One thing we've been working on lately is Caleb eating his breakfast by himself. I always blend a really good concoction of fruit, avacado, almonds, lettuce, etc. It's what we all eat every morning. He's been eating it since he started eating and loves it. What he does not love is eating it by himself. He'd much rather have someone spoon feed it to him. He's been doing really well, eating almost to the bottom with very little fuss and then having me scrape the bottom to get the rest of it. Well, this morning he woke up hungry and ate a little bit before breakfast. When we sat down at the table to eat, he WOULD NOT eat. I tried to stay in control of my patience. We sang some songs and did all the things that we normally do, but he was not touching his spoon. I tried all kinds of tricks and bribes that normally work with absolutely no luck. Finally, I left the table with Karis and told Caleb that he could come and play with us when he finished his breakfast. This always works...not this morning. Every time I peeked in the kitchen, he was just sitting at the table NOT eating. I was really losing my patience, but yet still managing to keep it toned down for him (no sense in "fighting" about eating). Finally I went and sat down beside him. I'm just going to write out our conversation...remember this is all in a normal tone...I really was keeping my voice under control.
Mommy "I am very disappointed that you didn't eat your breakfast by yourself."
Caleb "Uh-huh."
Mommy, beginning to spoon it into his mouth "You are a big boy now, and you are ready to feed yourself. You do it every morning. This really upsets me a lot."
Caleb "I'm sorry Mommy."
Mommy with a sigh "Caleb, I'm just really too upset to forgive you right now."
Caleb "OK"
A few minutes later
Caleb "I'm sorry Mommy."
Mommy "Caleb, I'm just still really upset and I really can't tell you that I forgive you yet because I don't. You know how to eat your breakfast."
Another minute later
Caleb "Mommy, I'm sorry."
Mommy, scraping out the last bite for him with a big sigh "Caleb, I forgive you. I just want you to eat your breakfast by yourself. OK?"
Caleb "OK Mommy, now can I chew my gum?"
Mommy "Yes, please go chew your gum."
It is a funny story, but while I was not forgiving him, I thought about God and His willingness to forgive us every time. Ah, we disobey, gossip, don't read our Bibles or pray, cause strife, envy others, let our bodies get out of shape (which are God's temple), judge others, and just generally sin. Yet, when the Holy Spirit convicts us and we repent, God doesn't say, "I'm just too upset with you to forgive you right now." He simply forgives. My reason for not forgiving Caleb this morning was that I didn't think he really meant it. He's been into saying "I'm sorry" for a few weeks now. I wanted him to show me that he was sorry (and I needed some time to cool down). Sometimes I "repent" and don't really mean it. Does that mean that God doesn't forgive me? No! His grace is endless and His love surpasses all understanding. It certainly surpassed mine this morning. It's a good thing that I'm just the Mommy and not God! It's also a good thing that I have a good Father to learn from...a patient, kind, understanding, and FORGIVING Father.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Christmas, Cousins, and Chewing Gum
Christmas is always fun, but this one was especially fun! One of my sisters and I both got home on the Sunday before Christmas. Her husband and their six month old daughter were with them. Caleb was so sweet with her. He was much more gentle with her than he is with Karis...Karis tends to get the rough end of the playing.
Their favorite thing to do was to was swinging. Caleb liked it when we pushed him "really higher" and when Ashley spun him in circles.
His favorite thing to do was to push Karis though. He is a great big brother/cousin already! She would laugh hysterically, and he just kept laughing and laughing.
Even Annie got in on the action. She had the best smile while Caleb was pushing her.
GiGi and Grandpa came to see us too. We took a long walk in the woods, and we all had a good 'ole redneck time cleaning ducks, walking the pony, and letting the dogs swim in the back pasture. The dogs really liked their snack of duck wings and later deer legs...yep, I told you redneck!
(There's nothing like learning to chew straw at a young age!)
(Don't know if you can tell, but they are throwing sticks to the dogs in the pond.)
So we went to Mama Bet's house on Christmas Eve. Karis and Annie had fun playing with Aunt Jamie.
Caleb has a special secret with Mama Bet. Everytime he sees her he asks for chewing gum and of course she willinging gives it to him! So for Christmas, she gave him a packet of gum. He was so excited and immediately announced that it was the "best present ever in the whole world!" We laughed so hard, but the reality of it is that we get so wrapped up in "stuff" that we forget that the best present of all is something from the heart.
