Oh Happy Day!

One of the best things ever happened in our family this summer.
I say one of the best, because it has happened twice before...the same, but different.

On Tuesday, July 19, Joshua asked Jesus to live in his heart!
What makes for a happier momma than that?

It's been a little while coming for Josh.
He had been asking questions and had even told me a couple of times that he thought that he was ready to have Jesus live in his heart.

Have I mentioned before that I suffer from perfectionism and insecurity?
If not, then I do.
I tend to not jump in and try things...or do things...if I am unsure that I can do them just so or at all.
Either that, or I have to think it through in my mind over and over again, add in a little research, and then go when I feel secure.

Sadly enough, that is what has happened each time my children have expressed an interest in giving their lives to Jesus.

I hesitated about asking Josh if he would like to pray and ask Jesus into his heart.
I hesitated because I was afraid that I would leave something really important out.
That I would somehow mess up and not do it right.

I prayed about it, knowing that my fears were silly.
After all, none of it is about me. It's something that is totally between Josh and God.

So, God caught me off guard.
I was playing Candy Land with Josh early one morning before anyone else was awake.
Josh doesn't like to lose, so having me all the way up with Queen Frostine while he was hangin' with Jolly did not make him very happy.
He kept asking me to trade places with him.

I think that some people are born with a "teacher gene."
Every moment becomes a "teachable moment."
I have that "teacher gene"...along with a healthy dose of competitiveness.
This was the perfect opportunity to teach Josh about what it means to be a poor loser and how we can celebrate with our friends...and our moms...when they win.
Which, by the looks of this game, I was going to be the winner.

Suddenly, mid-sentence, the True Teacher, the One in whose image I am created, spoke to me.
What a Teacher He is.
I knew that I was supposed to trade places with Josh.
And not only trade places, but to tell him about how Jesus traded places with us by going to the cross.
I can't even tell you what I said, because I know that Someone greater had the words that Josh needed to hear.
I was just the mouth.

Josh was thrilled when he crossed over into the Candy Castle with King Kandy.
"And someday, we will cross over into Heaven and be with our True King!"

I asked Josh if he would like to pray and ask Jesus into his heart.
He nodded and put his head down on my shoulder.
We prayed.
When we were finished, Josh lifted his head and was all teary-eyed.
I told him, "See? Jesus knocked on the door of your heart, and you answered!"
Josh nodded again...more tears.

Then he asked if he could go watch TV.

The following Sunday, Josh made his public profession during the Invitation.

Three weeks later, on Sunday, August 14--his 6th birthday!--Josh was baptized!

Here's Josh, sitting in the room upstairs behind the baptismal, waiting to get dressed in his robe and his Lego Star Wars swim trunks.



Josh and his extremely happy Mom...



I wasn't sure if Josh was nervous or not.
I always hate asking the kids if they are nervous before they do something big, so I usually don't ask.
Then Josh asked me a question, "Mommy? Will I still go to Heaven even if I don't get baptized?"
Again, the Holy Spirit gave words to this very emotional momma.
"Yes, Sweetie, you will. But remember how Pastor John told you that asking Jesus into your heart makes him the Lord--the King-- of your life? And how now you will do your best to always obey Him? Well, Jesus tells us to be baptized so that other people can see what decision we have made. This is a great first way to obey Jesus!"
"O.K.," Josh says a little unenthusiastically.
Not exactly what he was looking for.

"Are you nervous?"
"Uh huh."



I told him how nervous I was when I got baptized.
I was baptized as a baby in the Methodist church.
But that wasn't when I got nervous.
It was when I was 26 years old. I joined the Baptist church where we attend now. It is the church where Paul grew up and gave his life to Jesus. I was baptized as an adult in December of 1994.
Wow. That was a long time ago.
But I still remember how nervous I was.

It helped for Josh to talk about it.
Then he was ready to get all robed up!



This picture was taken by Pastor John.
He had a vision of Josh's profile against the white wall, but my flash went off.



My good friend, Kari, came in and asked if I would like her to take pictures for me.
Would I ever?!
How wonderful to be able to just enjoy Josh's baptism and not have to worry about flash or no flash?
Kari is an excellent photographer. She was able to capture the vision that Pastor John had.



