I've re-discovered this week that there is nothing in the world like hearing your child sing praises to God. Aiden's new favorite song is "Days of Elijah." He requests it in the car, at the table, before bed, and in his sleep. He loves, loves, loves the line, "There is no God like Jehovah" and he will stop you from singing and say, "Mama, do you know why there is no God like Jehovah?" and I'll say, "why Aiden?" And then, as if he is telling you the greatest secret in the entire world (which he is!) he'll say, "Because God is Jehovah!" Then, he'll throw himself back into praising his Jehovah. I love the theology of a child!!!
However, sometimes that praise can reduce me to tears. That same little red headed boy was in church on Sunday. He had not sang one word all morning. This is uncommon for him, but there are times that he prefers to listen to Mama sing. Ever since he was a baby I have been singing hymns and praise songs to him. He will put his hand on my throat to feel the vibrations and put his ear against my cheek to listen. That's what Sunday was for us. He was on my left, Anthony was on my right, both of them had their ears pressed to my cheeks listening to me sing to our Father. Pastor Bruce gave an excellent sermon. We are currently in a sermon series called, "Flip this House." He was discussing evangelizing our world. We watched an amazing video clip on the Indonesian people receiving the word of God in their own language. I was watching when I realized, Aiden was watching too, mesmerized and I realized he couldn't read the translation fast enough, so I began reading out loud to him. I couldn't read fast enough for him. He was saying, "they are so happy! look how happy they are!" It struck me, but not as hard as the invitation did that day. Shortly after the video, the sermon was over and the invitation was given. We stood to sing and my little red head stood up in the chair next to his Daddy. He didn't hold onto me and he didn't press his ear against my cheek. Instead, with a beaming smile, one of pure joy, he belted out the song we were singing, "Wherever He Leads I'll Go." I cried, joy mixed with the coming pain of having a child that follows after God. I used to sing that song with joy like that. I sang it several times in preparation to leave for Japan. I remember thinking how much I loved it, how the words always touched my heart, deep into my soul where I wanted to travel the world and share Jesus. And I remember my Mama crying as I sang it with pure joy and abandon. Role reversal isn't fun.
But I'm still the Mommy and I want what's best for him, not me, so last night as we sang together I reminded Aiden how important it is that he follow God, wherever God wants him to go. That's right sweet boy, you follow Him! You let go of your weeping Mother and you run after Jesus, to the ends of the earth baby boy!!!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Just Stuff
I am so behind on blogging and I plan to come back and slowly post those pictures and stories of our lives, for a record for me and my children, but if I don't just jump back in with both feet I'm never going to start again. I have so many things I want to remember right now and talk about, so I thought I'd just jot them down and work on the past later.
We're having a baby in October. That seems very surreal sometimes. To be honest, when I found out I was not very happy. I was very content with my sweet little family. I didn't see the reason to add to it. Over the course of a few hours and some amazing friends I began to remember that this isn't about me, but about God and His plan. I went on a retreat right after we found out about the baby (who desperately needs a nickname!) and I asked God to show me a glimpse of what He was doing. My due date is October 24th. That was Colin's due date. I'm not a superstitious person, but it was bothering me that it was the same date. I cried out to God in anguish over this entire situation. He answered me. He told me, "Angie, I bring beauty from ashes!" I got a small glimpse, I felt God telling me, "I restore what I take." I don't know all of His plan for this little life, but I'm sure it will be miraculous, just like his or her brothers and sister. What a blessing to get to stand in the wings and watch!
We had a wonderful first OB appointment! We got to see the baby and there was a beautiful little beating heart. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures. We were sad about that, but we go back in two weeks. I have the most amazing peace that this child is okay. I couldn't say that at this point with Abby. I feel like we will bring this baby home and that my pregnancy will not be as difficult as Abby's was for me. I've joked with Patrick that "every pregnancy is different" and wouldn't it be nice if the "different" in this pregnancy would be a full term baby that I get to take straight to my room with me! Even when Aiden was born they took him for four hours of "observation" even though there was nothing wrong with him, it was just the hospital policy. What a hoot it would be to not be separated from my newborn!
