The President

Joei just saw President Obama on TV and the following conversation took place:

Joei: When he is done being the President, will he be the old President?
Me: Yes. We need to be praying for him, he does not make the best choices.
Joei: Why? He has such a nice smile!
Me: Laughing hysterically.
Joei: But he looks like he loves God because of his big smile!

(I wish that were the end of it, my wonderfully mature, almost 5 year old has such wisdom right? However, I would be remiss if I did not document what she is now recording on a recordable card that she keeps changing...)

"Obama farts, he has a big butt and he goes poop and pee.")

Why do kids find potty humor so funny? WHY!!!!!

I'm tired

Allow me to forewarn you, this will be a long and boring post. I just want to have it my arsenal when Lily has kids of her own!

I recall blogging when Lily was a small infant about what a chill type of personality she seemed to have; I lied. She is not the least bit chill! Over the past few months, she has shown us her true colors! Lily has a temper on her like no other baby I have ever seen! Man oh man if you do something she does not like, forget about it! She will get all red faced and hold her breath and give you the meanest look you ever did see. Um, you are one kid, chill out.

I guess what has me so tired is that she has not slept all that great since she was oh, about 2 months old! It's funny, she slept great around that time, but she slowly picked up some bad bedtime habits. She will go a few days, sometimes less, of sleeping really good at night...then she goes on spree's of waking at night for hours, or just not going to bed good at all and staying up for hours...and hours....and crying....and wanting to be rocked, or her head rubbed, or her little butt patted or a bottle. Yes, a bottle. I have tried letting her cry a bunch of times, but I always cave because she sounds so pathetic. I know crying works, at least it worked like a charm on Joei around this age. But Lily? Well, Lily is a totally different personality than Joei, go figure. I guess I assumed my kids would be the same! Lily is far more strong willed than Joei, at least that is how it appears. And hey, that's a great quality to have as she gets older, and grows into a woman and what not. But for now, at one year old? Not so much.

I've always been hesitant to let her cry it out as I seem to often have a reason why it just isn't a good time. She had bladder infections in the past, tons of colds, often cutting teeth...all obviously not times to let her cry. So I'm always second guessing myself on letting her do that, even though it may be the key to solve her sleep habits.

And my last gripe and I promise I am done; she wants to be carried all the time. If you dare leave a room, she will follow you whining until you either pick her up or sit down on the floor. Perhaps she is starting separation anxiety. Perhaps she's just so darn social that the thought of being left alone in a room just does not sit well with her! Or perhaps she's just being a big old baby! Who knows. One thing I do know is this, I'm tired. But I reckon this too shall pass...and I will have this proof for Lily when she has kids of her own. Good luck with that Lil, good luck with that!

Opposition

You ever have something happen in life that would seem very obvious to just be a plain old attack from the devil? Something does not go your way, a particular person gives you trouble, trials and what not hit out of the blue...the obvious conclusion that we jump to is the devil right? And yes, sometimes it is just a plain attack of the devil, trying to get us off course, to lose the mark that we are set for. But sometimes, just sometimes, it's the Lord.

I believe that God puts things in our paths just to see what we will do with it. And while we start praying against all sorts of things, perhaps it's just the Lord trying to refine us, building character that cannot come any other way. How are we going to know that God is a healer, unless we have had to battle sickness before? How will we know that God is our vindication, unless we have had to face injustice? How can we know that God will provide all of our needs unless we have been in a place of absolute null?

The Bible tells us that ALL things work together for the good right? So when I'm faced with opposition in a particular area, do I trust that God will indeed take that and work it for the good or do I shrink back and run from the problem, thereby losing whatever good that God was going to do?

We all face trials. We all have difficulties. We all have our family issues. We all have bills that seem never ending. We all have moments that test our character to the fullest degree. What do we do with those moments? Sure we can pray the stupid devil away, that certainly does not hurt! But what if we just say Lord, do your good. I trust you. And I know that I know that I know, you are working ALL things for my good. Not some things...ALL things.

He's all I need

Joei generally goes to bed pretty easy for me; we have her routine and so long as it's followed, all is well. Unless she wants her dad. Then it's a bit more time spent assuring her that he will be home soon, calling him and on and on. She will drag that horse out as long as she can!

Last night, she was in tears at bedtime, she wanted her dad. She started getting so upset that she could not catch her breathe and began saying over and over, "Call my daddy, he's all I need!" Over and over. And over.

