A letter to my children

Dear Greenhill babies,

Should you choose not to nap (for long or at all) on any given afternoon, please be advised that you may be subjected to a photo shoot as a result of your decision.  You're the lucky winner today, son!  I could stare at you all day.  For real. 

Much love,
Mom

September 30, 2010

Happy 17 month Birthday, my sweet girl!  I can't get enough of you! 

What do you want?

I often get two words confused in my mind: need and want.  Their definitions are so very different and it shouldn't be difficult to distinguish between the two, but I am so very human.  They frequently seem to be the same thing to me.  Sometimes, I'm like a little kid in the toy aisle at the store.  Lots of things that I want and those wants morphs into needs.  Ever heard a child say, "But I neeeeeeeed it!"  Yeah, that's me.

We have 2 children now, and that means that we don't have a guest room anymore.  You know, we really need a bigger house.  Wrong.  We don't have an entire room dedicated to toys for our children.  In general, they don't have tons of stuff.  Will there be enough to make everyone happy when a friend comes to play?  We need more toys.  Wrong.  I'm a little tired of the wardrobe I have.  I'm finally not pregnant and I'd like some cute (machine washable) clothes for this fall and winter.  I need more clothes.  Wrong.  Am I alone in this?  Or do you get it?

My God will supply all my needs, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4:19 (NASB)

My needs.  Not my wants.  My needs.  And He does.  Without fail.  Don't believe me?  Here are a few ways that I have been completely humbled in the past 2 months.

• Applied for financial aid after Baby #2 was born.  Lots of money forked over for bills before he was born. Another $12,000 due to the hospital after his birth.  Precious lady on the phone says, "You've been approved for 100% of your bill."  God knew what we needed at. that. time. And He made it possible.
• Baby # 2 also means that we have physically run out of room in our car.  Some baby things are for fun.  Many of the accoutrements are vital and there simply was not room!  We purchased a car yesterday afternoon at a ridiculously awesome price.  Did our savings account take a hit?  Sure.  But God knew what we needed at. that. time.  And He made it possible.  
• Those are all big ticket items.  Would you believe me if I told you that they weren't my most treasured provision?  Oh trust me, I am eternally grateful for those things.  But the provision that is dearest to my heart came in an envelope one day.  In a greeting card.  I was so excited to see who had sent us a card!  I love cards.  Love, love, love them.  Well, I mostly love the sweet notes that are typically inside of them.  But, I digress.  I tore open this particular card and read the outside, "Time for a 'God loves you' break in your day."  I sure do like those breaks, so I opened it quickly to keep reading.  "You're loved, valued, honored, and special- today and always."  No signature.  A gift card to a nearby grocery store (the one I frequent, actually).  Enough to cover one week's worth of groceries.  (Plus a cup of coffee if I can work my coupons just right).  I am humbled and we are blessed.  God placed our little family on someone's heart.  And they listened to Him.  Thank you for being used by God, dear anonymous friend.  God knew what we needed at. that. time.  And He made it possible.

Do you confuse needs and wants in your life, too?  How has God provided for you and your family (not necessarily financially)?

http://jonandmollie.blogspot.com

Grammar, anyone?

I am a grammar nerd.  I admit it.  If I could have gotten away with it, I would have taught grammar all year long to my 10th graders.  My eyes are trained and my ears are ultra sensitive.  Grammar mistakes scream at me everywhere I go.  It's no wonder that this picture, posted on Katie's blog, made me shudder and laugh.  Katie found the picture here, along with a quick apostrophe tutorial.  It's not that difficult, people!!

Happiness is...

• still feeling giddy inside when my man gets home from work every day
• having a sister who doesn't live 7 hours away anymore

• claiming a brother who does this on the weekends

• movie on the couch date night with my love after kids are in bed- free and totally worth it
• sweet kisses from Ladybug (with no prompting)
• smiles and giggles from Lovebug (who is totally in love with his mama, if I do say so myself)
• a dad who knows how to fix anything in the entire world
• hugs in the kitchen from my man that make all the problems in the world disappear
• generosity of a stranger who gave us millions of baby clothes for my little girl
• an adorable tennis dress in the pile of millions of baby clothes
• my little lady in the aforementioned tennis dress watching Gram play tennis
• my little man playing with his links and enjoying the breeze
• a picnic in the shade with two perfectly behaved children watching Gram crush her opponents
• a sleeping boy upstairs and a sweet girl off at Gram's house for the afternoon

• this face

• this face

• these faces

A sweet big sister

When my brother was born, I thought that life could not possibly get any better.  I had so wanted a baby in my family (I was only 3 when my sister was born and didn't really remember it), and I was going to get one!  Daniel was welcomed into our family the month before I turned 8.  I was so excited I could hardly stand myself.  I stayed awake at night, waiting for him to cry, so I could race into his room and hold him.  (Now that I have a better grip on the lives of babies and mothers, I look back and wonder what exactly I thought that I could do for him in the middle of the night.  No food from this girl!)  I guess it didn't really matter, though.  I loved that sweet baby boy and he was my baby, as far as I was concerned.  Side note: Not a whole lot has changed; I am still crazy protective of him and act like his second mother (probably too often... sorry, D), even though he's 20 and in college.

Long intro to get to my point... Kate is an awful lot like her mama (in about a billion ways, actually).  She has always been very nurturing toward Drew, although she is 362 days older and not 8 years.  Today, her main interest is holding him.  He was "playing" on the floor and she went over to scoop him up.  Oh boy.  So, I had her sit on the floor and I handed him to her.  She wrapped her pudgy little arms all the way around him and looked at his face, adoringly, as though she couldn't get enough of him.  Without prompting, she kissed him several times on his head and forehead (not her usual open mouthed kiss, either) and then gently rubbed his head.  And then she rocked him.  "Ra, ra, ra, ra."  Please keep in mind that Kate weighs all of 21 pounds and Drew weighs 15.  She almost doesn't have room to hold him.  But, oh how she loves him.  I might as well not have even been there.  She was in her own little world, with her real live baby.  Most people don't get to see maternal instincts in a 16 month old.  Hahahahaha!! 

One of the main questions that people ask of me (After staring with mouth wide open, "How close are they in age??") is "Oh man.  Is she jealous?"  Not at all.  Well, kinda.  But not like you'd think.  If I'm holding her baby, she's not jealous because it takes time away from her.  She's jealous because she wants to be holding that little fella.  How I wish I had been near the camera...

http://jonandmollie.blogspot.com