Kidlet Hilarity #7

Zachary and Natalie have been so full of hilarious phrases lately! I know I have missed so many things, I wish I had more time to write them down when they happen so I don't forget them!! :)

One day on the porch, Zachary asked me what the phrase 'dearest wish' meant (he read it in the Little Mermaid book - King Triton grants Ariel her 'dearest wish' - to be a human!).  I told him it meant the thing you want the most, and I illustrated it by telling him that my dearest wish in life was to be a mommy, and God has given me my dearest wish - three of them! :)  He responded, "Well, Mommy, my dearest wish is that you would be my mommy.  So I have it, too!"  I'm pretty sure I teared up at that one!! :)

Nat calls her daddy's motorcycle "cycle-cycle".  She also always wants a drink of his Diet Pepsi, and she calls it Pepsi-Pepsi. :)

One day the kids and I were yelling and cheering as we were playing in the wading pool.  Zachary turned to me and said, "Be quiet, Mom...the people in China are sleeping!"  A minute later he said, "That was just a joke, Mom."  I thought it was hilarious!!

The next day we were talking about a friend of ours whose husband works nights and has to sleep during the day, and he said, "Why does Nate sleep in the day if he doesn't live in Japan?" :)

One day at camp, Natalie got away from me and I couldn't find her - turned out she was playing with the family camp nursery toys on the Lodge porch.  Zachary found her first, but came to tell me she wouldn't come with him.  So I asked him to sit with Davey (waiting in his stroller) while I went to get her.  It took me a minute to get her away from the toys, and Zachary came to find us.  When I asked him why he didn't stay with Davey, he said he was looking for me, because "I thought maybe you were tempted and you were playing with the toys." That does sound like me, doesn't it? :)

We have been discussing the difference between a nice tone and an angry tone, and Z has called me out on my tone a few times - one morning as I was getting frustrated about something, he said, "Mom, is that an angry tone?  Are we supposed to talk in angry tones?"  LOL!!  I sincerely believe that it is important and good for him to be able to talk with me respectfully when I'm doing something wrong, though (like talking in an angry tone). :) Nothing like being convicted by your four-year-old!!

When Zachary was gone at the GARBC conference with his grandparents, Natalie and I had a lot of fun one-on-one moments to chat - I loved it! :)  As we were walking home from camp one day, she picked up a rock, held it up to her ear, and said, "Dis my phone. You be ky-wet. (quiet)"  Then she put it in her pocket, gave me a serious look and said, "Don't touch it. I give you a 'pankin." :)

When I sent Zachary with his grandparents, I was really nervous about how much I would miss him - and the house was rather quiet!!  But he got right into their car, after I buckled him in, hugged him, and was lingering at the door, he said, "Bye, Mom. Close the door."  Okayyyy... :)  And I did cry a little bit...and all the way home from McDonalds (where we met), Natalie kept saying, "Where my Bubba go?  Where my Bubba?" prompting more sniffles... :)  But one of the desires of my heart lately has been to be able to spend more time one on one with Natalie, and that week gave me lots of opportunities for that. :)

Natalie is starting to be able to express herself so well lately - she says things like "Dis makes me happy.  Dis my favorite.  Dis makes me sad."  I love hearing what is going through her head! :)  I also love hearing how she loves our staff and camper friends, she often says things like, "I love Seb. I love Donna. I see Amy today. I love Amy."  It is so sweet for her to have those relationships! :)

At lunch this week, one of our staff friends asked Zachary to talk to her, and he said he couldn't, because he was 'worn out'.  When she asked him why, he said, "I've been talking too much this morning."  "Who were you talking to?", she asked.  "Talking to myself," he said. Oky doky then! :)

When I took the kids to the zoo this week, Zachary was very excited to ride the 'parousel', as he kept calling the carousel. :)  I was so glad he was brave and rode an animal that went up and down! And on the zoo train, the conductor said we weren't allowed to have four people in our seat even though two of them were sitting on my lap and there was plenty of room - so I was very proud of Zachary for sitting in his own seat!!

Nat told a funny joke today.  She said, "Knock knock."  "Who's there?"  "Banana."  "Banana who?"  "Banana say quack quack quack!" :)

Davey is quite the funny little man lately, too - he is starting to say things, which just blows me away - is it really possible that he's old enough to TALK already??  He says, "Nun-nun" while he shakes his head no.  He shakes his head yes sometimes, too.  He says, "Hiiiii" and "heeeey" in such a sweet little voice when he comes around the corner and finds me. :)  He said, "Dah" when we saw the camp dogs yesterday, and reached out to pet them.  And for uh-oh, he says, "Uh-uh". :)  His first birthday is in less than two weeks, which is CRAZY.  He still mostly scoots on his belly, but he can crawl when he wants to, and is trying to stand up by everything.  He cracked his head on his dresser tonight, trying to stand by it, so I'm sure he'll have a nice big bruise in the middle of his forehead from that. :(  I wish he would walk soon, but I think we're still pretty far from that.  He is getting better at being with people, and there is one staffer this week who he just absolutely adores - his face lights up every time he sees her!  It has been amazing to watch him interact with the staff and to see their love for my kids and their selfless willingness to help me out with everything!! :)

We are so blessed!! :)  

Praying for Taylor

I haven't posted on here about this, but a friend of mine is going through a very difficult time right now, and she and her family have been in my heart and my prayers so much these last couple of weeks.  Julie (see her blog here) is a college friend who I have reconnected with over Facebook and blogging in the last couple of years.  A few days ago, she took her 18-month old daughter, Taylor, to a routine checkup where the doctor noticed that her liver was enlarged, and sent her for an extra test to rule out any problems.  In the course of that testing, the doctors discovered that Taylor actually has a cancerous tumor on her spine.  The tumor is inoperable, and has been diagnosed as a Stage 3 aggressive tumor.  Taylor starts her first round chemo tomorrow - she will have five days of treatment with 16 days off - this is the first of six rounds of chemo.  She will also be having a stem cell transplant after the chemo is finished.  Julie's fifth child, Jeremiah Trust, was born this morning by emergency C-section - I can't imagine how her heart is torn between the needs of each of her five children during this time with a newborn, C-section recovery, sick child, and three other children.  Yet she and her family have been constantly leaning on God for strength and praising Him for the blessings He gives them in the midst of this trial.


To type these words about my friend's child is so difficult, I can't even imagine the pain that reality must cause Julie and her husband Randy.  Please, please, keep this family in your prayers through the coming weeks.  If you would like more information and updates on Taylor and her family, there is a Facebook page here, Praying for Taylor, that you can like.  There is also information on that page about bracelets for Taylor and donations that can be made to the family at any Wells Fargo Bank in the country.  


As I have been thinking of and praying for their family and sometimes even asking God "Why?", God has been constantly reminding me of His Sovereignty, His perfect plan, and the wonderful attributes of His amazing goodness and grace.  This morning's church service was no exception - a friend of mine sang a song which blew me away - the lyrics were so in line with what God is teaching me through Julie, Randy, and Taylor's trial.  I wanted to share a link to a video of the song on YouTube, and then share the lyrics as well - maybe they will speak to your heart as they spoke to mine.  







Trust His Heart by Babbie Mason


All things work for our good
Though sometimes we can't
See how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth


Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see Him, 
Remember you're never alone


Chorus:
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart


He sees the master plan
He holds the future in His hand, 
So don't live as those who have no hope, 
All our hope is found in Him.


We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and last
And like a tapestry 
He's weaving you and me, 
To someday be just like Him


(Chorus)


He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you


(Chorus)


When you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you don't understand
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart