Lady Moon

In honor of my wonderful, little boy, here's a poem he'll be memorzing as soon as he is able. He loves Lady Moon, and asks for her each night.

O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east;
Shine, be increased:
O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the west;
Wane, be at rest.

by Christina Rosetti, as a help in knowing whether the moon is waxing or waning

(Thanks, Kelly!)

Two Stories

Sadly, these are not parables. Sorry, Kelly. :)

This past Wednesday, it was beautiful outside. Spring had arrived! Joseph, Emma and I were playing in the front yard, enjoying the weather before Aaron came home from work. A robin landed in our front yard and I pointed to it and said, "Do you see the bird, Joseph?". Of course, this was confusing for the poor boy, who knew that birds were mobile creatures only found in the sky.

I pointed again, and this time he saw her. He looked at me, and I told him to go get the bird. And, with a huge grin, he took off. The bird hopped away a few feet. Joseph stopped, looked at me, and then followed the bird. Robin hopped again. Joseph laughed and chased her. This went on another couple of times. It was really amusing to watch.

Finally, Robin was beginning to feel too threatened and, as Joseph was in pursuit, she flew up into the tree across the street. Joseph had seen a miracle of God.

This bird flew.

She went from the ground to the sky to the tall tree. His jaw dropped and he turned on his heels to gasp at me with a wide-open, awe-struck smile. He pointed excitedly and screamed "BIRD!!". He couldn't believe it! I'm sure he was thinking that flying is the bestest and most amazing thing in the whole world.

I remember thinking the same thing. Funny that I ever stopped...

And then yesterday, my dear, sweet, perceptive child was playing in the living room while I was being productive (cough, cough) on the computer. Since I had my back to him, I turned around to check on him.

I saw the cutest scene: my son, sitting in a chair with his little, pudgy legs dangling in front of him, reading a book on his lap. I grabbed the camera. But sneaking was important, because I knew that if he saw or heard the shiny, electronic gadget, he'd want to get down to come investigate. Thankfully, it was already on the desk where I was sitting; but I still had to open it. And we all know that as a camera lens comes out it make that great sound. So, I discreetly coughed to cover up the noise. I glanced over my shoulder and he was still reading, so I began getting the camera ready, when I heard:

"Chiiiis! Chiiiis!"

The boy had heard. More than that, he knew I was about to take a picture. And more than that, he knew to say "cheese!". Who taught him to say "cheese"?

PPML

Post Partum Memory Loss. I have no idea if that's real, but I have a severe case of mommy brain. So, while I'm wondering at all the ways Joseph is changing, I'll write it down:

• He runs and runs. He scrunches his shoulders up to his ears; pulls his elbows up to his sides and takes off! He looks at you, waiting for you to cheer him on with "Go, Joseph, go!"
  
• He puts coins in his pockets.
  
• He is beginning to respect the "no" items in the house.
  
• He is getting three teeth at once.
  
• He can speak in phrases and almost in sentences.
  
• He loves cars and tells them to "Go, car, go!"
  
• His favorite books right now are "There's a Wocket in My Pocket" and "The B Book"
  
• He can eat by himself, but Mama doesn't exactly like letting him because of the mess. But porrige is NOT an option.
  
• He loves milk almost as much as Tami.
  
• Instead of calling bananas "Nana" like he used to, they are now "Ban". Meme pointed out that once he puts them together, he's set.
  
• He has fat feet.
  
• He is beginning to like the game: Take something out, put it back in.
  
• Since their visit 3 weeks ago, he misses his Meme and Papa and asks for them a couple times a day.
  
• Mama talks to Meme so much that whenever the phone rings, or whenever Mama calls someone, he says "Hi Meme!".
  
• Lately, since he rediscovered the electronic drum toy, he'll take it into the closet, shut the door halfway and play with it, enjoying the way it lights up.
  
• "May-milk" means "May I have some more milk, please, dearest mother?"
  

Speaking of the little darling, he's just woken up from his nap and deserves some play outside. So that's what we're going to do. :)

Baby Steps

This past Monday, Aaron and I sent a check to one of our student loans. Do you know what was written in the memo? "Pain in Full". Halleluia! We are no longer a slave to AES. It's a great feeling. We have worked hard, worked on being self-disciplined (emphasis on "worked"), scrimped and saved, and denied ourselves some luxuries. We have prayed that God would make us faithful stewards of the money He has given us, and we are so encouraged to see Him be faithful!

Paying off the first of our three loans was not a one-time event. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't about a David and Goliath moment of saying "NO!" to debt. It's been a daily process full of the tiniest baby steps.

The first step was to ask ourselves what was most important. The second was to make our spending consistent with that.: Can we spend $10 less on dry cleaning by freshening things? Can we stretch our food budget by shopping wisely? Can we do without eating out as much? Can we wear our clothes longer?

The third step was to actually implement our decisions from step two: Don't go out for lunch even though it's late and you're tired and just want fast food. Go ahead and cook dinner, even though you forgot all about that meal. Wait just one more month before you buy that thing, so that you'll have plenty of money for other things.

The fourth step is the hardest: finding the balance between sacrificing for later and enjoying your life now. It's impossible for anyone else to answer that question. It's difficult enough to answer it for yourself. What we find ourselves struggling with are questions like: Are we being generous enough? Are we being stingy with each other or our children? Are we greedy? Are we dependent on money for happiness? Do we think that being debt-free will give us peace?

I'm sorry if this sounds like a didactic post - it's not meant to be. I'm hoping to share how wonderful and great and exciting and liberating and happy you feel when a debt you owe has been paid. (Remember the year of Jubilee, when all the slaves were freed? It's a taste of that.)

Older, wiser people have warned us against "sprinting" for our financial goals. We need to look at it as a marathon. We should have built-in indulgences, luxuries and rewards. So, for our very first Debt-Free Victory, Aaron and I are celebrating by spending some of our coveted "extra debt money" (which usually goes toward our loans) to buy a few new things for our family. It's a strange thing, but it's nice. God is good to give us these things that we don't deserve. If anything, I need to remember to repent of believing I deserve anything.

Spring Means Change

This time last year - around the first day of Spring - we were going through so many changes in our family: Karina had just arrived to live with us; our chickens (bless them) had been with us just a short time; my little garden was growing; my little boy was just starting to crawl; and we'd just received news that a new baby was growing in my womb. Now, that is spring.

I don't have much of that this year; my life is not bursting with newness. On the contrary, we're experiencing a sort of groaning as we slowly settle into a new life. Maybe it's a different kind of spring.

Don't think that we're unhappy this time around. There is a time for change; but then there's a time for stillness. Our family is ready for some stillness. So this Spring, we hope to be still and watch the world around us change.

He really did smile. I'm just a terrible photographer.

Big Brother.

Little Sister.

16 Weeks.

Sunday dress.