Pieces

I prayed hard for Bug's kindergarten teacher.  He's all boy -- rough and tumble, perpetual motion, and more.  And he's advanced academically.  As a teacher, I have seen this combination in various forms.  And while I enjoyed those students, I also knew the challenges of teaching them.  So I prayed for someone with understanding and wisdom.  And when I knew we'd be moving before his kindergarten year, I added prayers for a neighborhood with kids his age for him to play with.  I'd also hoped for a place centrally located for church, school, and work.  I was asking for a lot!  And while I know God can do it, I also recognize that the heart, I want my prayers to be about His will, not mine.

In the end, our house is a farther from work, school and church than we'd really like.  But, Bug is in a great school with a great teacher who values who he is and is working to challenge him where he's beyond his classmates and support him where he needs the extra.  And he has not one, but three buddies from his class that live within two blocks of the house.  Combine that with a preschool that's exactly what we wanted for Basil directly on the way from home to work (that we might have missed if we'd lived somewhere else).  It all came together so beautifully.  As I have been thinking of all these things in the last few days, I am reminded that I am so thankful for God's control instead of my own.

He is a reader!

Being a boy in school is tough.  Of course I don't know this from personal experience, but from many years of teaching and seeing first hand that our school system isn't designed for rough and tumble boys who need to be in motion large portions of his day.  The really great teachers engage that and use it for learning, but it can still be challenging.  We expected those challenges for him and haven't been surprised when it's come up.  I've sent up a lot of prayers for wisdom in how to guide him in how to meet school expectations without telling him that he can't be himself.  This week was a bit discouraging as I had multiple e-mails from his teacher about disruptive behaviors.  I so appreciate her and know she's works really hard to redirect and teach him in an encouraging way, but it's still hard, even when you expect it.  So, today was a perfect time to join in with M.O.B. Society's Let's Hear It for the Boys and brag on my boy!


 He is a reader!  My kinder is reading Magic School Bus and chapter books and telling me what they are about!  He's been reading for over a year and was one of those kids that just started asking questions and figuring it out on his own.  People ask me what I did and all I can say is I read to him and when he wanted to know what words were, I told him...he took it from there. He loves trying new books, loves going to the library and book store as much as I do, reads to his sister, reads to us, and wows us every day.  I am one proud Mama!

Listen and Learn

Oh, the power of prayer (and listening when God answers)! Getting either of my sweet children to do anything on a timeline other than their own is an event. So much so, that I've come to dread it which I know affects how I approach things (cleaning up, in particular) making it all harder. And so I've been praying - for wisdom in how to approach these challenges, for ways to build my children up and encourage them while helping them learn the necessity of cleaning up, getting ready in a timely way, doing things they don't want to do with a positive attitude. And this week, the Lord has really been helping me recognize ways to use Bug's strengths to make clean up a much smoother experience and to recognize where he specifically needs encouragement in the process. He is easily distracted (not entirely unlike his Mama) and so I thought earlier in the week that a checklist might help him for some of the routine things he needs to do within time constraints. I mentioned it to Dr. D a few days ago and then forgot about it (I need checklists of my own :)). Tonight, he remembered and created one with Bug for clean up time and it was a hit! He did everything on the list without complaining and without bogging down. It wasn't all done fully the first time so we needed to walk him through that, but it was most definitely a step in the right direction. And when I made a point to tell Bug what he'd done well in the process, he finished the items on the list without complaint and seemed encouraged as he did so. It was one of the most peaceful clean ups in this house in the last month!

Resolution Revision 1

And in true New Year's Resolutions, they've already started to slip.  My three times a week of writing has already turned into once every couple of weeks and seeking direction daily is more like an every few days kind of things.  But when I reflect on the heart of the resolutions, it's still there.  So, I've decided not to stress so much on the timelines and stick to what mattered most in both of them - writing more often and being more intentional about seeking God's direction.  And so I make it a point to pray for Bug and for Basil and how to best raise them to who God wants to be anytime the thought crosses my mind.  And already, I've recognized some things in my son that I don't know how I missed before that have made interactions that would normally be...challenging, play out much calmer and with him being encouraged and me as well.

