Moments in a Week

It has not been the easiest week for me. Anna woke up Sunday night with a fever. Monday morning Aliza and Josiah were scheduled for annual well checks. I didn't have anyone to stay with Anna so I headed to the doctor with 2 apprehensive children and a sick toddler. I understood Aliza's nervousness, but she did nothing to make the visit easy on me. Josiah settled down when he found out that he didn't need any shots. Anna held up pretty well. I was just left with a mental battle the rest of the day after the doctor told me I needed to make significant changes to eating habits and that "children need to be able to obey their parents even when they are asked to do something they don't want to do." As I said, Aliza didn't make anything easy for me! Ah well. I'm survived my mental battle. I'm a good Mom. There is a high probability that my children will become confident, independent, responsible adults.

Monday evening Aliza and I were sitting at the table doing school. I was still struggling with myself. The day was long and hard and when Anna wasn't napping I was holding her. School was a struggle. We got to composition and the assignment was to write about something that you want to learn to do. Aliza thought for a minute and she sat down and started writing.

This felt like a huge milestone. Up until now, Aliza has dictated her composition. I've written it and she has copied it onto her paper. My theory was that at some point she would realize it would be just as easy or easier to write it on her own. It happened!!! When she got to a word she wasn't sure how to spell, she wrote it on a scrap of paper and I corrected it. (She got tired of that routine by the last sentence.) This is the process her teacher has been encouraging for most of the year. After a tough day, this really lifted my spirits.

Tuesday. Anna woke up quite hot. She said ouch off and on, but I couldn't really pin down where she was hurting. I held her all day. She ate very little. At supper I realized that we were out of apple juice and milk. I HAD to go to the store in the one hour that Jeremy was home before he left again for Bible study. Josiah really really wanted to go with me. In fact he gave up his Minecraft time to go with me. He was a most excellent shopping companion. He talked to me the whole time. As we were heading to the check out he saw the display of flowers and insisted on picking out a bouquet for me. I would have been out of my mind to deny him this. He picked a bouquet of daisies.

He stuck his head over the back seat as I put groceries in the trunk and asked to hold the flowers on the way home. I was happy to oblige. He said, "Mommy, do you know why I wanted to get you flowers? Because I love you." So so sweet. Completely melted me heart. And made my day. 

Wednesday found me sitting in immediate care with Anna. Her temp was 103.2 and she had a double ear infection. It happened to be a day that my Mom was off work and she could watch Aliza and Josiah. What a help that was! Because Anna did not make it easy for me at the Dr! Anna is feeling much better today.

I'm looking forward to some warmer days ahead and I'm thankful that tomorrow is Friday.

Joy Dare::March

166. 3pm quiet time
167. "What is in the heart is what the heart knows."

168. Celebrating my brother's birthday at Mom and Dad's house means I don't have to cook supper tonight!
169. A bald eagle sitting beside the road and flying in front of us.
170. Brother and sisters giving good night hugs and kisses.
171. Giving thanks while laying between my girls--waiting for them to fall asleep
172. Two braids tied with ribbon
173. Birthday lunch with Mommy and "the girls"

174. Warm coats
175. An early start to the day--hard thanks
176. 3 helpers in the grocery store--hard thanks
177. Supper helpers

178. Children's enthusiasm for morning
179. Found: the first bloom

180. Broom and dustpan
181. A nephew napping on my shoulder
182. Parents with children grown to look up to
183. "Amazing grace in your self-talk--makes everything amazing." Ann Voscamp
184. Decorated birthday cakes
185. Meals I don't cook
186. Groceries bought and put away
187. Birthday party anticipation
188. Welcoming Grandma and Grandpa and Joel and Brandi
189. Open doors
190. Happy husband going golfing
191. First sermon notes
192. Brother bringing sister flowering weeds
193. Our families singing Happy Birthday in lovely harmony
194. Aliza reading to a feverish Anna so I could get dressed

195. Holding a sick little girl all day
196. "If we pray the work...if we do it to Jesus, if we do it for Jesus, if we do it with Jesus...that's what makes us content." Mother Teresa
197. Very dark, gray clouds
198. Remembering the baby I got to hold and take care of last summer--on his first birthday
199. Sunlight while I cook supper
200. Time to relax in the evening
201. Toys in surprising places

202. Sliver of moon
203. Holding hands
204. Blessed Be the Name of the Lord played over the speaker in the restaurant
205. Friday--Daddy came home from work early.
206. 3 children swinging golf clubs
207. Picking up the children from a slumber party with Grandma and Grandad
208. Family meeting
209. Spending time at the park with new friends
210. Found a missing library book!
211. Learning about money

