Sacrifice-It Runs in the Family

This afternoon Mike picked Christian up from school early in order to take him and Michaela to a ballgame with some friends.  This was a very special treat!  It also meant that he didn't take lunch to school, since Mike was getting him at noon. Oddly enough, Christian waltzed through the hot lunch line, and proceeded to order a cold sandwich as soon as his class arrived in the lunchroom.  His teacher had to tell him that that was not okay, for he hadn't asked permission (we don't pay for hot or cold lunch).  He ended up with a plate full of the fixings for a chicken taco, fruit, a turkey sandwich, and a cookie.  The mom helping with lunch today said,"I don't know how he's going to eat all that!" Of course, he wasn't supposed to get any of it, and Mike dropped it off here and then took off with the kids to the game.  I gave Christian the chicken taco for dinner, which worked out well for me, and Michaela had leftover pasta-it was that kind of night.  Later, Mike was headed back to the office and looking for some nourishment.  Being the excellent wife that I am, I offered him Christian's sandwich that we stole from school today. I only knew half the story. Just a little bit ago I heard from my sweet husband.  He said to me that as he took his first bite of that turkey sandwich he remembered more of the conversation that took place at the table.  When he informed the helping mom that Christian was not supposed to get a sandwich she replied,"That's okay. I guess we can just put the sandwich back or someone else will eat it.  Oh, wait a minute.  We can't do that really, because he asked for ketchup on the turkey sandwich, and I don't know if anyone else will want a turkey sandwich with ketchup." He continued,"So here I am.  Eating a sandwich made of white Wonder Bread, turkey, a cheese-food slice and....ketchup. Yum." It's been a long time since he had white bread.  And the fact that it stuck to the roof of his mouth like his retainer in high school is a good reminder why that is true. I think I need to get back to planning meals.

Complimentary

After Christian's party the other night I received an email from one of the moms who brought her son, a classmate of Christian's, to his party.  It brought tears to my eyes, encouragement to my heart, and joy to my soul.  This is part of what she said... Thank you so much for inviting [my son] to Christian's birthday party yesterday.  I just wanted y'all to know how precious I think Christian is.  At birthday cake time, he was so kind to make sure that everyone had a piece of cake before he had a slice himself.  What a rare child who puts others before himself.  It really impressed me ...  I came home and told my husband and he too was impressed.  Christian is so special.  I am so glad that [my son] has spent this year with Christian in his class. There is a part of me that immediately wanted to share this compliment with the world, the part that feels a sense of pride in his good choice, the part that wants him to know this kind of serving others pleases not only the grown-ups in his life but his Creator as well (surely He reads my blog) and I want to document it, and the part that wants him to feel good about what he did.  Then there is a part of me that hesitated to share it; am I tooting Christian's horn for him?  What are my motives? I don't know the answer to that last question fully, but I do know that it humbled me to hear this from another parent.  It was something that I didn't really notice.  I saw that he was helping pass out the cake (I was trying to take pictures, and focused on that) but the reality of his small sacrifice passed me by at that moment.  It is true that at many parties the birthday boy or girl receives the first piece of cake.  And he insisted on helping pass the cake out to his friends. I am so grateful that this mom happened to see his act, and point it out to Mike and me.  It helps me to see Christian's heart even better, more clearly.  You know how it goes when you're the mom, and the kid has been "good" at school all day...mom gets the 'tude.  And sometimes it's the 'TUDE.  Christian and I can butt heads a little, not unlike two grumpy goats getting one another's goad.  As for bringing out his best...well, I don't always.   So, to regroup my thoughts and consider all that he has going on inside of his head and world, and to see through someone else's eyes who he is, is so helpful in understanding and loving him well.  I pray that God will continue to teach me the best ways to love Christian, and that I will be an attentive student.  I want to be a complimentary parent, one who can come alongside and enable him to be his best.  Like hollandaise and asparagus or milk and chocolate.  (I'm so sophisticated.) Seriously, I long for Christian to continue to grow in his love for God, and his love for his family.  And I need God and family in order to do that.  That seems a simple thing to say, but for me right now, it is profound.