As for the the writing...it's harder than I remembered.  But, I've come to the conclusion that I'm thinking about it too much.  So, next step in that goal - just get back to words on the page.  That was the advice of my seventh grade English teacher and it still sticks (and I've now passed it on to many a student staring at a blank piece of paper).  Tomorrow.  Or maybe next week...

Seeking the Map

New Years Day - that kick off of new goals.  My two biggest this year are to write at least three times a week (I really want daily, but if a goal isn't realistic, it's useless...) and to be seeking God's direction with the kids each day.  I've learned to lean in to Him a lot in the last couple of years and to cry out for help when I am at a loss.  As I've thought a lot about how I can best be an instrument in my children growing into God's plans for them, I've realized that I need to ask Him for guidance in that.  Who better to show me how to help them than the one who can see it all.  And it makes so much more sense to ask before I'm lost - rather than when I already feel off track.  My big challenge in that particular goal is going to be seeing progress.  It's important for me to see that what I'm doing is working in some small way.  I don't need dramatic changes, baby steps are fine, but I know that that even the baby steps in this goal won't be really tangible.  So, that's where the writing comes in.  I'm hoping that if I'm consistent about writing things down, I'll be able to see the baby steps and the progress.  Especially on the days where I feel lost again.  I've been praying a lot about this in the past week, though, and I know God is meeting me where I am so I'm excited to see where He'll take all of us.

The Best Gift

God gives us great gifts.  I know that in my head and in my heart and love that we get to celebrate it every year at Christmas.  I love this season for the fun of sharing the heart of Christmas with my kids and getting to see other enjoy gifts I have made or purchased specifically for them. I love that kindness can be seen so much more readily as I interact with people (though I know that varies from moment to moment).  And I love that although I've read the Christmas story many many times, when I reread it each year, I learn new things about myself and about who God is.

This year, I've been struck again and again by the many examples of obedience that are illustrated in the story of Christ's birth.  Mary hearing Gabriel tell her what was about to happen and responding with an obedient heart.  And they hadn't heard from God in many many years, but when told she'd found favor, she embraced it.  I can only imagine how scary that must have been.  And Joseph being told that his soon to be bride was pregnant and then being told that it was God's son and he was to still marry her must have seemed crazy at the time.   I'm sure there are many in his family who shunned them, but he was obedient to what God told him to do.  The wise men traveled from so far away following a star!  And it's not like they saw something on the news and hopped on a plane to see Jesus.  They were told to go by God, they traveled over land in what I'm sure was no easy journey to worship the beautiful baby boy.  And Jesus himself left Heaven because his father said it must be done and He loved us so much he became a baby to make it happen.  None of it was easy, but out of love and faith, people again and again chose to follow God's plan and now we celebrate each year the wonders that occurred so long ago.

Obedience can be really hard, especially when it goes against so much of the culture we live in.  But as I read the Christmas story again, I'm reminded of the incredible gifts that can come to us and the world when we allow God to do great things though us.

He eats!

Bug is a very picky eater.  He has always been like that and as a picky eater myself, I get it.  Still, in a desire to have my children have broader horizons than me, I try to keep serving a variety of foods.  It has felt like a battle the majority of nights.  To avoid this, we tried a range of things.  We established expectations for how much he needed to try before deciding he didn't like something.  We try to serve foods we know he'll like at least a few nights a week and include foods he's not sure about with them so he still has the opportunity to try them.   We included him in the choosing and preparing of food.  Nothing seemed to work and meal times were becoming a frustrating back and forth instead of family time to talk and be together.

And what seemed to be suddenly over the last few weeks, he's trying new things.  Sometimes he's even doing the asking for something different.  With minimal reminders, he's tried the portion set out for him; sometimes he likes it and sometimes not, but he does it.  Then, today, the crowning moment - he tried a bite of everything on his plate without complaint and found he did like one item he wasn't sure about.  Such a great reminder of the power of perseverance, even when you can't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Now, will that still be the case next time it's a new food or something he's not really fond of?  I don't know, but I know that this moment of success will certainly help fuel me to keep offering him new foods and be lovingly consistent about our expectations that he try them.  Who knows what he'll try next?