Everything Under the Son

This morning as I was helping Natalie get ready for swimming lessons, we were searching for her swimsuit cover-up. It's an adorable little pink terry dress that matches her swimsuit (last year's suit) and it looks really cute! But anyway, we couldn't find the silly thing anywhere. I had checked all the "spots"...dirty laundry, clean laundry in the dryer, her room, my room, the bathrooms...nothin'. It was missing! When I asked her about it, she just gave me the old shoulder shrug and "I don't know, Mommy."

A few minutes later, I find it. She asks me where..."Natalie, it was in the floor of your closet. Why was your swimsuit cover-up in the floor in your closet?"

She replies, "Mom, that is just what teenagers do!"

HELLO..."Natalie, you are not a teenager yet." "I know Mommy, but I will be when I start Kindergarten!"

"No Natalie. Not until you are thirteen."

"Mommy, how about when I'm six. Then I can be a teenager."

You are kidding me, right? I am absolutely not ready to have a teenager in the house! Give me a few more years, please!

"I asked the LORD to give me this child, and he has given me my request. Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life."

1 Samuel 1:27-28

Thank you Lord, for my gifts of Natalie and Levi. Help me to guide them always closer to You, for they are Yours. Amen.

This last Sunday, Natalie came home from church with the change can for collecting change that helps adoptive families. Today, she noticed the can and began asking questions...in true Natalie fashion. What was the money for? Who would get the money? Then came : "Mommy, what is adoption?"

As I tried to explain it to her, I used our family as an example. If we had a baby that did not come out of my tummy, we would love it as our very own. That the baby would be one of our children just like she and Levi were our children...a present from God. She thought about it for a minute, and then replied, "But Mommy, I think we have enough. I don't think we need any more kids. Are we going to get another kid?" I told her I didn't think we were planning anything right now, but that we never know what God has planned for our family. She thought that was great!

I guess sharing a room, toys, and mommy and daddy with her little brother is all of the sharing she cares to do right now! She did say later that she was really happy that we could use our money to make God happy and share it with other babies so they could have happy families! She has such a sweet heart...and I hope she continues to have the giving spirit.

God is so incredibly good...all the time!

Parenting. It's so hard. It's so rewarding. I can't remember life before my children...not much anyway. It seems that though life is busy, and there is always a nose to be wiped, things are good. Every day I struggle with the question...am I doing a good job? Am I being a good mother? Am I setting a good example?

Every day I know that I have failed, and have made some mistakes, but I also know that my kids love me anyway. When I feel the love they have for me, it reminds me of the pure love that Jesus has for me...loving me "neither matter what"!

There are times when Natalie will say something, do something, or react to something, and I can see myself in her. Sometimes it is good, and other times, not so much. Today I was talking to Nathaniel and I said something to the effect of "fat people not being included", to which my adorable daughter said, "Mommy, what does fat mean?"

I could have burst into the Hallelujah Chorus at that moment. I have always tried to be very intentional about not mentioning words like "fat", or "diet" in front of her. She doesn't need to hear those things right now, and I know she will learn them soon enough. But to hear her sweet voice not knowing what the word meant...well, that said I have done something right, I think. She just thinks people come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. She has no idea that being bigger or smaller is good or bad. We are all just as God made us!

Lord, thank you for my sweet girl! She is a blessing straight from you!