I can't decide if I would prefer a boy or a girl. I go back and forth on that. Patrick does too, I think. Sometimes I really want Abby to have a little sister, sometimes I think a boy would be nice. I've also thought about how neat it would be to not find out the gender this time and let it be a surprise. I'm just not sure I'm capable of that though, especially with as many ultrasounds as we will end up having. However, the boys in the family are adamant about their preferences. Anthony would like "another sister!" Aiden has requested that, "Mama, could you get it right this time and have a boy?" I told Aiden to take that up with Jesus! Both boys are very excited about the baby. Abby, well, Abby doesn't know what is about to hit her. I think one of the reasons God has chosen to bless us with another child is to knock the Princess off her pedestal! This Daddy's girl is about to have her little world rocked. But, we've still got a little time and even as I'm trying to hold onto her baby-ness, she's trying to push her independence. She'll be ready when the time is right. Now, if I could just convince her that the time isn't quite "right" and she could slow down a little life would be great!
Aiden:
* loves going to Kindergarten, but needs to slow down, he completes his work so fast that alot of times he doesn't do it correctly, we are constantly talking about doing your work with excellence and that life is not a race
* can't wait for swim class each week, is currently working hard on his backstroke (which is a miracle considering two months ago he was petrified to float on his back)
* lost another tooth recently and named it Bullseye
* will be starting soccer soon (but doesn't know it yet)
* is growing in his knowledge of God, he loves reading his Bible, I am so thankful for that
Anthony:
* turns five on Thursday! He is so excited!!! He's been waiting for his birthday "forever!" He got a cupcake and song at a restaurant on Sunday, he gets to take cupcakes to Preschool on Wednesday, we'll celebrate a little at home on Thursday, and his party is Sunday afternoon, it's more like birthday week around here!
* gets to register for Kindergarten on Saturday morning! Wow! I can remember agonizing over whether or not he was ready to start preschool and now I'm sending him off everyday to Kindergarten? What a strange, and quiet, house this will be.
* loves swim class and Coach Davy, he asks everyday, is it Thursday? do we get to go to swim class today? he is currently working on swimming with his head underwater, which is amazing since two months ago he wouldn't walk under a shower for fear of getting his head wet, I am so amazed and pleased with Bear Paddle where the children are taking classes!
* current favorite thing to do is yell, "Yes!" and pump his arm when anything excites him, it is too cute!
* is absolutely phenomenal at Sword Fighting on the Wii, he can beat every member of our household. I don't know how he does it, but he's good.
Abby:
* is eating like a starved woman. She is downing so much food it is crazy! We think she heard us say she had to be 20 pounds to turn her carseat around and she's rushing to get there. She was 19 pounds at the beginning of the week and two days later she was 19.7 pounds. Her whole body shape has changed too. Someone said, oh, well, she's eating more, so she must be weaning from nursing? Nope, she increased that too.
* is walking!!! She spends all day walking now. Yesterday she just took off. She walked from the living room to her room all by herself. She loves holding someone's hand and taking off, but she's getting more and more confident about walking alone. She is so cute and wobbly. She's finally starting to choose walking over crawling, unless she wants to be somewhere in under the speed of light, then she crawls.
* is learning to sign "more" but much prefers to try to talk to you about life. She is trying so hard to make the right words. There have been more than a few times where I've thought she said the right thing for the situation. Maybe the house won't be so "quiet" without Anthony after all.
* absolutely adores her brothers and wants to mimic Everything they are doing. This has caused some humorous and frustrating situations. She just can't fathom why she isn't big enough to do some of the things they are doing.
* is loving swim class too. Her favorite thing to do is "zoom" under the water (complete submersion) and then give Coach Lindsey a high five. She also loves when we sing Humpty Dumpty and she "falls" in the water. She actually jumps in, instead of falls. The first time she did it, it scared her coach to death. She just loves the water!
Patrick and Angie:
* are blessed. to have each other, to have our children, to have amazing friends, and to be loved by our God.
We're having a baby in October. That seems very surreal sometimes. To be honest, when I found out I was not very happy. I was very content with my sweet little family. I didn't see the reason to add to it. Over the course of a few hours and some amazing friends I began to remember that this isn't about me, but about God and His plan. I went on a retreat right after we found out about the baby (who desperately needs a nickname!) and I asked God to show me a glimpse of what He was doing. My due date is October 24th. That was Colin's due date. I'm not a superstitious person, but it was bothering me that it was the same date. I cried out to God in anguish over this entire situation. He answered me. He told me, "Angie, I bring beauty from ashes!" I got a small glimpse, I felt God telling me, "I restore what I take." I don't know all of His plan for this little life, but I'm sure it will be miraculous, just like his or her brothers and sister. What a blessing to get to stand in the wings and watch!