Sweet boy.



After a prayer with Pastor John and our deacon, Kari's brother, Kenny, we made our way to the hallway behind the baptismal.
Pastor John always dresses in his fishing waders and his white robe.
This is a picture of Pastor John that I took in 2002 when Carrie was baptized. I love this picture!
Back when Carrie was baptized, my dad laughed and said, "She's got something in common with Jesus! She's being baptized by John the Baptist!"
We like to talk about that every time we celebrate a baptism.



Off to the water we go...



Pat, pat, pat...



Pastor John offered Josh his hand, but he walked all the way into the water without holding on.
That is so like Joshua. Very independent.



Pastor John introduces Joshua and talks about the decision that he has made.









Joshua, have you asked Jesus into your heart and indeed asked Him to be the Lord of your life?



"Uh huh. Yep."



Joshua, it is because of your profession of faith...



and the divine command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...



that I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.








AMEN!

Thank you to another good friend, Kellie, for sending me these pictures from another perspective...one that I haven't seen with my own kids!
I love these pictures!







Here's Joshua, full of smiles and relief, as he plays with the key chain that Grandma and Grandpa gave him...a Jesus fish.
He has learned to spell the name of the One he loves the most with this key chain.

How do I know that Josh loves Jesus more than anyone else?
He told me so.
"Mom, I love Jesus more than I love you. That's O.K., right?"
DEFINITELY!!



Later in the evening, Josh said to me, "Matthew's next!"

I think that Matthew is going to have his own personal evangelist!



Enjoying the really monumental, super-special, all-important, life-changing things,

Just A Misunderstanding

William surprised us at the lunch table earlier this summer.

"Did you know that Grandma said 'freakin'?"
He said it carefully and thoughtfully...knowing that I really, really don't like that word.

"No! No she didn't!" I said in defense of my mother-in-law.
I could really not imagine that being something that she would say.

"Oh, yes! I heard her."

"What exactly did she say?" I asked, trying to understand.

"She was looking at Josh and Matthew and said, "Freakin' frack!"

"Josh and Matthew were standing right there?"

"Yep."

And then I burst into laughter!
And laughed even harder when I saw William's surprised expression!

"Grandma was calling Josh and Matthew "Frick and Frack," I explained.

"What is that?!" William asked.
I saw four sets of eyes looking at me for more of an explanation.

"Well...I think that it's a saying that means couples or friends--buddies--that stick together...like saying Tom and Jerry, Lucy and Ethel, Milo and Otis, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo ..."

"Why 'Frick and Frack?'"

I don't really know where that saying began, so...with the help of Google...I looked it up.

"The origin is from a famous partnership of Swiss comedy ice skaters, Werner Groebli and Hans Mauch, whose stage names these were. They came to public fame in the later years of a series of skating spectaculars called Ice Follies, promoted by Eddie Shipstad and his brother Roy, which began in 1936 and ran for almost 50 years. Their association lasted so long, and they were at one time so well known, that their names have gone into the language.

Michael Mauch, the son of Hans, told the origin of their names: 'Frick took his name from a small village in Switzerland; Frack is a Swiss-German word for a frock coat, which my father used to wear in the early days of their skating act. They put the words together as a typical Swiss joke.'"

And now you know the meaning behind the use "Frick and Frack."

You also now know that Grandma really doesn't say that other word.

Enjoying the simple things,

Simply and Sweetly

Josh and the neighbor boy found each other this summer.

When the neighbors moved in behind us, the neighbor boy was an infant.
They moved in during the month of September...the same month that he was born.
I think that up until this summer, Josh has been just a little boy in the eyes of the neighbor boy.
A six-year old playing with a four-year old is much different than a 7-year old playing with a 5-year old.
Josh, I think, just looked a whole lot more interesting to the neighbor boy this year...with his light-saber and bicycle-riding skills.

Josh shared with me last night that his good buddy, our neighbor boy, was on the swing set with him and asked, "Why do you guys homeschool?"