The best part was our new Christmas Eve tradition and the ensuing Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve we read one of Caleb's books that told the story of Jesus' birth(never mind that I threatened a spanking during the reading of the book because he WOULD NOT sit still). We finally did get him to say that Jesus was the best present, but he still wanted a Santa and a reindeer and an elf and a snowman and presents! After that we left Santa milk, cookies (well a haystack), and a carrot for the reindeer.
He was so cute looking up the chimney for Santa, and of course the adults had fun after the kids were asleep setting up for "Santa."
Christmas morning was great! We woke the kids up at 6:30 to go open presents. This isn't anything new for us "Peebles girls" though. We have always opened our presents while it is still dark outside. There is something magical about the living room being all set up with just the tree lights lighting the room. The look on Caleb's face was priceless. He just stood and stared, then immediately bypassed his "Santa" present (a toolbench) and headed straight for Annie's present. It was obviously much cooler than any old toolbench:) He did finally get around to playing with it and now he loves it! By the way, I did get the best present of all. My hubby and my dad secretly built me the book shelves we've been planning on building. They kept it the best secret...so good in fact that my feelings got hurt! They are awesome and I can't wait to get home and organize everything!
So, now we are at Ashley's parents and finishing up Christmas! I can't wait for the fun times we'll have here! More to come and Merry Christmas!!
Their favorite thing to do was to was swinging. Caleb liked it when we pushed him "really higher" and when Ashley spun him in circles.
His favorite thing to do was to push Karis though. He is a great big brother/cousin already! She would laugh hysterically, and he just kept laughing and laughing.
Even Annie got in on the action. She had the best smile while Caleb was pushing her.
GiGi and Grandpa came to see us too. We took a long walk in the woods, and we all had a good 'ole redneck time cleaning ducks, walking the pony, and letting the dogs swim in the back pasture. The dogs really liked their snack of duck wings and later deer legs...yep, I told you redneck!
(There's nothing like learning to chew straw at a young age!)
(Don't know if you can tell, but they are throwing sticks to the dogs in the pond.)
So we went to Mama Bet's house on Christmas Eve. Karis and Annie had fun playing with Aunt Jamie.
Caleb has a special secret with Mama Bet. Everytime he sees her he asks for chewing gum and of course she willinging gives it to him! So for Christmas, she gave him a packet of gum. He was so excited and immediately announced that it was the "best present ever in the whole world!" We laughed so hard, but the reality of it is that we get so wrapped up in "stuff" that we forget that the best present of all is something from the heart.
The best part was our new Christmas Eve tradition and the ensuing Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve we read one of Caleb's books that told the story of Jesus' birth(never mind that I threatened a spanking during the reading of the book because he WOULD NOT sit still). We finally did get him to say that Jesus was the best present, but he still wanted a Santa and a reindeer and an elf and a snowman and presents! After that we left Santa milk, cookies (well a haystack), and a carrot for the reindeer.
He was so cute looking up the chimney for Santa, and of course the adults had fun after the kids were asleep setting up for "Santa."
Christmas morning was great! We woke the kids up at 6:30 to go open presents. This isn't anything new for us "Peebles girls" though. We have always opened our presents while it is still dark outside. There is something magical about the living room being all set up with just the tree lights lighting the room. The look on Caleb's face was priceless. He just stood and stared, then immediately bypassed his "Santa" present (a toolbench) and headed straight for Annie's present. It was obviously much cooler than any old toolbench:) He did finally get around to playing with it and now he loves it! By the way, I did get the best present of all. My hubby and my dad secretly built me the book shelves we've been planning on building. They kept it the best secret...so good in fact that my feelings got hurt! They are awesome and I can't wait to get home and organize everything!
So, now we are at Ashley's parents and finishing up Christmas! I can't wait for the fun times we'll have here! More to come and Merry Christmas!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!
I have to say that I LOVE Christmas, and the great thing is that I'm not alone in this love of the season. I know that most people love it just like I do and that makes it so much FUN!! I definitely can't name one favorite thing about Christmas, but here's a short list of some of the highlights for me...
1. Reading, hearing, talking about the birth of Jesus...God's best gift to us. Just reading Luke and Isaiah 9 warm my heart. When people ask Caleb what he wants for Christmas, I'm trying to get him to say, "I want people to know that Jesus is our best gift from God." He's not buying it though. When I ask him to say it, he says, "Nope, I want a Santa and an elf and a snowman and a reindeer and presents." Oh well...at least I'm trying.
