Little Girls and Big Ideas

Leon and I were blessed with some interesting little girls. I'm sure every parent feels that way, but ours are well, extra-special.

Last summer, our boys and their friend went on an overnight survival expedition. Our girls were green with envy. (Never mind that the boys had to butcher a chicken, and cook it, and ended up eating it nearly raw!)

So the scheming began...

Tuesday afternoon I observed whispering, and list-making, and secrets flying around. At one point, I heard oldest brother say, "Mom and Dad will NEVER let you do that!" Hmm. I thought maybe I should check into this.

The big ideas spilled out....

And I thought, "Why not?!" If parents were always sensible, children would have very few adventures.

By 9 PM that evening, all their stuff was hauled out to the 'old garage' (a little old building that they fixed up for their playhouse), with plans to not come back inside except for potty breaks, until supper time the next day.

Food was to be very minimal, but after seeing near starvation in their future, I suggested us 'hiding' food for them to find and eat. 

Bedtime was their own decision. We saw them go out to the hydrant and brush their teeth, (boys would skip this step!) and then we heard them playing on the patio with their rip stick and scooter until they headed off to bed.

At 3:30 AM, Leon and I were jerked awake by a crack of thunder. Oh no! The girls! They don't particularly like thunderstorms, and sleeping in a building outside makes it even more scary. So we leaped out of bed to go haul them in. By now, it's pouring rain, so they wouldn't come in on their own.

We tucked them into their own bed and went back to our bed to try to sleep. But alas! This 40 year old Mom doesn't jump out of bed in the middle of the night and then quickly fall back to sleep again. Several hours later I heard my little girls sneak back outside, and then I fell asleep. They woke up and wanted to watch the sunrise and the storm was long over, so it was a great plan.

For breakfast, they ate a little tiny loaf of bread they were saving for this occasion. I hung bananas in a tree the night before. All they had to do was find them. I offered them yogurt too, and they didn't refuse. 

By 10:30 they were bored. And a little hungry. (If you eat at 5:30, you get hungry before 12, they said.) Leon hid a 'nest' of eggs and they had a terrible time finding them. We discovered they were looking for a carton of eggs. 

Their kind Daddy fired up the little charcoal grill and helped them scramble their eggs. They also grilled a couple of hot dogs.

By 1:30, they declared the day was over. Everything got hauled back into the house and put away.....and then they found The Bird.

The storm the night before had blown bird's nests out of trees along with baby birds. This is my opportunity to explain how Jesus cares about the birds and how much more He must care for us. 

But my girls found a bird that was still alive and my oldest daughter's nurturing spirit kicked in high gear. There's nothing left to do at that point but help wherever you can and be prepared to wipe the tears when the creature dies. 

Leon had some experience with baby birds. He tried to keep about 30 of them alive over various times of his childhood, and says about 1 actually lived. So with a 30 to 1 success rate in mind, he helped the girls chop up lunch meat into tiny pieces and showed them how to feed the bird. It was quite a sight to see. The little baby robin would open it's mouth and you dropped the food in after dipping it in water, and gulp! the food disappeared.

They named the bird Robin. They fed it faithfully....and I even took a couple of turns when Annika was at a birthday party. (If you know me at all, you know this was a stretch for me.)

48 hours later, Leon and I commented on the fact that this bird is STILL alive. But that night Robin hardly ate at all. 

Saturday morning the girls slept in, then came down cheerfully for breakfast. Over their bowls of cereal, they told us how they checked Robin before they came downstairs, and she is sleeping so peacefully. After breakfast, they will feed her, they said. Leon and I looked at each other, then he quietly headed upstairs to check on the status of the bird. He came down and said softly, "Girls, your bird isn't sleeping, it's dead." (How do you break that kind of news to your kids?!)

We wiped tears and comforted them and they recovered surprisingly well. And now Robin is just a memory, another story to tell their children someday.

And I can't help but be grateful for all the life my little girls get to experience. They don't even know how blessed they are. Dead birds and all.

Down A Country Road...

I love to go on walks. My favorite time to walk is either before breakfast or after supper. If I go after supper, well, there are 2 young ladies that beg to go along. And what kind of heart-less mother would say no to that?

But you see, I love to walk ALONE. Just me and God. I can think in silence, pray without interruptions, and hear from God. 

Since we home school, I rarely get a moment alone. So I like to think that I NEED these walks, maybe even deserve them. 

I must admit, I seldom actually say NO to my walking buddies. I try to remind myself that some day I will wish for my chatty little walking buddies. I remind myself that walking buddies now=walking buddies later. Taking time to build our friendship now will hopefully pay off later. 

Tonight after supper I said, "Who wants to go on a walk with me?" The girls both yelled, "I do!" We headed down the road. I heard them talk about many things. We said "Hi" to the neighbor's horses and talked about what kind of horse they are. We talked about our dog and how he loves to run with us when we go walking. We talked about many other things. Nothing heavy, nothing spiritual. Just us 3, spending time together.

As we were walking in the lane, I thought, you know, maybe I did hear from God tonight on my walk after all.