Departure

My mom left tonight, in the pouring rain-her flight was delayed two and a half hours!  She was so exhausted when she got home, and she has to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to go to work.  Poor woman!  And that's after whipping me all week long into shape working VERY hard around here for one solid week.  She didn't stop.  And now I have walkways where I didn't before.  And corners where I used to have fancy cardboard towers.  And a pretty island where I used to have an old table piled high with the little rubber feet for our metal bookshelves, lunch boxes, a package I was supposed to send her when she left last month (also full of pistachios that were spilled in it in the car before I sealed it up), toys, tools, and clean laundry. She folded a lot of clothes while she was here.  And she put them away.  I must find inspiration here! I miss her.  Eliana was walking around this evening, around dinnertime, calling,"Gramma!  Gramma?!  Wh'are you?"  She would step forward with one foot, and crane her neck around the corner, looking for Grandma.  But she has left the building. Christian cried almost all the way home from the airport.  He wished that she could have stayed longer, and that Grandpa had come too, and that they didn't ever have to leave.  It is hard to be away from family. Tonight, however, I am taking a lot of comfort in the fact that our God watches over all of us, and has connected us with a bond that is stronger than Gorilla glue.  Seriously, we cannot even fathom how awesome and good He is, but we get little tastes of it.  I pray that I will savor those "bites."

A Birthday Party

Christian's birthday was in January, but because of several circumstances in our life together we were unable to have a party for him.  The time finally came, though, for our little man to celebrate his birthday with his friends from school, soccer, and church.  We have been working the last couple of days to finish getting ready, and today we were able to gather with baseball paraphernalia, cake, and lots of people! Earlier today I put the finishing touches on his cakes, and he was able to see them when he got home from school. At the party everyone sang to Christian and he blew out his candles before I could get a picture!  He was so happy, though. We were decked out in our Texas Rangers outfits... (her back is to the camera, but Michaela has her jersey on) Even Grandma was rooting for the home team... After the party, a bath, and dinner Christian was able to open his presents; he was so excited about the special things his friends had given him.  Here are a couple of my favorite expressions... Even though it was a bit late I'm so glad we were able to celebrate his birthday, especially while Grandma was here.  (I really wish Grandpa had been able to come, too!)  We will be counting our blessings with Christian in our family all year long!

Snippets

We have no kitchen faucet right now; it is in the process of being moved from the other house-a switch.  Mike bought me a new faucet last year (it's FABULOUS) and it is one of the very last things to make it over here.  I'm blaming the disaster in the kitchen on my inability to use the sink, NOT my inability to manage my home. My mom asked the kids if they noticed anything different about the dining room, and Christian looked around and said,"Messy?" because this is what my dining room looks like right now... and we thought we might have to have Christian's birthday party here tomorrow...can you imagine my terror and anxiety about that?!  (My mom was hoping someone would notice the new curtains we hung.) And something worked out so that we do not have to have the party here, so the pressure is off to perform a miracle get the house in shape for a lot of company. My mom has unpacked more boxes in four days than I have unpacked in four weeks.  (Mike has certainly done his fair share...thank you everyone for doing all of this unpacking because I HATE TO DO IT MYSELF.)  She has folded laundry, done the dishes, put our shoes away, rearranged furniture, and I have come to a very important conclusion.  I NEED LIVE-IN HELP. We watched Prince Caspian last night (my mom and I) and it was good, but very dark.  I love Narnia.  Aslan might be the only animal that ever existed that I love (except he's a made up character in a series of stories). By the time anyone reads this post my dining room table is mostly cleaned off.  Yay! My baby girl has a really stuffy nose, and she asked me for a tissue every ten seconds while she was trying to go to sleep.  And when she sneezes, she looks like Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne riding into Aspen on a motorbike. That green slime hangs down under her nose past her lip, and she calmly says,"Tissue?" And just so no one is super confused, yes Christian's birthday was quite a while ago, but we are a little late with his party.  Better late than never, right?