2. Sitting in my living room with the warm glow of lights from the Christmas tree and the mantle. Yes, we use colored lights and tinsel. It just makes me feel so festive. By the way, this was probably the prettiest tree we've ever had...until it unexpectedly wilted last week:(
3. Hanging up my favorite ornaments. They represent so many stories, traditions, and memories. We definitely don't have a tree that would go in a magazine, but I love hanging our old ornaments up beside our new ones each year.
Our "First Christmas" ornament from the first year we were married. That seems like so long ago:)
Caleb's first homemade ornament. He made it at Building Hope's Christmas party and he was such a big boy wanting to make it by himself.
I love how pretty red balls look nestled in the branches of the tree. I had a good time trying out my photography skills:).
This ornament came from my parents' tree. Growing up these were all over our tree along with orange and lime slices. They also had candy garland. These were always my favorites to hang up because they looked so real! Now I have a few candy canes (yellow and green ones) and a few lime slices. It makes me so happy to hang them up each year. Did anyone else have these ornaments when they were young?
4. CHRISTMAS CHINA!!!! I don't need to say anything more. I would have liked to have some greenery around my centerpiece, but with little hands...
5. The excitement of "Santa" and seeing little pieces of that excitement in Caleb. This is the bell from The Polar Express that was left on the couch.
6. Buying gifts for other people and making my own list. I can't lie, it may be better to give than to receive (and I really do LOVE to give), but I have to say that I'm pretty excited about my presents too!
7. Spending time with my family and all that entails...movies, baking, playing games, laughing, cooking, napping, and just having a really good time!
So, with one week left, these are my reasons for LOVING Christmas and I fully intend to relish each one of them in the next 7 days (and for a few days afterwards)!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
1. Reading, hearing, talking about the birth of Jesus...God's best gift to us. Just reading Luke and Isaiah 9 warm my heart. When people ask Caleb what he wants for Christmas, I'm trying to get him to say, "I want people to know that Jesus is our best gift from God." He's not buying it though. When I ask him to say it, he says, "Nope, I want a Santa and an elf and a snowman and a reindeer and presents." Oh well...at least I'm trying.
2. Sitting in my living room with the warm glow of lights from the Christmas tree and the mantle. Yes, we use colored lights and tinsel. It just makes me feel so festive. By the way, this was probably the prettiest tree we've ever had...until it unexpectedly wilted last week:(
3. Hanging up my favorite ornaments. They represent so many stories, traditions, and memories. We definitely don't have a tree that would go in a magazine, but I love hanging our old ornaments up beside our new ones each year.
Our "First Christmas" ornament from the first year we were married. That seems like so long ago:)
Caleb's first homemade ornament. He made it at Building Hope's Christmas party and he was such a big boy wanting to make it by himself.
I love how pretty red balls look nestled in the branches of the tree. I had a good time trying out my photography skills:).
This ornament came from my parents' tree. Growing up these were all over our tree along with orange and lime slices. They also had candy garland. These were always my favorites to hang up because they looked so real! Now I have a few candy canes (yellow and green ones) and a few lime slices. It makes me so happy to hang them up each year. Did anyone else have these ornaments when they were young?
4. CHRISTMAS CHINA!!!! I don't need to say anything more. I would have liked to have some greenery around my centerpiece, but with little hands...
5. The excitement of "Santa" and seeing little pieces of that excitement in Caleb. This is the bell from The Polar Express that was left on the couch.
6. Buying gifts for other people and making my own list. I can't lie, it may be better to give than to receive (and I really do LOVE to give), but I have to say that I'm pretty excited about my presents too!
7. Spending time with my family and all that entails...movies, baking, playing games, laughing, cooking, napping, and just having a really good time!
So, with one week left, these are my reasons for LOVING Christmas and I fully intend to relish each one of them in the next 7 days (and for a few days afterwards)!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
SUCCESS!!!
After a two day "sleep through the night" stint in Mamie and Poppy's pack-n-play, I was standing over her crib at 2:00 am Sunday night getting her back to sleep and thinking about setting up her pack-n-play right next to her crib. I couldn't believe that she was awake...what in the world. The only good news was that I didn't have to pick her up to get her back to sleep. I only had to scratch the back of her neck...you've never seen someone try to walk out of a room as quietly as I did once she fell asleep:) So last night, I decided to try one last idea before I actually set up the pack-n-play. At my mom and dad's I always plug in a space heater beside her bed. So, I turned on her noise maker (which is actually just an alarm clock radio tuned to static). IT WORKED! IT TOTALLY WORKED!!! Why would it make a difference in the middle of the night...I don't know, but I do know that if it makes her sleep all night long then we will have white noise in her room!
