Pushing Us Overboard

I've determined to make more posts to my Family Blog this year.  I enjoy reading some of yours and figured my 6 followers might enjoy the tiny insights into my home, too.  :)

I have started an Audio Diary for each of my kids this year.  They are always spontaneous and include my current feelings/inspirations/love, etc. for each kiddo.  I am very forgetful and want to make sure my babies always know how much Mommy loved and cherished them, in case I don't tell them enough.  I dream about them being grown and listening back on these Audio Diaries recorded by their young mother and cherishing these audio files.  Who really knows if they will even care, though, right? LOL!

Anyways, I felt inspired to record one for Brooklea tonight and funny thing was...God spoke to me through my own words of wisdom to my child.  It went something like this...

"Brooklea, I was just thinking how much I love you and how special you are.  I was just thinking back on how you went to VBS with your friend the other night.  And, how hard it was for you to venture out and actually go with her!  And, remember a couple days ago they invited you to come down for her cousins birthday party where they had a water slide?  You were so nervous about going because you were afraid there were going to be tons of people there you didn't know.  I encouraged you to just walk down and check it out; that Mommy would be with you the whole way.  You finally agreed, but assured me you were NOT staying!  I told you not to make any decisions in that moment until you had all the details of the situation.  As soon as you got past your fears and got involved, you turned to me and said, "Bye, Mom!"  And, again, after we convinced you to go to VBS, you told me upon pickup, "Mom, I am SOOOOO going tomorrow!!"  You don't know how proud I was of you in those moments!!  The feeling that came over me as a Mother, knowing I did the right thing in gently pushing you past your limits.  And, that's one of our job as parents, to push you past your supposed limit.  Not in a tormenting, spiteful way.  But, to help you break those barriers and conquer your fears! You can do so much more!  You can accomplish so much more!  You can overcome so much more than you think you can!

And, that's how God is, too.  He pushes us to what we think are our limits, but it's really not the limit. It's just to help us build new confidence; to show us that we can overcome certain obstacles that seem so big in our lives at the moment.  To step out into those new territories that are unfamiliar and makes us trust in Him even more!"

I know I have been there so many times in my life, even recently.  Questioning God and feeling forsaken.  But, I realize tonight He was just gently pushing me past my own limitations into new territories in Him.  And, He can be trusted, Friend.  If we do fall in these uncharted territories, just know He will be right there to catch us.  We can trust in Him!!

A Lost Legacy?

So, I'm driving down the road today, praying about making a difference in someone's life.  Especially my kids' lives.  I got to thinking the other day, "What if I died tonight; would my kids remember me when they grew up?  Did I make that much of a difference in their little lives to impact their hearts and souls?  Or, would they just remember the yelling and correction?  How much of the "mothering" that I do every single day really matters to eternity?"  I KNOW for a fact that I lean towards the 'stern' side of motherhood, rather than the 'nonchalant' side that allows anything to slide by.  And, you know what?  Sometimes, I'm just too dang hard on my kids.  There's no other way to say it.  In my defense, though, my intentions are honorable.

I want them to learn that it's bedtime when I say it's bedtime.  It's NOT the time to be asking for "one more drink", so the answer is "NO" to their drink request! 

"READ!"  I tell my daughter, when she's lingering too long on a page during her nightly reading, because I know it's bedtime and she's going to be tired in the morning.

"WHO SPILLED THESE CRUMBS ON THE FLOOR WHEN I JUST SWEPT TODAY?!?"  I want them to learn to respect other people's property and pick up after their messes.

And on and on and on it goes...

But, I have to stop and ask myself, "What does one more drink hurt?"  "Why am I rushing my daughter through reading a book and not relishing every moment?"  "Are the crumbs on the floor really the end of the world?"  "Wouldn't I miss them if they weren't there every day to remind me of WHO put them there?"

My God, help me to look past the daily grime of everyday life and learn to appreciate and savor each and every moment.  Because there may be a moment when it's all gone.  Life is as a vapor, the scripture says.  And, I've heard WAY too many elderly people say to treasure every day because they fly by.  I don't know what my tomorrow holds, but I know that I can appreciate my TODAY and cherish every minute.  Instead of staying frustrated.

Won't my kids enjoy being around Mom more if I'm not constantly correcting?  Do they REALLY need THAT much guidance or am I just being too hard?  There is a fine line, for sure, but I'm gonna try not to cross it near as much anymore.  I've got to allow my kids to be...kids.  Yes, they are K.I.D.S.  So, they're gonna act like kids.  I don't really want them to grow up too fast anyway, right?

Now, most of you reading this know me well enough to know, I believe in balance of all things.  I realize kids have to have constant guidance and blah, blah, blah.  That's not what I'm talking about here, so don't go reporting me to Dr. Ezzo just yet.  Sin needs disciplined...being curious does not, necessarily. 

My whole point is this, am I making a viable difference in my kid's lives?  Have I instilled enough values and teachings in them to keep them on the 'narrow way' if something should happen to me?  Have I prayed enough for their futures?  Do I read enough scripture to them?  Do we talk about Jesus enough?  Can they tell you all about the Bible Stories or tell you more about the movie they just watched?

