Lit for the Loo

Perhaps it is safe to say that when anyone in our household embarks on (or even simply revisits) anything remotely new or exciting, my response is wholeheartedly, there are books for that. My husband is into things like grilling or smoking meat, roasting coffee, and brewing beer… so he buys books on the subjects. My oldest son is excited to learn computer programming skills and languages, so he spends an immense amount of time finding just the right books from every corner of the library as well as adding a couple extras to the Amazon shopping cart. My middle son wants art instruction on how to draw just the right kind of animals, plants, ninjas, or medieval weaponry, so we gather drawing books from hither and yon. My daughter finds a love of ballet, and suddenly nearly an entire bookshelf in her room is full of ballerina fiction & nonfiction. I need to work on prayer and devotional reading? Four clicks away, and now there are a few new things on my desk to give me the needed boost – Nancy Guthrie, Andrew Case, Timothy Keller, Clay & Sally Clarkson. I need reminders and propellers for educating my children – Katherine Paterson, Andrew Pudewa, Sarah Clarkson and Sarah Mackenzie are ready to jump off the pages and take my hands. When I need cooking inspiration, I grab hands with Danielle Walker, Trim Healthy Mama, and Hot Providence via pages of their books. When I recently jumped into the world of duck eggs and baby chicks, I collected more than an armload of fiction, nonfiction, and picture books for the occasion. It’s just what we do in this family!

Now my littlest ginger is working on a new endeavor, and he found himself a whole stack of books for the process too.

pottybooks

Once Upon a Potty is his absolute favorite. He has actually made friends with the character in the book. For instance, he talks about Joshua going poopy in the potty, and how proud his mother is of him. He then looks up and me and says, “Mommy, you are proud of me too.” Yes sweetheart, Mommy is proud of you. “Simeon and Joshua?” I laugh, yes, of course, Simeon and Joshua.

Skip to the Loo, My Darling is downright cute although definitely pure fun rather than educational. It makes him smile, and he enjoys looking at each of the little potties in the illustrations throughout, especially at the very end. He finds the one that looks most similar to his own little potty, and says, “we match!”

What to Expect When You Use the Potty is honestly a big out of his league. It seems like it would work better for a 3-4 year old going through the potty training experience, rather than a little two year old tot. He got glossy-eyed pretty quick when I was reading it aloud to him; I think it simply went too in-depth and had too much information for what was necessary in our particular scenario. But he still enjoys the pictures, so it goes along with the other two he really enjoys, and he’s got his happy little stack of three… his very own pile of literature for the loo.

And he’s a successful, happy, informed, M&M filled little guy!
One week into the process, we’ve almost got it nailed.
And for right now, that’s an absolute victory.

For icing on the cake, when he was reading AlphaBlock last night, a longstanding favorite of his which he has been reciting completely from memory since last winter, he got to U and quite proudly proclaimed that “U is for Simeon because now I wear undies too.”

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Two Years Old

God’s amazing hand in our life by granting us His gracious gift of Simeon James two years ago is just astonishing on so many levels. I can not believe the adventure of his entrance into the world of the oxygen-breathing was two years ago. My little boy loves so much and so well. Books, tea, turning anything & everything into a phone, taking rides on Great Grandpa’s lap in the wheelchair, snuggling with his parents after the big kids have gone to bed, singing at the top of his lungs, talking up a storm, exploring with flashlight in hand, zooming around on a tiny balance bike with epic skill. This little boy has a big life ahead of him; he is embracing it with both hands already. We couldn’t be more thankful for God’s evident grace in his life, and the faith Christ continues to grow within him.

Happy Birthday, sweet little benediction.

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Rest & Adventure

A couple weeks ago during communion, where the pastor prayed over my children, he included a phrase asking God to be their rest and be their adventure.

I can not tell you how that has stuck with me.
It has been repeated in my own prayers and in my discussions with my children, and it informs my outlook frequently as we face day to day scenarios as a Christian family.
It is even reflected in how I hope my children look back on their own childhoods: that it was both restful and adventurous.

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Oh God, even in Your 23rd Psalm I can see both Your rest and Your adventure. You take us on daring journeys, through all types of landscape, You show us both darkness and light, shadow and glory. You provide for us with strength, yet You carry us when we are void of it. Thank You for proving Your faithfulness. In the calm and in the storm, in the peace and in the drama.

Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.
Exodus 33:14
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Psalm 4:8
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession,
and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.
1 Timothy 6:12 / 2 Timothy 4:7
Fight the good fight of the faith.
Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called
and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Thank You, Father, for Your Word. For how You meet us at every time and in every place.
Thank You, Lord, that my children are Your children; that they belong to You, that You have numbered their days, formed their intellects, nuanced their delights. Thank You for giving them Your love. Thank You for giving them a love for You. Thank You for knitting their hearts in faithfulness.
Do, oh my God, do be their rest. Do be their adventure. Both now and forever. Amen.

Because

I just put my one year old down for a nap. He went kicking and screaming, quite literally. He did not want to go down for his nap, very clearly. But he also had not wanted to color, had not wanted a snack (without feeding it to the dog), and had not wanted to nurse. Changed, full, and fussy, it was naptime. I kissed him, snuggled him in my arms, and whispered to his teary little face, I’m sorry you aren’t happy. You may not fuss at Mommy. It’s time for night-night, but I love you.

And it struck me, that it really should have been …because I love you.

Just before putting the baby down for his overdue nap, my five year old had read 1 Peter 5:7 to us at the table.
“…casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you.”

Do you notice that the text doesn’t say, “cast your cares on Him, but He cares for you”?

It’s the because that seals the deal, isn’t it?
Because I love Simeon, I was putting him down for his much needed nap (and need I add that he was sound asleep within forty seconds?).
Because God cares for me, I can confidently cast my cares on Him.

Because!!
Not but.
Not in spite of it all.
Rather, due to the foundational truth of agape.

Oh that I would live my life and accept my hardships with open hands, not only knowing intellectually but also embracing organically, in light of the fact that God gives me what He does, and carries my anxieties FOR me when I have cast them onto Him because He cares for me.
I can quickly think so highly of myself sometimes, patting myself on the back for knowing my baby well enough that I know what he needs even when he is kicking tooth & nail against the goads. And then I remember Matthew 7:11. How much more will my Father be good to me!! I am simply an evil-hearted human (saved by the grace of God), and He is the Perfect Creator of all. Talk about giving myself a humility check.

After thinking about these things for a few minutes, I read this, and feel even more convicted and encouraged now.
God is good.
It is good to be humbled, because He does it with a purpose.
It is good to have anxieties so I can give them to Him.
It is good to know that, underneath and above and around it all, it’s because the King of the universe cares for me.

The One who conquered the grave and gained the victory over death cares for me.

 

T minus 29 days

Is it really possible that my sweet little baby boy will be a year old in 29 days?!
Mister Simeon James reached the eleven month mark yesterday. It seems the weeks go faster all. the. time.

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Simeon, my sweet

He continues to be the sweetest thing… my Simeon…

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Not quite sixteen pounds, his newest tricks are clapping “yay!” eating things like oatmeal, yogurt, and huckleberry ice cream. What a delight to his mommy, our family, and the world!

Simeon James… seventy-five cents…

When I mentioned to the boys that Simeon was 9 months old yesterday, I added that it means he is 3/4 of a year old.
That seemed to confuse them until I explained that I meant it like if a year were a dollar, or a hundred pennies, he had reached three quarters’ worth, or seventy-five cents.

Asher was kind of troubled though… he said that Simeon is worth way more than $00.75!

And he’s totally right. LOL.
This little miracle is totally priceless.

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