I heard Him in my daughter's giggle, I saw Him in the beauty of nature, in my daughter's smile, I felt Him remind me to slow down and enjoy TODAY.

It was a good walk. I even felt refreshed in my spirit.

A Little Girl and Her Daddy

"Daddy, I can't sleep."
"Why not?"
"I'm just so scared."
What are you scared of?"
"I'm scared I'll do something bad, and then Jesus won't let me go to heaven."

This is how the conversation started. And the little girl's Daddy told her about Grace, about how Jesus knows if we truly want to serve Him in our heart, and about how much Jesus loves us. He told her how much Jesus loves scared little girls. Her Daddy talked about fear. He told her the story of Elijah, hiding after the prophets of Baal had all been killed, hiding because he was afraid. Her Daddy told her that when we are afraid, it's really hard for Jesus to use us. Her Daddy held her in his arms. She felt safe, secure, loved, and best of all- her questions were answered.

The next morning this little girl came bouncing into the kitchen for breakfast. Her eyes were shining as she told me about her long talk with her Daddy the night before. She told me how she doesn't have to be afraid anymore.

Now she spends afternoons writing out favorite Scriptures and giving her Daddy and I our own personal handwritten copy of our favorite verses. 

She's free to love, free to live.

I can't help but remember. Remember the many, many nights I lay awake begging God to forgive my sins. I would name every sin I could remember committing, since the last time I had asked for forgiveness. Finally, in desperation, I would plead, "God, forgive all the sins I committed, even the ones I can't remember." Then I would finally fall asleep, only to repeat this pattern many more times.

The burden of my sins, of my mistakes, the guilt, the shame- I carried it for years. 

But then I turned to my heavenly Daddy, and He held me, and told me how much He loves me. He told me that He paid the price, once and for all. He told me about His unconditional love. He showed me His scars- the physical reminder of the sacrifice He made. 

And I slept in His arms that night. 

Morning came..... my heart was full of joy. Not because the days spread before me were easy, or because I had suddenly achieved perfection. No, I was full of JOY because now I was free. Free to live, to love, to be the person Jesus created me to be. Free to live without condemnation for my past.

Perfect love casts out fear.

Thank you, Jesus!

Celebrating My Daughters

We survived another round of the September birthdays here at our house, and I really had to stop and reflect on how quickly these two little ladies are growing up. They bring a ton of joy to our home! They bring laughter and drama and questions and creativity  and beauty and sweet notes and bad attitudes and tight hugs and talks about Jesus.

I am just so blessed to be the mom to these two beautiful young ladies!

We celebrated with Grandpa and Grandma Stutzman and Grandma Bontrager here at our house for a meal that the girls planned. I wasn't sure if they would agree on a menu, but finally, it all fell into place. Apple Pie for Brooke and Key Lime Pie for Annika.

 Brooklyn's birthday came first, so her and I headed to the Coffee Shop to enjoy some drinks and I read Stuart Little to her. It was pretty special to spend time together- just us!

A week later, I did the same thing with Annika. We drank frappe's and played Battleship and Mastermind.

Leon and I took the kids mini-golfing and to Ryan's later to celebrate the girls' birthdays. It was a really fun evening for our family.

Five Fun Facts About Brooklyn-

1. She loves the color purple.
2. She is very social but also loves her quiet time.
3. She absolutely loves to play Lion & Monkey with her Dad. (He is the Lion and she is the Monkey and he pretends to eat her.)
4. She is learning to read this year and doing a fantastic job.
5. She loves to play Polly Pockets.

Happy 6th birthday, Brooke!

Five Fun Facts About Annika-

1. She loves horses, kittens, puppies, any animal, actually!
2. She loves to help Dad in the barn and dreams of being a veterinarian some day.
3. She loves pretty clothes and dressing up.
4. She's crazy over Key Lime pie.
5. She can clean the bathroom almost as good as her Mom can.

Happy 8th birthday, Annika!

God Answers Little Girl's Prayers

You really have to read my last post to understand this one fully.

Several weeks ago, Boots, another mama cat on the farm began giving birth to her kittens right on the sidewalks. Our son, nameless for privacy, had never seen a freshly born kitten and walked up after it appeared and grabbed the gun to put the 'poor slimy thing' out of its misery. The mama was frantic when she came back and couldn't find her freshly 'hatched' baby. So she grabs a big kitten from Patches's litter, Milkshake, Annika's personal favorite, and runs off with her. Our son saw it all happen and ran after her and rescued poor Milkshake. The next morning when Annika came outside to play with her kittens, Milkshake was gone. We were all pretty certain that Boots had towed her away and claimed her for her own. Try as we might, we could NOT locate the stolen kitten or the rest of Boots's litter.

Annika was very distraught and I encouraged her to pray about it and leave it in God's Hands. I consoled her with the thought that if Boots took her, she was most certainly feeding her. But there was always the possibility that Milkshake had met an untimely death.

After Patches died, I told God that if He would send Milkshake back to Annika, it would just be incredibly special.