Mothers, and Parents, in general have an enormous responsibility to their children!  And, I want to take my responsibility seriously.  God is clearly talking to my heart tonight and maybe to some of you, too.  Our kids are all we have to invest in to better the future of our world.  If we don't take the time for them, someone else will.  God, help me to fill them with good things from You, Godly things, so there is no room for the negative things of this world.  Help us as parents to have the wisdom that only comes from You to successfully "train up our children in the way they should go.  That when they are old, they will not depart from it."

So, tomorrow is a new day.  New mercies...new Mommy.  I know I'll fall off the wagon, again, but at least the wagon is going in the right direction at last.

Now, excuse me, while I go pray over my babies as they sleep tonight...

Wacky Wednesday...continued...

So, I realize I kind of left y'all hanging the other day when I didn't finish telling you what else Blayne got into.

He's playing in his room and suddenly screamed, "MOM, A BUG!"  I remembered seeing one of those nasty tree roaches that sneak their way in the house, walk through my poison for bugs, and end up bottom up with their little legs twitching on my floor somewhere.  It's usually RIGHT in the middle of my walkway, too.  I was in the middle of something and didn't want to stop what I was doing, so I yelled back, "Leave it alone!  I'll get it in a little bit!"  Next thing you know, he is walking through my living room with something in between his fingers.  I knew what it was, but still had to ask, "Blayne, WHAT IS THAT?!?"  He said, very calmly, I might add, "A bug.  I'm gonna trow (throw) it in da twash."  He was just fine until I squealed and said, "Ewwww!"  Then, I assume the bug wiggled, because Blayne freaked out and threw it on the floor.  THEN, he was scared of it and wouldn't go in the kitchen until I swept it up and threw it in the trash.

Here's a picture of my Exterminator in the flesh...

And, if that's not entertainment enough, here are some more pictures I took of him in the next hour. 

Let me add, this kid comes up with all of this stuff on his own.  He is a total cut up and loves to act goofy and make me laugh.  Which, he does ALL throughout the day, especially after disobeying.  And, yes, it works at times keeping him out of trouble.  What can I say, he's hilarious!!

This one's my favorite!  I was in the dressing room trying on 8 different outfits.  He got bored and decided to entertain himself...

Oh, to be that limber, again!

And, that concludes my postings for Wednesday.  And, my husband wonders why I am so tired and cranky in the evenings?  Hmmm...wonder why?  ;)

Wild & Wacky Wednesday

Well, the time has finally come!  I am taking several of your suggestions and starting a Blog of my Family Circus for your entertainment.  I thoroughly enjoy reading some of your blogs and decided it's much easier to give all the details on a Blog than to try and crunch it down to a few hundred Facebook words.  So, here we go!  Off to a day in the Chapman Family Circus!

Why did I choose the title "The Chapman Family Circus", you say?  Well, hang around a bit and you'll know exactly why...

First off, I'll start with yesterday.  I'll start by telling you I am NOT a morning person.  I enjoy staying up late at night until 2:00 a.m. or so...when it's quiet in the house...kids and hubby are in bed...and I am all alone.  It's when I take the time to refuel to prepare for the next day.  I might read for a while, work on a bow order here and there, watch a movie, or surf the net.  But, whatever I find myself doing, I'm enjoying it...all...alone.  Don't take me wrong, I love my kids; I love my husband.  I have the best in the world, so let's not argue about that anymore.  But, Mommy and Wifey needs time to herself everyday so I can continue loving them!  :)  I always felt guilty in my alone time, until recently when I came to the realization that it is absolutely necessary for my sanity and theirs.
So, with that being said, back to my first point...I am NOT a morning person.  My two year old son, however, is.  He gets up with a bounce every morning with this ravishing hunger that I didn't know existed; that can't even wait 5 minutes for a pancake to pop out of the toaster!  So, instead of waiting on Mommy for 10 or 15 minutes to drag out of bed, stumble to the kitchen and throw together prepare breakfast, he has taken it upon himself to find a "snack" to ease the hunger pangs until breakfast can be properly served at a suitable time.  A suitable time, mind you, can very well be 10:30, as I am NOT a breakfast person, either, and would rather skip it and go on to lunch most days.  So, yesterday, while I am sitting in the recliner trying to fully wake up, I hear total silence coming from the kitchen where he entered 5 minutes ago.  Yep, you guessed it...I know there's trouble when I don't hear the usual noises that come with a two year old.  So, I hollared from the kitchen, "Blayne!  What are you doing?"  He hollared back, "Eating hice-cream!"  (That's ice-cream for those of you who can't understand two year old language.)  "Come here where I can see you," I told him.  So, he came around the corner with the remaining evidence in hand and on his face.  I said, "WHERE did you get the ice-cream?"  He said, "Umm...from the freezer."  And, I could have sworn he also said, "Duh!" afterward, but I could be mistaken.
I had NO idea he could even open the freezer, but to think of getting an ice-cream for breakfast?!?  Maybe he IS more like me than I thought.

More of this day to come...