I was really super-curious about what Josh said to his friend.

You see, this little boy started the second grade over a week ago, and to tell you the honest truth, I have been worried about what Josh was thinking when his friend invited him to go with him and his mom to see his school one afternoon at the end of summer.
I have been worried about what Josh was thinking when his friend got off the bus and told him, "Second grade is fun!"

I have been wondering when Josh would being asking, "Why do we have to homeschool?"

Instead, Josh was the one who was put in the position of answering this question.

"So...what did you tell him?" I asked Josh.

Josh simply said, "Because Jesus told us to."
Simply and sweetly.

How many times have I struggled with that very same question when someone has asked it of me?
How many times have I tried to find an acceptable answer that the world would understand...something dealing with test scores or socialization or smaller class sizes or whatever?
How many times have I tried to cover my own insecurity with answers that have nothing to do with why we really, truly homeschool?

Josh's response to his friend's question made me look long and hard at why we homeschool.

Why, Lord?
Why do we homeschool?

"Because I told you to," He whispers.
Simply and sweetly.

When I'm overwhelmed and confused with curriculum and transcripts and am wondering again,
"Why do we homeschool?"

"Because I told you to," He croons.
Simply and sweetly.

Margaret Feinberg wrote, "Why is simplicity so essential to our lives? When we choose to embrace simplicity, we discover more margin in our lives for all the good things God wants to give us."

I know that when God called us to homeschool, He was calling us to a life a trusting Him.
And a life of the good things that He wants to give us...if I don't get in the way.

Simply and sweetly.
Because He told us to.

Enjoying the simple things,

An Elephant's Memory

Facebook is a really fun thing.
I love getting on there and seeing what my family and friends are up to!
I especially love the shared laughter.
Funny things that the kids are saying.
Funny things that are happening to each of them.

Facebook is also a really easy thing.
I find it so easy to pop on there and post something.

The problem with it is that so much of what I post...the things that I want to remember the kids saying or doing...eventually scroll off my wall into the land of faded memory.

Blogging is tougher.
It takes more time, concentration, and creativity--most of which I feel like I never, ever have enough of.
But the payoff is so much greater!
I am able to save the moment and hold onto it forever.

I had to think about that this morning as I got ready to post something that the little boys had said yesterday.
I thought, "I really want to remember that they said that! I want them to know that they said that!"

So...here I am blogging after a long vacation from blogging.

I want to remember how innocent Matthew and Josh are right now.
How they say what they mean and they mean what they say.

Yesterday, Matthew decided how old I must be...or how young!
"Mommy is sixteen because she can drive a truck."

He knows that sixteen is the magical age, because Carrie is waiting patiently (sort of) for Paul and me to decide where she will be taking her driver's ed training.

He wasn't trying to flatter me.
Age means very little to him--except in terms of being a "big boy" rather than a baby.
But, nonetheless...it was very flattering.



Josh piped in.
"Mom can't be sixteen!"

"Yikes!" I'm thinking.

"Mom can't be sixteen because she is married!"

Good boy. :)



Did I mention that Josh is going to turn 6 years old on Sunday?
I get teary-eyed just thinking about that.
His entrance into the world was nothing short of miraculous.
And his presence in our lives has been nothing short of life-changing.

And speaking of life-changing...Joshua asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life on a Tuesday morning in July.
He will be baptized this Sunday...on his sixth birthday!
What could make a momma happier?

Nothing beats that.
Nothing at all.



Iced-coffee.
It has become something that Carrie and I look forward to on special occasions.
Like Saturday afternoons.
Or Monday mornings.
We found a homemade recipe that is "to-die-for!"
Here is what's left after the straining.
Imagine the fragrance of strong, black coffee filtering out of your computer screen right now.
Mmmmm...



Add yet another milestone in Joshua's short life...



That's right!
He lost his first tooth!

One more reason to smile!

Enjoying the simple things,

Little Boys Say the Sweetest Things

Back on April 7, 2008, I began a blog post about the cute ways that Joshua was saying things.
April 7, 2008...that was fourteen days before Matthew was born.

I never finished that post.
I intended to add more to it.
Then I got busy.
Very busy.