212. A surprise covering of snow this morning
213. Making a choice to smile at my children--who are particularly whiney
214. The change in energy when Daddy comes home
215. 3 meals
216. Cookies and milk
217. Blowing bubbles in chocolate milk

218. Read a magazine
219. Josiah discovered he loves pumpkin bread
220. Great big snowflakes--on the first day of spring

221. A daughter who stays awake until I come home
222. Talking while a friend cooks for me!
223. Daffodils along the road
224. The boy who got sick in the car had a bucket beside him and used it.
225. Helped someone who has helped me
226. Making a daughter's dream a reality

227. Dinner with the Heslop ladies and "the girls"

228. Waiting
229. Brandi ready my thyroid scrapbook and told me she cried often--a sister of the heart
230. Reminders that the most important accomplishment of the day is nurturing and teaching your children
231. The way the house lightens when the sun comes out from behind a cloud
232. Winter--almost gone
233. A husband who can fix the noisy fan on the school computer
234. Smooth sailing school day
235. Learning to say: supercalifragilisticexpealidoshous
236. Noticing buds on trees as I'm driving
237. "Mommy when we say thank you to God we should raise our hands as high as we can and shout THANK YOU GOD so everyone hears." Aliza
238. Spring decorations remind us of new life

239. Stopping to contemplate Jesus' death with Aliza
240. Muscles feeling used

241. A friend sharing coupon purchases
242. The first golf tournament of the year--hard thanks
243. Uncovering areas of lukewarm faith in me
244. Heard my children singing in church
245. Woke up with Scripture going through my mind
246. Jesus is alive! Josiah was singing the Ron Kenoly just before he fell asleep tonight.

Resurrection Day!

 I woke up with Philippians 2:8-11 on my mind. Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I just laid in bed for a few moments and gave thanks for Jesus' obedience to death so that God the Father's plan for salvation could be complete.

It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we have a hope for the future. Without the blood sacrifice of Jesus there is no chance for anyone to stand in the presence of a Holy God. No one is good enough to get to heaven in their own power or good works. God gave us the standard for holiness in Scripture...in the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament. Have you lied? Have you stolen? Have you looked at a man or woman lustfully? The possibilities for sin are endless. God knows that we cannot maintain His standard on our own so He sent his only son, Jesus, to earth--fully God and fully man--to be a sacrifice for the sin of humanity. Now when we stand before God as judge and are found guilty we can acknowledge Jesus' sacrifice and Jesus will stand beside us in "court". If we accept Jesus' sacrifice Jesus tells Father God, "I took care of this one. I've got this one's sin covered." Our "charge" is cleared and we are found pure and are able to stand in the presence of a Holy God.

That sacrificial gift of Jesus' life and also His resurrection from the dead which defeated sin and death is what we celebrate on Easter.

I made baskets for each of our children for Easter morning. There were 6 small gifts in each basket. Each gift was a different color that reminded them of a part of the Jesus' story. We have a book that we read that tells us about each color. Green for the palm branches that were waved when Jesus rode into Jericho on a donkey. Purple for the wine served at the Last Supper. Red for the death on the cross. Brown for the grave. White for the angels that told the women Jesus was alive! Yellow to remind us for the gift of life that Jesus gave us by rising from the dead. Aliza really got it and could remember what each color represented.

We had brunch and church and then it was time for the highly anticipated Easter egg hunt. It was a rainy day so our men hid the eggs in my parents living room. Josiah was completely devastated that we couldn't hide eggs outside. He came around and was able to enjoy the egg hunt. A bunch of pictures follow!

A Peek at Spring

 Recently I've been getting to the end of the week and wondering where it has gone! We've had good and hard this week. We've had some smooth sailing days of school. That has been so nice! We have 40 days of school left. Not that I'm counting or anything! Today we finished 1st grade science. Yes, Aliza cried again. Not as much. She enjoyed history more than science. The hard part of the week? The freezing cold air outside and my lack of motivation! We took a walk one day and I about froze. The wind was icy. Today, however, was very nice and we had a lovely time outside.

We colored eggs yesterday with the Sheats cousins. Anna had a ball. All of her favorite things were included...water, scooping, pouring, and a round something to drop in the water. She had colored water all over the table, chair, floor and herself. And all of her eggs were cracked! The older children figured out that the longer you leave the eggs in the water the darker the color becomes.

This afternoon we took a hike with friends through their family's woods. Everyone had so much fun. We walked a long way and there was no complaining from anyone.

 The sand/rock pile was the highlight of the adventure.

 It was not long before everyone had their shoes and coats off.

 And by the end the older ones had all gotten their feet wet in the water. It was definitely not warm enough for that!

 Blue sky, sunshine, fresh air and friends were very good for my soul!

American Girl Store--Tyson's Corner

This was a day trip for Aliza. A visit to the American Girl doll store in Tyson's Corner, VA. Grandma Karen and Aunt Brandi came along. This trip was more of a tourist attraction than a shopping spree for us. I'll tell you all about it in photo journal style.

We embarked on our journey at 1pm. Aliza's girls (Marie-Grace, Kirstin, and Bitty Baby, Chocolate) are all buckled in the back seat. It was an hour and a half drive to Tyson's Corner from WV. Aliza was so excited. I had her watching for roads and exits to keep her occupied. 

After parking in the parking garage, Aliza got her girls settled in the stroller and put her bitty baby in the carrying pack. Janell acquired this American Girl stroller from one of Jeff's aunts and she let Aliza borrow it for this trip. It was just perfect. There were lots little girls with dolls in the store, but no other strollers. Aliza got lots of attention. She pushed her stroller all day without complaint.

Brandi and I carried the stroller up a flight of stairs to get out of the parking garage.

If Aliza was ever going to get hit by a car, it would have been walking to the store. The excitement was palpable and it took multiple reminders that we were on a road and there were cars coming to get safely into the store!

There were lots and lots of little girls looking at dolls! This store had 2 floors and Aliza wanted to go to the lower floor first. The lower floor had Bitty Babies and Just Like U dolls. Some displays were open and the dolls and accessories could be handled. Other displays were enclosed. At the end of the day Aliza said she really liked the open displays.

This is a shower/bathtub that Aliza has admired in the catalog for her doll house. Its' huge!

Waiting for the elevator was the only chance to grab a picture of Aliza with Grandma and Brandi.

I wanted to see this Volkswagen. It retails for $350, is licensed by Volkswagen, plays 70's tunes on the radio, the engine "runs", the lights work, etc. Aliza is listening to the radio.

A photo op with the 2013 doll of the year, Saige.

After exploring the upper floor we went back down to play with the interactive Bitty Baby display. A lot of the accessories were open to be tried out. Aliza spent quite a bit of time here.

Grandma babysat the girls.

After a solid hour in the store, the adults were ready for a drink and a break. Aliza wasn't so sure. The only way I got her out of the AG store was to tell her that there was a Disney store in the mall and we would be back to visit the AG store later. Lemonade and iced tea was very refreshing. (This is a very fun part of being a Mom! Making dreams come true!)

We walked around the rest of the mall and then went back to the AG store for supper. This meal was an event. Each of the dolls had their own seat. Aliza had to get each one out of the stroller and settled.

Aliza's smile didn't fade at all!

Aliza chose chicken noodle soup for her appetizer. She was really hungry. She ate every drop of soup in the bowl! On the table was a box of conversation questions. This was perfect for us. We asked and answered lots of questions. My favorite question to Aliza was "What is the perfect age? Why?" She said 8 or 12. Because I'll be able to read American Girl chapter books without Mommy's help.

It was the end of our day and Aliza had really been awesome and I guess it was a moment of weakness. Our waitress asked if it was Aliza's birthday. She said yes and I sprung for the birthday package. Aliza was positively thrilled. She and her girls received birthday crowns.

After the soup, Aliza could barely contain herself. She talked and talked and talked (as she had been all day), but this was up a notch. I had to keep reminding her to sit down and talk quieter. Her chair got closer and closet to Brandi. She was so anxious for her cake to arrive.

The girls crowns got turned upside down.

The cake finally arrived! The cafe sang Happy Birthday and Aliza blew out the candles.

We enjoyed cake and ice cream for dessert and we got to take the leftovers home. Aliza also received a goody bag which included a birthday t-shirt for her Bitty Baby.

Aliza and I agreed that she would make her purchasing choices after supper. She had a $25 budget and she wanted to get an accessory for both Marie-Grace and Chocolate (the Bitty Baby). She chose an accessory set for Marie that included a cake just like the one we ate, a bowl of ice cream and a cup of pink lemonade. I thought this was a very nice memory for the day. For Chocolate she chose a snack set that she has had her eye on for a long time.

I was so proud of her for enjoying the store and the day without asking for every single thing in the store!

We were all so tired when we got in back in the car at 8pm for the drive back to WV. Aliza didn't fall asleep though. She kept up the chatter the whole way home. We talked and talked and talked about the store and our favorite memories of the day.