Three things to make you smile

1) Heard from the backseat this morning...."Hi puppy! Hi!". I turned to see what John could possibly be seeing that I was not to observe my baby peeking down his jacket greeting the puppy on his tee shirt.

2) Helpful, but directionally challenged....A bag of goodies I received from a student for Easter tipped over in the backseat on the way home. Elijah wanted to make sure I got all the pieces picked up. As I am blindly groping about he decided to lend a hand. "To your left Mom, by your pinkie." It was to the right but I love the idea.

3) Who doesn't smile at a bathtub picture.....

What's For Dinner?

Elijah loves to ask about our evening's cuisine and then give a critique. For a few months Chris and I have responded with, "We're have rutabaga!", to which he would respond with a sour face. I decided it was high time we tried this mysterious root vegetable. Here is the picture story.This is what a raw rutabaga looks like.
This is what a peeled rutabaga looks like.
"Hey Elijah, I dare you to take a bite!"
Cooked rutabaga
First bite....
Not bad!
No, not so much.

Knock Knock

The car ride to and from school is often filled with much silliness. The silliness has gotten rather hilarious this last week. Elijah loves to make up Knock Knock jokes. Here is a sampler, see what you think.

Knock Knock
Who's There?
House!
House who?
House, why don't I have legs. (followed by a burst of laughter)

Knock Knock
Who's There?
Underwear!
Underwear who? (I don't like where this is going)
Underwear why fart. (again followed by much laughter)

The really funny part is that John has caught on. He sits in the back seat and repeats, "Now Not" until you respond with "Who's there." His response is always "Puppies"; after that he looses us with John-ese.

Oh, how I find joy in these little boys.

History

This morning at breakfast Elijah could not contain his giggles. He pointed out that the sweatshirt I was wearing had holes around the wrist bands. Shocked, I examined my sweatshirt. How could my beloved Champion sweatshirt have holes? But sure enough there they were, as plain as the nose on your face.

I guess I didn't see the holes because this sweatshirt has been with me for so long. It was a Christmas gift from Sara in 1994. The year that Champion sweatshirts were all the rage at LHS. I have dressed that sweatshirt up by putting a denim shirt under it. I have dressed it as far down as it can go by wearing it with sweats when I am sick. I have worn it while pregnant. I have worn it while healing from a broken heart. It has been to five states and seen countless chick flicks and action movies. I love this sweatshirt, we have history together.

I plan on wearing my Champion sweatshirt until it falls all the way apart, which could be sooner rather than later. Who knew a sweatshirt, worn nearly every week, could last 16 years.

2010: The Year of Control

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." Proverbs 25:28

Something serious has been revealed to me in the past few weeks; while I covet control, I lack self-control. As a result, my city is unprotected. In an effort to analyze where I thought God has been taking me recently, I spent time looking through my journals and it angers me that I continue to see the same issues over and over again. Please help me control my tongue...the food I eat....my tv watching...how I spend my time...blah blah blah.

It is time to get serious about breaking out of this pattern of lazyness when it comes to self-control. Because, I think, that is what it really is. I don't have self-control because I do not seek to fill my mind, my time, my heart with the One who will grant me the will to resist that which I should be resisting.

So, 2010 is the year of self-control. I can tell already this will be a battle that can only be won through Christ. Cookies, candy, sugar has never been so strong as it has this week. I cannot go anywhere without seeing something sugary to tempt me. But as Philipians 4:13 tells me I can do anything with Christ, who strengthens me.

I desperately desire to be able to look back on 2010 and say that is the year that changed it all for me. That was the year that God really took hold of my heart, mind, soul, and did a radical work in and through me. May it be!