Well, guess what?! This morning one of the boys came running into the house saying that they followed Boots out to the garage and she went up to the rafters and maybe, just maybe, Milkshake was up there. It took about 20 minutes and a Daddy, and some brothers, and Annika and a saucer of milk to finally recover that lost little kitty. She was fat and healthy but she was a little on the wild side. After about 45 minutes in the house, playing with Annika, she is outside with her siblings and seems to be 'none worse for the wear'.

We have a very happy little girl! God answered her prayer in a marvelous way!

Life is never boring 'round here!

A Tribute to Patches

You came to us as a sweet little kitten. We all thought you were cute, but Annika claimed you as more than the family pet. You were her very own precious kitty! You put up with a lot and were brought into the house 'undercover' many times. Soon you got the hang of sneaking in yourself.

As you grew, you soon got big enough to have your own kittens. And have them you did! The last litter of 8 almost scared me. I mean, whoever heard of 8 kittens in a litter. You seemed to be overwhelmed with them. We don't know what happened, but 4 of them never pulled through. Each time, it caused a lot of tears from your owner, Annika and her little sister, Brooke. They loved those kittens almost as much as they loved you. The remaining 4 kittens grew and soon they were bouncing around on the sidewalks, eating big cat's food. They were all a mixture of your beautiful colors- orange, gray, black and white.

And then it happened. The neighbor found a dead cat lying by his mailbox. He called the man of the house, Annika's Dad, and informed him of the tragedy. A sadness filled the Dad's heart, and although he did not love cats, he did love you, because of the immense love his little girls had for you. You see, now there were 2 little girls in love with you. The dad was very busy planting corn. He took the time to pick up your dead body and bring you home. Then he gathered his 2 little girls in his lap and told them the very sad news. They cried on their Daddy's shoulder. Then this very busy Dad, who didn't hardly have time to eat lunch, dug a grave for you, our dear pet Patches. And we all buried you. Even the Mama felt very sad.

Jamison made a cross for your grave, the Mama painted your name on it, and Annika planted some flowers by your grave. You are just a memory, but it's a good memory. For a cat, you were a pretty special one. We all miss you.

February-

The month where.....
-the boys have so many basketball games scheduled, either regular games or make-up games due to bad weather, that it seems nary a day goes by that we don't run to practice or games, or piano, or the dentist....

-we get so weary of winter, but below zero temperatures since the beginning of December and lots of snow, remind us that it's not over yet.

-I try to eat next to nothing after 5 PM for a whole week, and after a hunger fit, cave in and eat sweet cereal with the children at 8:30 PM.

-we get 5 baby lambs to bottle feed and several days later, 4 more. Lots of bottles, lots of feedings, and it all gets mixed up in my kitchen sink, and I wonder if the yellow kitchen with hardwood flooring is part barn....Oh, back entrance sink, Where are you?!

-I get away with The Man for a delightful weekend ALONE and we connect on a heart level and talk about baggage and redemption and hope- always HOPE for God to work out His will in our lives for His glory.

-we celebrate rewards earned in the school room with 3 children separately, and 2 of them choose a coffee shop date with Mom, and the third one chooses the Mexican restaurant in town where he orders catfish, and it's a win-win because Mom gets one-on-one time with her children.

-we make homemade noodles at my Mom's with the sister-in-law, and the 4 kids declare noodle making the best activity ever unless you can go play in the snow with your cousins- that's trumps even noodle making!

-we muck through school and I get so discouraged and on one of the very worst days, the dear niece, mother of 4, calls for, yep, you guessed it, homeschooling advice, and I hear God saying that He doesn't want perfection as much as a willing heart.

-the children fight, Mom splits them all up and makes them apologize and play games with each other and takes pictures to remember how sweet and innocent they look.

-I realize how needy and broken I am and how much I need Jesus to help me not raise my voice at my children or tell my husband that he NEVER turns the lights off......(failed!)

-we have an impromptu geography class with Dad at bedtime and dream of going west some day.

-old memories of difficult situations rear their ugly heads and I struggle with trusting God, but I choose to walk by FAITH, and not by sight.

-I preach a sermon to my children about how much God loves them unconditionally and that His love is not dependent on their actions- and then realize how much I needed to hear that myself.

-The dirt under the kitchen table gets so bad that my daughter notices and tells me and I don't even care.

-the oldest daughter dresses up the youngest daughter and puts on a show for the rest of us and it is quite hilarious and entertaining.

-I lower my standards from our traditional Valentines Supper where we invite a family in and have a fancy meal on china to taking the family to Des Moines to a Rend Collective concert and eating at Bonanza. It really was a special evening even if it was not our normal celebration.

-the girls spend hours playing in their house, a cardboard box gifted to them from their friends, Mary and Jon.

-we wake up tired to ANOTHER fresh blanket of snow. It's breathtaking outside but we muck through a lot of ugly inside. Our plans for the day get canceled and it turns out to be a huge gift from God that we get to stay home all day! The sun comes out and the children spend hours outdoors, and even the tired Mom goes out for some Vitamin D.

-I try to take a picture every day of the month and it is a fun way to chronicle the events of each day.

-oldest son shoots his first rabbit and he makes quite delicious eating. (the rabbit, not the son.)

-the littlest daughter has her turn to go on a date with her Daddy.

And that's our month, so far.