO YOUR HOUSE
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two,
If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you'd do?
Oh, I know you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest,
And all the food you'd serve to Him would be the very best.
And you would keep assuring Him you're glad to have Him there,
That serving Him in your home is joy beyond compare.
But when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door,
With arms outstretched to welcome in your heavenly visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in,
Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn't heard,
And wished you hadn't uttered that last loud nasty word.
Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus come right in, or would you rush about?
Oh, I wonder if the Savior came to spend a day with you,
Would you just go on doing the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
Would our family conversation keep up it's usual pace,
Or would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing and read the books you read,
And let Him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you planned to go,
Or would you maybe change your plans, for just a day or so?
Would you be glad to have Him meet with all your closest friends,
Or would you hope they'd stay away until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on,
Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person to spend the day with you!
-Written by Lois Blanchard Eades, sung by Red Sovine
The whole time I was cleaning, that poem, the bits and pieces that I remembered, kept cruising through my mind. Seriously, what if she had come home earlier than we thought she was going to? How embarrassed I would have been had she come home to see the disarray that her little place was in.
Trash bags sitting in the garage, dirt left on the floor that was dragged in from our car. The place was an absolute wreck.
I could make you a whole list of excuses to try to make myself look good, but really there is no excuse.
In the same way, I have no excuse to offer Jesus if He questions me on my reading choices, or on the music I listen to, or on the words that come out of my mouth, or on the way I treat my family when I get a little worked up, or on the thoughts that run through my mind if my husband kind of irks me.
He knows all that without actually showing up physically at my house for a day. He lives with me all the time.
Do I really and truly think that He's not going to see me? How silly if I do think that.
Anyway. We got the house cleaned up and the mess it was in offered me the opportunity to think about my own life on a day to day basis. Sometimes it's good to have some physical evidence to show just how easy it is to get off track.
Tuesday morning we did nothing. It was grand. It gave me the chance to clean up my own house a little. I'm amazed at just how much cleaning up I do on daily, no hourly, basis.
Tuesday afternoon I took Addie to music class. Of course, JN went with me too, but Will got to go with Jason to work on the drill at his parent's. That worked out well for us all, Will going with Jason!! He loves going to work with Daddy, and, quite frankly, I love it when he goes too!!
Addie loves her music class. She comes home singing her little heart out. Nothing quite like hearing your child singing her way through the day. If a song is coming out, the heart is happy.
Then. We went shopping. Plant shopping. The day that I have been looking forward to ever since I saw our poor bedraggled plants that were frozen beyond repair when our furnace quit. I love having plants sitting around the house. Splashes of color, and I don't have to do much decorating.
Just a note. If you want some new houseplants, go buy them now. They're all on sale before they start getting new spring shipments. Bought seven large plants (two of them were well over four feet tall) for $70. I was pleased. I was even more pleased when I had insurance money to whip out to pay for them!!
Wednesday was a dreary day outside, so we were in much of the day. Bout time to wash the dishes after lunch, Addie started sputtering around about having a really ouchy ear. Not that I was surprised. Any time she gets a slight cold she ends up with an earache/infection as well. She's now on Sudafed for Children as that has worked in the past to keep it from hitting full blown infection stage. What amazed me is that it happened to hit right as I said it was time to wash dishes. :) She still had to wash the dishes...then she lounged on the couch with an onion stuck in her ear to take away the pain. Laugh all you want. It worked. Though I do think she is getting a bug or something. While playing with her 'laptop' she had to rest her head on her desk for a while as she was too tired to keep 'typing'. That's just not her.
Thursday we, the children and I, spent another day cooped up in the house. It was cool and wet outside, and that just doesn't seem like overly grand outdoor playing weather. Addie's ear didn't bother her at all. Next time...I'm heading for an onion again. Will was just Will all day, and Jack was just Jack. Though all he wanted to do was be held...so you can just imagine how much got accomplished around here.
Mid afternoon Dad and Mom came over to get Dad's smashed thumb doctored. You didn't know I'm a doctor? Me neither. In fact, I really don't enjoy doctoring in the least. They came, used my stuff, and Mom actually did the doctoring. Cheaper than heading to the ER and hopefully just as effective.
Not an overly exciting week, I'll have to say. How did this post get so long? Nothing happened, and yet you've likely polished off at least one cup of coffee reading about our uneventful week.
In closing, here's an update on the potty training. I'll have to say that there is basically no technique involved. He's running around with no diaper and no pants on as that helps me to remember to perch him on the potty chair. It's either I remember or I clean up messes!! He scooches all over the house on his potty chair simply cause I'm too....um....undisciplined to sit beside him waiting no him to go, and he's too much of a momma boy to be somewhere that I am not. Does that all make sense? Potty training here at our house isn't that huge of a deal...we just do what works and hope that it works in a timely manner.
AND...in other news. Look what my wonderful husband did.
Flowers. And it's not even my birthday or Valentine's Day. Though he said they were for a belated Valentine's bouquet.
Not only did I get flowers, but he got a miniature bouquet for his other lady friend. Our daughter. He buys her flowers every year for either Valentine's Day or her birthday...or sometimes both. She loves it.
Will was a little ticked that Daddy didn't put his name on the cards too. Jason assured him that sometime he can get flowers for Mommy and Addie. That's all it took. Now he can't wait til he's big enough to buy flowers for us. For some reason I doubt if he will still have a desire to buy his mom and sister flowers when he's old enough to be buying flowers.
I have been well blessed.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Pink....or....Blue?
I don't know if I've posted this before or not, but it's too good to keep to myself if I haven't and it's too good to not repost if I have.
How was that for a doozy of a run-on sentence? You'd never guess that English was my favorite subject all through school.
Have you ever heard of Emerson and Sarah Eggerichs? The "Love and Respect" couple? If not, I'd strongly suggest that you get acquainted with their work. Strongly suggest it. Really strongly.
You know how some days you just struggle to relate with your husband? Or perhaps your wife, though I can't imagine that would ever happen. :)
Maybe it's just here, at our house, that we have that problem at times. Maybe. But I seriously doubt that.
There are times when I wonder why in the world he can't see that there are dishes to do, clothes to fold, children to shower, toys to pick up. Why? I get a little grumpy when he asks me if there is anything he can do. I tend to think, "If you can look around at the disarray of this house and still ask me that question, I'm not going to waste my breath telling you what to do." Mmmm-hmmm. Sounds respectful, don't ya think? I struggle pointing things out that I could use a little help with as it seems that it's so obvious.
But I forget about 'pink and blue'. I forget that God made us so completely different. I forget that the house is not his domain and therefore he really and truly does not know what needs to be done. I forget that he's not wrong, just different.
And different is okay. Cause if you really think about it, he likely gets just as annoyed at me. But I never know it as he stays all cool, calm, and collected.
The Eggerichs have written a book called "Love and Respect". It's a super read. I need to read it again. And again. And again. They so well describe the differences between men and women. It's so down to earth. It's so real.
Last winter we had the privelege of watching the "Love and Respect" DVD's with our church. If you have the opportunity, clear your schedule so you can watch them. Sit down as a couple. Pick up tid-bits or even chunks that will help you better understand your spouse.
Last summer I babysat for my niece and nephew. Krista is just eight months older than Addie and Brandon is eight months older than Will. They're pretty good friends.
Anyway, I was babysitting. Addie and Krista were being true girls...squealing, dressing up, having a tea party, giggling and whispering to each other....
....while in the backyard, Brandon and Will were sitting on little red chairs, back to back, not saying a word. Fishing.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Pink and blue.