And Josh has grown quite a bit since then.



This past week, Matthew has said some things that I don't want to forget.
As I sat down to write them down, I remembered that forgotten post entitled "Josh-Speak".
I found it...

________________________________________

muggy coff = coffee mug
bean beans = green beans
outoutside = go outside

Watching my pregnant belly move one day, Josh said, "Does my baby have lotsa legs?"

Rony Ponies = roly polies

One afternoon while playing at the park, Josh said "I'm so exciting!"
When we arrived home, he said, "That park is fun! I'm not so exciting anymore."

ear tube = you tube

Like his big brother William, he called ketchup check-up.

"Get on yours markets...Ready, set, go!" = Get on your mark. Get set. Go!

________________________________________

I had forgotten that Josh had said nearly all of these things.
I wonder what else I have forgotten.

The only way I know to remedy my forgetfulness would be to carry around a pad of paper and a pen all of the time and record everything my kids say.

Or...I can jot down a thing or two when they come to mind.
Like these things that Matthew said this week...

I was teasing him and told him that I was going to take his nose.
He looked at me with one of his very serious expressions and said, "Jesus glued on my nose."



Or when I was taking Carrie to her Guard Start class one morning with Matthew riding along in the backseat.
I don't even remember why I exclaimed, "Holy cow!" but I did.
Again, very seriously--and a little surprised--Matthew said, "But I don't see a cow."

Oh, Matty!

These days go flying by so quickly without much thought to the sweetness of each moment.
So much energy goes to regretting the past or planning the future.
My prayer is that I would just slow down and enjoy the sweet simplicity of now.

Enjoying the simple things,

Blue Spruce Caverns

When we moved into our house seventeen-and-a-half years ago, there were these two great big beautiful blue spruce trees in the front yard. They buffered us from the road and they also blocked the headlights from the cars that go by at night since we live on a curve.

I loved those trees so much that when it came time to paint our house, we chose the color that most closely matched the new growth of a blue spruce tree.
Hawthorne Green is the name, I think.

Three years after we moved in, some straight line winds took the biggest of the two blue spruce trees and laid it on its side, roots and all.
What roots there were.
Root ball may be a more accurate description.

The next fall, we planted a baby blue spruce tree in its place.
It was so cute and fluffy. For several years we were able to string it with little white lights at Christmastime.
But, like most small, cute things, it grew up.
And up.
And up!

It is now almost as tall as the blue spruce that stands beside it.

That original blue spruce must feel like Carrie...watching her younger brother growing taller than she is.
Sorry, Carrie. :)

In defense of that original tree, it is being canopied by a really big, beautiful maple tree.
I don't really think it is able to grow to its full potential, although it does try really hard to reach through the branches of its protector.

Early this spring, Josh invited me into his imagination.
He took me to the original blue spruce, typed in a number on the imaginary number pad, and led me through the branches to some other world.
It was then that I thought, "Hey! This would make a great cave for the little boys!"

Just a little clipping of some of the dead, inner limbs.





Anytime there is the opportunity to use something large, tool-like, and sharp, William is your man!
With this job, there was opportunity to use three such items.

The limb clippers...



The chainsaw...



And the hatchet...



Sorry, William.
We don't need to buy a machete for this project.

But a good sidekick is never a bad idea...



O.K., Charlie.
A little too much help.



And "Clean-Up Carrie" is on the job!



While waiting for more limbs to load into the wagon, Carrie decided to give her rose bush a trim.



And what were the little boys doing?
Arguing AGAIN over the little green pedal tractor.
We have how many riding toys in the driveway?
But this one is the favorite right now...at least when the other little boy is on it.



Ah! Wide open spaces!



The entry to Blue Spruce Caverns...





And the tunnel (a.k.a. the doggy door)...



Another project complete thanks to a big brother and big sister who were up to the challenge of creating a cave for a couple of little boys!







And just in the nick of time, it appears!



I'm sorry, Charlie.
Did I forget to thank you for your help?
Thank you, Charlie.
I don't know what we would have done without your limb-mulching skills.



Enjoying the simple things,