Hal-lelujah, Hal-lelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hal-le-lujah! Now we will just keep our fingers crossed tonight!
Hal-lelujah, Hal-lelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hal-le-lujah! Now we will just keep our fingers crossed tonight!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Worthy of a Post
I'm moving in with my mom and dad! Karis slept through the night last night for the second time in 3 1/2 months...the first time being over Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's house.
I don't know where I've gone wrong. At five weeks, Karis magically slept through the night without ever crying at all. At first I thought it was a fluke, but it continued until she was 5 1/2 months old. I was so confident in her ability to stay asleep that it never occured to me that it would end...but end it did. It started with her getting out of her swaddling blanket, then came the growth spurt and starving in the middle of the night. Next she learned to roll over and apparently it is quite disturbing to wake up on your hands and knees in the middle of the night and not know how to get back down. This was followed by some new teeth, habitually pooping at three in the morning, and now a snotty nose (apparently you can't suck your paci and breathe when your nose is stopped up with snot). Really all they are is excuses to not sleep through the night and get your mom out of bed. I've really tried all I know to do...earlier naps, more naps, later naps, earlier bed time, later bedtime, nursing in the middle of the night, paci and rocking in the middle of the night, crying it out in the middle of the night (from 3:30 til 5:10...lots of fun). I think it boils down to the fact that God is teaching me humility. How many times have people said that their kids weren't sleeping through the night and I have confidently (maybe even pridefully - see the post "Time for Transparency") replied, "Well, you just need to let them cry it out." After all, isn't that what the books say...and books are always right. Now I am eating my words because I have a sweet little girl who wants to wake up at night except in her Mamie and Popper's pack-n-play. So maybe I'm not moving back in with my parents, but I might be setting up a pack-n-play right next to the crib in Karis' room. If it works, I might just write a book:)
I don't know where I've gone wrong. At five weeks, Karis magically slept through the night without ever crying at all. At first I thought it was a fluke, but it continued until she was 5 1/2 months old. I was so confident in her ability to stay asleep that it never occured to me that it would end...but end it did. It started with her getting out of her swaddling blanket, then came the growth spurt and starving in the middle of the night. Next she learned to roll over and apparently it is quite disturbing to wake up on your hands and knees in the middle of the night and not know how to get back down. This was followed by some new teeth, habitually pooping at three in the morning, and now a snotty nose (apparently you can't suck your paci and breathe when your nose is stopped up with snot). Really all they are is excuses to not sleep through the night and get your mom out of bed. I've really tried all I know to do...earlier naps, more naps, later naps, earlier bed time, later bedtime, nursing in the middle of the night, paci and rocking in the middle of the night, crying it out in the middle of the night (from 3:30 til 5:10...lots of fun). I think it boils down to the fact that God is teaching me humility. How many times have people said that their kids weren't sleeping through the night and I have confidently (maybe even pridefully - see the post "Time for Transparency") replied, "Well, you just need to let them cry it out." After all, isn't that what the books say...and books are always right. Now I am eating my words because I have a sweet little girl who wants to wake up at night except in her Mamie and Popper's pack-n-play. So maybe I'm not moving back in with my parents, but I might be setting up a pack-n-play right next to the crib in Karis' room. If it works, I might just write a book:)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
God's Friends
Caleb has been so cute this year looking at all of the decorations. Everytime we pass a house that is decorated with lights, he exclaims in his best excited voice, "Look, it's Christmas on that house." Well, today he and I were riding in the car today and we passed a nativity scene. Of course he got excited and said, "Look Mommy, it's Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus and some kings!...Hey Mommy, why are there kings there? (I explained) Hey Mommy, why is Mary there? (I explained) Hey Mommy, why is Joseph there?" At this point I was in "answer the toddler mode" which means that I was giving automatic answers without really thinking. When he asked why Joseph was there I almost said, "because that was Jesus' daddy," but I caught myself. My better explanation was that God gave Joseph the job of taking care of Jesus as his daddy on earth, but that God was Jesus' real daddy. I was expecting that to be the end of the discussion, but the floodgates opened and I had a lot more questions to answer like "Why did God want to have Jesus? Why was God Jesus' daddy?" and suddenly I realized we were talking about the gospel and our need for a savior in 2 