We had a wonderful first OB appointment! We got to see the baby and there was a beautiful little beating heart. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures. We were sad about that, but we go back in two weeks. I have the most amazing peace that this child is okay. I couldn't say that at this point with Abby. I feel like we will bring this baby home and that my pregnancy will not be as difficult as Abby's was for me. I've joked with Patrick that "every pregnancy is different" and wouldn't it be nice if the "different" in this pregnancy would be a full term baby that I get to take straight to my room with me! Even when Aiden was born they took him for four hours of "observation" even though there was nothing wrong with him, it was just the hospital policy. What a hoot it would be to not be separated from my newborn!
I can't decide if I would prefer a boy or a girl. I go back and forth on that. Patrick does too, I think. Sometimes I really want Abby to have a little sister, sometimes I think a boy would be nice. I've also thought about how neat it would be to not find out the gender this time and let it be a surprise. I'm just not sure I'm capable of that though, especially with as many ultrasounds as we will end up having. However, the boys in the family are adamant about their preferences. Anthony would like "another sister!" Aiden has requested that, "Mama, could you get it right this time and have a boy?" I told Aiden to take that up with Jesus! Both boys are very excited about the baby. Abby, well, Abby doesn't know what is about to hit her. I think one of the reasons God has chosen to bless us with another child is to knock the Princess off her pedestal! This Daddy's girl is about to have her little world rocked. But, we've still got a little time and even as I'm trying to hold onto her baby-ness, she's trying to push her independence. She'll be ready when the time is right. Now, if I could just convince her that the time isn't quite "right" and she could slow down a little life would be great!
Aiden:
* loves going to Kindergarten, but needs to slow down, he completes his work so fast that alot of times he doesn't do it correctly, we are constantly talking about doing your work with excellence and that life is not a race
* can't wait for swim class each week, is currently working hard on his backstroke (which is a miracle considering two months ago he was petrified to float on his back)
* lost another tooth recently and named it Bullseye
* will be starting soccer soon (but doesn't know it yet)
* is growing in his knowledge of God, he loves reading his Bible, I am so thankful for that
Anthony:
* turns five on Thursday! He is so excited!!! He's been waiting for his birthday "forever!" He got a cupcake and song at a restaurant on Sunday, he gets to take cupcakes to Preschool on Wednesday, we'll celebrate a little at home on Thursday, and his party is Sunday afternoon, it's more like birthday week around here!
* gets to register for Kindergarten on Saturday morning! Wow! I can remember agonizing over whether or not he was ready to start preschool and now I'm sending him off everyday to Kindergarten? What a strange, and quiet, house this will be.
* loves swim class and Coach Davy, he asks everyday, is it Thursday? do we get to go to swim class today? he is currently working on swimming with his head underwater, which is amazing since two months ago he wouldn't walk under a shower for fear of getting his head wet, I am so amazed and pleased with Bear Paddle where the children are taking classes!
* current favorite thing to do is yell, "Yes!" and pump his arm when anything excites him, it is too cute!
* is absolutely phenomenal at Sword Fighting on the Wii, he can beat every member of our household. I don't know how he does it, but he's good.
Abby:
* is eating like a starved woman. She is downing so much food it is crazy! We think she heard us say she had to be 20 pounds to turn her carseat around and she's rushing to get there. She was 19 pounds at the beginning of the week and two days later she was 19.7 pounds. Her whole body shape has changed too. Someone said, oh, well, she's eating more, so she must be weaning from nursing? Nope, she increased that too.
* is walking!!! She spends all day walking now. Yesterday she just took off. She walked from the living room to her room all by herself. She loves holding someone's hand and taking off, but she's getting more and more confident about walking alone. She is so cute and wobbly. She's finally starting to choose walking over crawling, unless she wants to be somewhere in under the speed of light, then she crawls.
* is learning to sign "more" but much prefers to try to talk to you about life. She is trying so hard to make the right words. There have been more than a few times where I've thought she said the right thing for the situation. Maybe the house won't be so "quiet" without Anthony after all.
* absolutely adores her brothers and wants to mimic Everything they are doing. This has caused some humorous and frustrating situations. She just can't fathom why she isn't big enough to do some of the things they are doing.
* is loving swim class too. Her favorite thing to do is "zoom" under the water (complete submersion) and then give Coach Lindsey a high five. She also loves when we sing Humpty Dumpty and she "falls" in the water. She actually jumps in, instead of falls. The first time she did it, it scared her coach to death. She just loves the water!
Patrick and Angie:
* are blessed. to have each other, to have our children, to have amazing friends, and to be loved by our God.
Friday, March 4, 2011
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