Update on the Day

The route I took with training Lincoln to pee in the potty:

- Use the potty chair (that we've been using as a step stool for the past few months)
- Keep potty chair in the foyer on the tile (easy access)
- Let him wear underwear and t-shirt only
- Just ask him a bazillion times "do you need to go potty?" throughout the day

What DIDN'T work:

- Remember he's been using the potty as a step stool in our bathroom for some time? Well, when he wanted to brush his teeth, he met me in my bathroom (I was getting ready) with his potty chair in hand (with pee in it, mind you). As I was explaining we are now using it as a potty only, I noticed he has also "stored" his toothbrush and toothpaste in the urine-soaked middle of his chair. Disgusting.
- Just asking him if he had to go didn't not work at all. We went through 4 pairs of underwear in an hour.
- Using candy as a bribe...he just basically hopped up and hop right back on for the next piece of candy.
- Oh the pooping part: Upon his first urge to poop, his eyes got huge, he dropped his toy and took off to run behind the corner. I grabbed him (urgently) and as I was simultaneously stripping down his underwear, a turd hit the tile; I then swiftly plopped him on the potty where a second followed. I kind of considered this a success though since non were in the underwear!
- The whole "Don't pee=pee on Diego!" - yeah, he could care a less about peeing on Diego.

What DID Work:

- Instead of asking if he needed to go, TELLING him to go sit on the potty every 10 minutes or so. Miraculously he peed every time, too. Wow. After a few times of this, he would just go do it himself every 10 minutes - glorious.
- Lots of cheering by me and Noah...LOTS.
- The underwear itself. When he didn't make it to the potty, he would tell me immediately his pants were wet and he didn't like it. There's hope.

Overall, he did terrible at the start of the day, almost perfect throughout the day, and had 2 accidents again after dinner (then I just put a diaper on him finally about 30 min. before bedtime).

Not sure if this is good or bad or what to compare it to, but that's what we got. :)

Oh and as for Noah - yeah, I realized within an hour of my first post I might have bit off more than I can chew and gave him a bottle at 10:00am. Yeah.

(He's gonna love me for this post someday).

Today's the Day

I'm not really sure what came over me this morning...maybe I'm slightly grumpy because I've now been sick and sleepless for 48 hours...maybe I've taken great notice of the ever-so rising prices of EVERYTHING (not just gas) and thus am trying to cut out one less thing I have to buy...maybe the pressure of people is getting to me...and maybe - just maybe - it really is time to "Potty train that child!"

(as my mother has put it a few times).

I had no plans to start today, but today is the day.

We have our Diego and Spiderman's ready, the potty set up, and I am literally winging this thing. No books read. No video watched (one was mysteriously dropped off on our door step a few weeks ago...hmm). So this could be a total disaster. It's not rocket science, though, right? (I'm actually afraid it might be).

I figured today because it's still raining, tomorrow is suppose to be cold, and I have no money to put gas in the car until Friday so we're here to stay. I can't think of anything more miserable than staying in the house potty training while the sun is bright and shining outside!

So far? He's gone once in the potty and once in his pants (which he quickly realized and didn't like - thank goodness).

Oh - I also decided to be stubborn on Noah drinking milk out of a bottle. He gets a sippy cup of milk today. He drinks everything but milk of a sippy cup - until TODAY. He took one look at it, smelled it, and goes "BOBBLE!! BOBBLE!!"

Sorry fella - today's transition day. My favorite day. Oh - and I'm still sick. I might as well shoot myself in the foot today, huh?

Are You Serious??????

First off, it's ABC Family... you know - the channel where me and my little darlings are suppose to gather around and watch some quality TV together (well, a few years down the road probably)??

The show is The Secret Life of an American Teenager. No, I don't watch this show; in fact this was my first, and I am here sick in bed and thought I'd check it out.

Can I please share with you the scene that was on when I was watching?????

[ENTER] Teenage girl and her boyfriend at girl's house.

[ENTER] Teenage girl's mom.

Girl: "Hey mom, I'm spending the night at boyfriend's house and needed to get some clothes"

Mom looks alarmed and follows girl to her bedroom. Mom then questions this and says it's not a good idea.

Girl points out that mom's shirt is inside/out (implying mom just had sex).

Mom looks like she's been caught and says "Well, okay - I guess you can go."

**********This is my first "HUH??!!!!"***********
Mom asks if his parents will be home, to which the girl says "No".

Then mom says: "Well, I guess yall have been here at the house alone and didn't have sex so I guess I trust you to do the same at his house."

Girl: "You know we've been thinking about having sex, don't you?"
Mom: "I just hope you do it when you're ready! You know, the person you have sex with now probably isn't the person you will be having sex with for the rest of your life?"
Girl: "I know; I'll make sure we're ready, but I think we are."
Mom: "You know, I'm SO glad we're able to have a big conversation like this and discuss these things!! Have fun tonight. And I know whatever you two decide, you'll be ready for that decision!"
Girl: "Thanks mom...I love you."

ARE YOU JOKING??? What happened to the Zac & Kelly romances???? To top it off, when it went to commercial, there was a PSA with the lead character talking about how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and giving advice/phone numbers to call for support.

Is this weird and disturbing to anyone else???????

A Different Kind of Easter

It doesn't seem possible that a story you've heard since you can remember, can still - to this day - bring you literally to your knees, in a weeping heap, in complete awe and reverence for the subject of that story.

But this is no ordinary story...

This story is about Jesus, my Savior...your Savior.

And tonight Jason and I spent the evening in reflection and communion  upon this story of Christ love for us.

