Bumper Sticker

I saw this bumper sticker today that for some reason gave me chills. It said "No one died when Clinton lied."
Disclaimer: I voted for Bush......both times.

Jeff

I am married to one fine, sexy, wonderful man! Just wanted to tell ya.

A HUGE thank you

Last night, we had our big adoption fundraiser in Tomball at a local coffeehouse. I sang and we sold my new CD. It was an amazing evening and I want to thank everyone who came. I am so honored and humbled by the number of friends we have here. Someday our daughter will get to share in that blessing! If you did not get a chance to buy a CD, they are now officially for sale for $10.

The Discipline Dilemna

I've been thinking about how discipline means so much more than punishment. I just realized that discipline is another form of the word "disciple." And, obviously, discipling is so much different than punishment.

As a mother, I struggle with consistency. I don't want to be one of those moms who flies off the handle over every little thing. God was so good to give me two crazy boys who teach me daily to be patient. Like the day I came downstairs to find that Silas had "experimented" with whatever he could find in the fridge. This included pouring entire bottles of mustard, ketchup, jam, and soy sauce in one big pile on the living room floor. (He was supposed to be taking a nap.) What would have been an appropriate punishment for this? I cleaned the mess up and sent him to his room to wait for me to come and spank him. It apparently didn't mean much because several days later I came downstairs to find that he had thrown an entire carton of eggs on the kitchen floor and walls.

I want to be like Jeff's mom who seemd to have a punishment to "fit the crime." When Jeff was being mean to his sister and poured a bunch of flour into the Kool-Aid she made, Jeff had to drink the entire pitcher with every meal until it was gone. He never did anything like that again. It's harder to be creative with toddlers. There isn't as much that means as much to them.

This morning as I was reading through Proverbs, I found 13:1 that says "A wise son heeds his father's instrutcion." I asked Sam if he knew what that meant and he said, "Does it mean I shouldn't wipe my boogers on the window in the car?" Apparently, I have a ways to go.

Mostly, I want my boys to see me and know that my faith is real and I want them to want that. I want to disciple them in more ways than just "punishment". There's SO much more to it than that. And that scares me.

Our dog

Silas threw up half the night because he ate a bad hot dog at the baseball game we went to because he couldn't eat the dinner that I spent most the afternoon cooking because Sophie ate it while it was cooling.

Sophie, you're just a really swell dog.

Anyone read any good parenting books lately??

I know I just was bragging about what a cool kid Sam is, and he is! But, we had a tough day yesterday. I love my children dearly but nothing is more humbling to me than when I am at a loss as to handle a certain situation with them. Aren't parents supposed to be prepared for any and every situation? Well, I'm not and I'm far from it!

I was literally on my knees in my bedroom while I listened to Sam scream and cry and throw a major, two hour long tantrum. I tried the spanking thing. I tried the taking toys away thing. I resorted to the yelling thing which I know is not the best thing. And then, finally, I came to my room to pray for wisdom and patience. All the while listening to Sam scream. I guess while I was praying, he finally fell asleep, which was maybe God's answer to my cries for help. I went to his bed and watched him sleep amidst his hiccupping from his own hard cry. It was pitiful.

Both boys seem to have forgotten the whole incident today. They are playing happily as a I write. I just feel like I'm doing something wrong! I need some inspiration!

I'm An Ass, You're An Ass

I want a bumper sticker that says "I'm an ass, you're an ass." Seriously. I think it would be such a cool Sunday if everyone showed up to church with a bumper sticker that said that. I think it would be extra cool if the sermon was titled "We're All Just a Bunch of Asses." (Thanks to my blogger friends Jana and Kate for the idea.)

This is my problem. I know I'm an ass. Sometimes, it takes me a day or two to come off my high horse and admit it, but I almost always will admit. (Right, Jeff??) But, here's the thing. Does it make me even more of an ass when I can't stand the fact that others can't admit they're asses also?? I guess I should just not compare asses.

I love having a four year old right now. Sam is at such a fun stage where he is learning that mommy and daddy may not be there to see when he does bad things, but God is always watching him. Last night, on the way home from watching fireworks, Sam said, "Mom and Dad, I did something bad tonight." OK. We asked him what it was he had done that was so bad. He said, "I told someone I was going to kick their butt." After a little probing this morning, I found out that a big kid had told Sam he was going to kick Sam's butt and Sam said in return, "Yea well, I just watched Karate Kid and I can kick your butt worser!" (We did just rent Karate Kid and let the boys watch the championship scene at the end.) So I tried not to laugh as Sam told me, but I could tell he felt really bad about it and I'm so glad he felt bad. He said he knew we weren't there to see him behave badly, but he knew God saw him and it made God sad. I love that tenderness and innocence. How often do I say "I know others weren't there to see me, but, God, I'm a big screw up and I know I hurt you!!"

I want a heart like Sam.

And if you ever see a bumper sticker that says "I'm an ass you're an ass", let me know.

It has been a tough couple of weeks. I'll spare you the details, but can tell you that I've been trying to figure out what it is that God wants me to learn through this. And I'm not sure yet. But one thing that has been made abundantly clear to me is that we are blessed with some amazing friends. My friend, Erin H., showed up at my house last night to give me a CD that had been an encouragement to her. BTW, I played it at full blast and drove the boys crazy, Erin! It was awesome. And then our friends Todd and Jill called and invited us to go out of town with them tomorrow. We plan on going and we look forward to that fellowship!
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On the adoption front, Jeff and I have decided to switch to Vietnam. Vietnam had been closed to American adoptions for several years but opened back up last week. It is a very third world country and in desperate need of adoptive families. This may speed things up a bit for us, but whatever happens, we're now praying for our baby girl in Vietnam. She may be born already!!!

Also, we are having our big adoption fundraiser on July 17. I've been working on a CD that is finally finished. Jeff and I have been copying it ourselves and will be selling them for $10. All proceeds will go towards the adoption.