year old terms. I got excited as we talked about Adam and Eve (he thinks he knows them from reading the Bible at night)and their mistakes, that God missed being friends with people, and that He needed to send Jesus so that we could talk to God again and be friends with him. Then that little sweet voice piped up and said, "Well Mommy, who is God's friend?" I turned around and looked at him and said, "I'm looking at God's friend right now. You are God's friend." That wasn't quite enough of an answer for him (or maybe he's just trained to ask the same question at least 10 times in a row) because he asked again, "Who else is God's friend?" I responded, "You are looking at one of God's friends because I am God's friend too, just like you." Without missing a beat he said, "and Daddy and Karis AND Mamie and Poppy AND GiGi and Grandpa. They are all God's friends too!" How sweet..."Yes they are buddy. They are all God's friends." Then he laughed and it became a game..."and that person (pointing to someone in a car) is God's friend and that person is God's friend and the Pirates are God's friends" (a true Pirate fan:)). I just laughed and then we talked about how every person you see is God's friend or someone that He wants to be friends with. As we turned into the parking lot and our short drive was ending, I realized the profound truth that we had just been talking about and the real reason that we celebrate Christmas. God loves us so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to earth so that we would have a way to be friends with Him again. God is our friend...and not just ours (you know...us "Christians") but the people in line in front of you, the person who just cut you off while you were driving, your co-worker that drives you crazy, your parents, siblings, every person you see. So as we enjoy warm fires, hot cocoa, Christmas trees, great decorations, parties, and overall fun times, remember to tell people who you might not otherwise talk to, that God wants to be their friend!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Little Feet
There is something about a baby's feet that melts my heart. They are so tiny and precious...so innocent. Now, I'm only 2 1/2 years into this parenting journey, but there is something about my kids' feet that I love. It seems like I'm always playing with Karis', tickling them, tapping them together, wiggling them around and it makes her laugh so hard! They are so innocent - tiny and perfect.
They are just learning how to support her weight, but yet they hold the promise of so many things...wobbly first steps, wiggling in warm sand at the beach, pulse racing first dances. They will take her so many places as she walks out the plans that God has for her life.
Then there's Caleb with his little boy feet. They are getting so big and they do so many fun things now. They run across the yard to chase squirrels,
jump off as many steps as he's brave enough to try (four is his top number), splash in rain puddles,
and tromp through "lakes" left by tropical storms (that was at his GiGi and Grandpa's house).
Soon enough these little boy feet will grow so much bigger.
They will learn to climb trees, learn how to play sports, start to stink, and be slung over our furniture when they're attached to lanky teenage legs. They will be what takes him through mistakes and good decisions.
Right now, these two sets of feet are so small yet they represent a promise of something to come...lives that will grow into a young man and a young woman. When I stand over their beds at night and pray for them, I pray that they will clearly know the plans that God has for their lives at an early age and that they will walk in those plans with a joyful heart that only wants to serve our Savior. I pray that they won't walk down the road of the world, but that they will choose to walk with God so that they can experience all that God has in store for them.
They are just learning how to support her weight, but yet they hold the promise of so many things...wobbly first steps, wiggling in warm sand at the beach, pulse racing first dances. They will take her so many places as she walks out the plans that God has for her life.
Then there's Caleb with his little boy feet. They are getting so big and they do so many fun things now. They run across the yard to chase squirrels,
jump off as many steps as he's brave enough to try (four is his top number), splash in rain puddles,
and tromp through "lakes" left by tropical storms (that was at his GiGi and Grandpa's house).
Soon enough these little boy feet will grow so much bigger.
They will learn to climb trees, learn how to play sports, start to stink, and be slung over our furniture when they're attached to lanky teenage legs. They will be what takes him through mistakes and good decisions.
Right now, these two sets of feet are so small yet they represent a promise of something to come...lives that will grow into a young man and a young woman. When I stand over their beds at night and pray for them, I pray that they will clearly know the plans that God has for their lives at an early age and that they will walk in those plans with a joyful heart that only wants to serve our Savior. I pray that they won't walk down the road of the world, but that they will choose to walk with God so that they can experience all that God has in store for them.
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