Played out in it's fullest by two little five year old girls and two little four year old boys. Nobody sat them down and said, "Okay. Girls, you listen and you listen well. You are going to have a tea party as that is what girls do. And boys. You are heading to the backyard to sit quietly. Not one word will be spoken as boys don't really need to talk to feel the comaraderie."
Nope. We didn't do that. God made them that way, just as He made each of us that way.
Anyone who cares to argue that men and women aren't really that much different, I beg you to take a gander at those pictures again. Those little girls and those little boys will likely grow up to be husbands and wives someday. Oh my word. Did I really just type that? I can hardly imagine.
But they likely will. Do you think that when they marry they will suddenly change and the girls will prefer to fish back to back with their friends while the boys will prefer to sit with shoulders touching?
I'd be really surprised.
Praise God for our differences!! As hard as it can be to relate sometimes, the blessings are abundant when you can see that he/she really isn't doing that/acting that way on purpose. It's simply the way God made him/her.
It's not wrong. It's just different.
How was that for a doozy of a run-on sentence? You'd never guess that English was my favorite subject all through school.
Have you ever heard of Emerson and Sarah Eggerichs? The "Love and Respect" couple? If not, I'd strongly suggest that you get acquainted with their work. Strongly suggest it. Really strongly.
You know how some days you just struggle to relate with your husband? Or perhaps your wife, though I can't imagine that would ever happen. :)
Maybe it's just here, at our house, that we have that problem at times. Maybe. But I seriously doubt that.
There are times when I wonder why in the world he can't see that there are dishes to do, clothes to fold, children to shower, toys to pick up. Why? I get a little grumpy when he asks me if there is anything he can do. I tend to think, "If you can look around at the disarray of this house and still ask me that question, I'm not going to waste my breath telling you what to do." Mmmm-hmmm. Sounds respectful, don't ya think? I struggle pointing things out that I could use a little help with as it seems that it's so obvious.
But I forget about 'pink and blue'. I forget that God made us so completely different. I forget that the house is not his domain and therefore he really and truly does not know what needs to be done. I forget that he's not wrong, just different.
And different is okay. Cause if you really think about it, he likely gets just as annoyed at me. But I never know it as he stays all cool, calm, and collected.
The Eggerichs have written a book called "Love and Respect". It's a super read. I need to read it again. And again. And again. They so well describe the differences between men and women. It's so down to earth. It's so real.
Last winter we had the privelege of watching the "Love and Respect" DVD's with our church. If you have the opportunity, clear your schedule so you can watch them. Sit down as a couple. Pick up tid-bits or even chunks that will help you better understand your spouse.
Last summer I babysat for my niece and nephew. Krista is just eight months older than Addie and Brandon is eight months older than Will. They're pretty good friends.
Anyway, I was babysitting. Addie and Krista were being true girls...squealing, dressing up, having a tea party, giggling and whispering to each other....
....while in the backyard, Brandon and Will were sitting on little red chairs, back to back, not saying a word. Fishing.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Pink and blue.
Played out in it's fullest by two little five year old girls and two little four year old boys. Nobody sat them down and said, "Okay. Girls, you listen and you listen well. You are going to have a tea party as that is what girls do. And boys. You are heading to the backyard to sit quietly. Not one word will be spoken as boys don't really need to talk to feel the comaraderie."
Nope. We didn't do that. God made them that way, just as He made each of us that way.
Anyone who cares to argue that men and women aren't really that much different, I beg you to take a gander at those pictures again. Those little girls and those little boys will likely grow up to be husbands and wives someday. Oh my word. Did I really just type that? I can hardly imagine.
But they likely will. Do you think that when they marry they will suddenly change and the girls will prefer to fish back to back with their friends while the boys will prefer to sit with shoulders touching?
I'd be really surprised.
Praise God for our differences!! As hard as it can be to relate sometimes, the blessings are abundant when you can see that he/she really isn't doing that/acting that way on purpose. It's simply the way God made him/her.
It's not wrong. It's just different.
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