The Five Year Old

So tonight I took the five year old and the three year old over to visit Grandma. It was a real nice visit--its amazing how small kids can minister to older adults, in a way that I never could. When we got there Grandma was in a pretty foul mood, but by the time I left she seemed to be doing better. On the way back to the kids house, the five year old asked me if I had any kids. I told her that I didn't because I wasn't married. She then proceeded to think out loud, pondering the fact that if I got married my husband wouldn't know her and her family. So she then concluded that I should see if any of their neighbors were guys. She suggested that we go door to door telling people about Jesus and seeing if there were any men available to be married. Now, I've had many family members tell me that I should be out shopping for a man, but this is the first time I've had a five year old bring up the subject!

As Time Flies

Well, when I first started writing, it was about the one year old, then the one year old became the two year old and now he is the three year old. Perhaps its just a sign that I'm getting older, but its just amazing me how fast time is flying. When I first met the one year old he was 6 months old! I am so glad the Lord has blessed me with good friends with small children. It is just absolutely wild watching the kids grow and develop--not only that, but I think the Lord uses kids to speak to us in a number of different ways.

Tonight as I was helping the 3 year old using the "rather large potty," he says something to the effect of "don't let me fall in" with a rather frightened look. I respond, "I won't because I'm going to hold you." He replies, "I won't fall in because you're holding me." A rather simple conversation, but as I was crouched down, holding him up, it was neat watching his face change from fear to a simple trusting that I was going to keep him from falling. And yes, there in the bathroom, while the Lord has a captive audience He's reminding me of that childlike faith in which we are supposed to trust Him to keep us. It is nice to know that in the midst of living in such a complicated world where I have many responsibilities, I can seek refuge in His simple message of hope and salvation, leaving my worries and cares to Him.

(PS-As I am writing this, I am sitting on the wonderful couch located in the now cleared living room. At last I can live in more of the house and not be restricted to my bedroom and the dining room table!)

Kids

This weekend I babysat the 5 year old and the (almost) 3 year old while the parents went on an overnight getaway. I'd have to say that all three of us thoroughly enjoyed it. It amazes me how easy it is to keep little children occupied and interested in something. The three year was quite content sliding down the slide at the playground many times in a row, each time proclaiming, "again!" or "catch me Gina!"

The 5 year old is working on reading. We were coloring at the kitchen table and she was lamenting that she couldn't read the words printed on an advertisement, so I started writing her sentences that should could figure out. It was a blast--I absolutely loved working with her on reading. I would never want to have to teach a whole classroom full of kids how to read, but one on one I'd take probably most any day.

It amazes me how the Lord can use kids to humble me. We were going to the store and the 5 year old was taking Jesus pictures to hand out to people. At one point she asked me if my Mom knew Jesus. I said I didn't know. She said, "well, why don't you ask her?"

So...yeah. Nothing like the straightforward talk from a 5 year old who has a heart to share Jesus. No beating around the bush or not saying something out of fear of offending someone. Perhaps we could all learn a lesson from that.

Beach Time

Some people say that getting to know a family and being a "mother's helper" type of person is preparation for having kids of your own. I don't doubt it as today I learned a couple of good lessons:

1) When taking a 2 year old to the beach that has a pier, be sure to pack the stroller. Yeah. We took B. to the beach today, his one and only desire was to boat watch and so the first thing we did was to go over to the pier where the "boat parade" that was going by. We then proceeded to start walking the pier, which I shortly calculated was a very long pier. That + 2 year old who likes to be carried + no stroller=very tired Gina. Thankfully he walked part of the way and my partner in crime carried my water bottle.

2) Make sure you have another person with you when you order take out and have to wait 20 min. while tending to a 2 year old. One person waits for the food while the other person entertains the kid and chases after him.

All in all it was a very fun experience. I was surprised at how content B. was at just sitting and watching the boats go by. I know I love doing that type of thing and could do it indefinitely, but I never knew a 2 year old could have such an attention span as well. As he continues to learn how to talk, it never ceases to amaze me how many times he can say my name in such a short amount of time. He has also recently started saying "Bob," as in the talking Bob the Tomato who lounges in the back of my car. We almost had a crisis when B. could not reach/find Bob while we were driving home. Thankfully we had french fries and my partner in crime was able to pacify him with those. I wonder how many times mothers wish they had a third arm, of the "go go Gadget" type in order to tend to kids in the backseat while driving.

So life goes on and the Lord is faithful to continue to make it interesting. All kidding aside, I am very thankful for these type of "distractions" that keep my focus off of myself and onto blessing others in the midst of my own struggles. He is good, and in the midst of it all, He is (slowly) teaching me how to wait. Slow only because I am a slow learner. But even that He knew ahead of time, so it's not an issue. Anyways, keep looking up, because He is good even in the midst of circumstances that don't make sense from a human perspective.