I personally can't resonate with a statement like that, at least not in the physical realm. I don't recall a time in my life that I ever wanted my dad, a time that I thought he would meet my need. Ever. In fact, I had a terrible time accepting that God wanted to be a Father to me. So much so that I did not like calling God "father" because to me, that was an insult to the Lord. He was so much more than what I knew a father to be. It has taken quite a few years but yes, I do have a father. And yes, He is all I need.

When Lily was in the NICU and we were given the worst diagnosis possible, He was all I needed. When I quit my job to stay home with Joei and we were not promised any additional stable income, He was all I needed. When I have faced various trials throughout my life, again, He was all I needed. When I woke up this morning with a beat in my heart, even still, He is all I need. As I sit here this fine afternoon, in my wonderful home, yep, still...all I need. No matter the phase of life I am in, may I never forget to "call my daddy, He's all I need."

It's inevitable

Gas. It happens to the best of us right? Well, I have noticed that the gym brings out the worst in people, quite literally. You sweat, you stink, you get wedgies that you have to ever so discreetly dis-lodge from places you never knew underwear could go...it's not your best time, appearance wise. Well, then you have the fact that you are all loosey goosey from working out, sometimes it just creeps up on ya...you know, gas. Not much you can do about it, but just hope that your neighbor thinks it's someone else right?

Odd post, yes. It just hit me as hilarious today though as I was laying on a machine (no I had not passed out, as some would guess...it's supposed to lay down) and this man walked by me and without a care in the world, let one go. And I mean, loud. No care from him, no little chuckle, no comment like "oops, that's embarrassing," no squeezing of the buns to hold it in...nope. He didn't care. He was at the gym. And well, it's just inevitable.

Lily Rae turned one!

It's official, she's no longer a baby! No more will I say she's x months old. I realize that when people ask how old your kid is, and you say it in months rather than years, you can see them trying to calculate the age! If you are talking to a person that has not had little ones in a long time, forget it. They will just nod their head like they know exactly how old 19 months is, even though they would rather hear oh about a year and a half!

But I digress. Lily is a funny little girl, that's for sure. She lets you know exactly how she is feeling, when she is feeling it. Her whole face tells the story. Either she is so excited that her legs move a mile a minute, kicking back and forth, or she is so cross that her face gets the most pathetic look of any baby I've ever seen. Very expressive that Lily. She is not the greatest sleeper and I will be sure to remind her of that fact when she has a newborn of her own. Though of course being the control freak that I am, I will offer to live with her when she has a baby so as to take the brunt of the sleepless nights. I'm sure I will be the mom that causes Lily to say to her close friends "I love my mom but she really needs to give me my space!"

Again, I digress.

Lily Rae we love you and are so happy that you are part of our family. We cannot imagine what it was like before you were here. Well, that's not true. I slept a whole lot better! But that's ok little putter, you are worth every minute I miss. Most of all though, I look back to this time last year...you were still in the hospital. It was the worst feeling I have ever had, leaving there each day, without you. I can't describe how awful that felt. But I'm so glad, so thankful that the Lord touched you in a quick manner. After 8 days, you were home. It was the longest, blurriest 8 days of my life, that's for sure. But what a great end result. Happy first Birthday Lily!

Compassion International

I follow quite a few blogs, a few of them being folks that just went on a trip for Compassion International, an amazing ministry. The blog posts so moved me, that we decided to sponsor a child from India. I have always loved the Indian people, ever since I was a teenager, so it seemed fitting to pick a child from that culture. I am not posting this to act like I'm super awesome for doing that, I really just want to brag on my kid a minute. I told her my idea, she jumped right on board with me, so we sat at the computer and began to look through the kids that were in need of sponsors. Bless her little heart, she wanted to sponsor a child "that had no family." And she totally understood the importance of doing so as well. We were unable to find any orphans, so we continued the search and she ended up picking a little girl named Ashwini, real close to her age. We read all about her life, Joei looked at the blog posts I had been following, the pictures and video and what not. It's really been a great way for us to talk about how blessed she is in life and how much more we need to help people. I really think this is going to be such a great way for Joei to learn compassion for herself...

I look foward to getting to know this sweet little girl, and getting to see my sweet little girl grow as a result. I will keep y'all posted!