I can't get my mind off it (hence blog post #2) - it's been all-consuming - and for some reason Jesus' sacrifice for us - for me and you - has penetrated deeper in my heart this Easter than ever before. I pray it goes deeper still.

What an amazing Savior we serve that, even after years of following Him, He still teaching me the intimacies of His love for me.

There are no words.

But now I must add:

The whole reason we had this opportunity tonight was because some of our dearest friends, Brandon and Bethany, wanted to come watch our kids for us before they have their little baby girl in a few weeks!! Super sweet of them.
Even sweeter was how they took care of our little Tigers in tornado warnings while we were gone! Apparently rotating clouds were passing right over our area, and Bethany (mid you is 9.5 months pregnant!) got in the tub with Noah and Lincoln (and loads of toys) while Brandon had a mattress ready to throw over them.
Ha. SOO wish I could have seen that! They did manage to get a picture that she's sending me so I'll be sure and post that one.
They're great and we're so blessed to have such great friends!!

Good Friday

This morning when I woke up I just laid in bed for a little while reflecting on this day and all it encompasses. I spent some time in prayer with our RISEN Savior, and this song (which will sound familiar because it's my favorite and I've talked about it before!) were the only words that seemed appropriate to me. These lyrics are amazing:

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure


How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory


Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers


It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished


I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection


Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

We've been going through the Easter story in Lincoln's Bible throughout the week and had a big night last night explaining to him what happened on Good Friday. I know He doesn't fully understand, but I also know God will use the planted seeds in His heart as He grows.
Anyway, I would LOVE to hear some of your ideas of how you help your kids understand the Cross! My friend Meredith and I were talking the other day about how we struggle to find ANY correlation between the Easter Bunny and the Cross! Who thought of the Easter Bunny??! I think for us, we will not have an Easter basket in the morning, but maybe do one later that evening or something after we've celebrated Jesus's Resurrection all day?? I LOVE the idea (again from Meredith) of "Resurrection Cookies". Google it. Fun idea. What are yours??

Watch Your Kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had to share this...today I met a group of friends at the downtown park to play. When my friend Amanda got there, she rushed over to us and said "Oh me gosh that man is back!!! You guys, that same man over there in the old blue caddy was here on Monday morning too, watching kids play in the park for THREE hours!!!!" We all look to see this:

Creepy, right? I get pissed. I immediately go get my cell phone out of the stroller and have it set up to dial the police because there is NOTHING good about a man watching kids play in the park for that long! Plus, I have had experience with this (yes - was once watched at the park while I was running, then followed home, then pursued, then it got ugly).
So, with cell phone in hand, I immediately leave the park area and start walking to the car (I'm gonna get the creep's license plate number for the cops). Amanda's in disbelief I'm going over there, but like I said before, that stuff doesn't scare me as much as it PISSES me off. And now I have kids playing in that park being stalked by a sicko!

So I literally go right up the car, about to go in the back to get the number, police on dial, when I notice...

It's a cut-out, life-size figure of Forrest Gump.

Yup.

That's why he sat there for three hours on Monday. Ha. I let the cops number go quickly (but how hilarious would that have been if we would have called it in!) and we all died laughing when we realized what it was.

But seriously??? To have a creepy cut out like that in a creepy car overlooking one of the most popular parks in the city?? SERIOUSLY???

Someone has a weird sense of humor. :)

My Manner-ing Man

This morning I am sitting here waiting on baby toddler to wake up (so we can get our morning walk in before we meet friends at the park) and I am watching my ever-so-growing-up BIG toddler snuggled on the couch with his pillow/blanket and some milk.

I'm watching him and he seriously just looks so BIG. How did that happen??

One of my favorite new things (I actually call it a pleasant surprise!) is that in the past three weeks or so, he uses manners! This is music to my ears around the house because it's unprompted. Guess all those thousands of prompts are starting to show for themselves.'

About a month ago, he would - every now and then - say "thank you!" unprompted and it always blew me away. I'm sure I made a huge deal about it.

Funnier, though, is that now he does it about 90% of the time, but he has shortened it to "thanks." Cute.

He's got "please" down pat, too, and for those few times he forgets, he's quickly reminded.

Now here's the big one: in the past few weeks he has said "Yes Ma'am" to me! Sometimes it's out of context but still cute nonetheless.

For the record though - he still needs prompting with people he's not around all the time. Guess it's the shyness - I don't know. But that doesn't bother me at all. It will come. I've just been pleasantly surprised to hear it prompt-less with Jason and me (and even Noah sometimes which is super cute).

I think I finally hear the little guy - off to start the day! :)

Music

Music.
I love it. I breathe it...it can touch my soul and express my thoughts in ways that other things can't even compare.

Sometimes it's the only venue that feels right when expressing my thoughts and feelings to the Lord.

And then this morning on my walk I listened to a sermon on Revelations as it relates to worship (Driscoll) and the idea was posed (through different quoted theologians/Scriptures/studies) that:

Music just might be the language of Heaven...

He talks about how when Adam and Eve were created, the sang to each other...that the first spoken word was recorded after the fall of Adam and Eve.

That maybe, music is the language of Heaven and speaking is what a fallen people do.

Driscoll also talked about how God delights in our singing...that when we sing, our songs go straight to the throne of God.

It's interesting how God created music as means to use in worship and expression of adoration to Him, and how Satan has also had his way with this art; perverting it and using such a sacred form of worship to spurn evil thoughts and actions. Interesting.

Anyway, I'm not really sure where I am going with this post, but this whole concept of music has been very thought provoking to me throughout the day.

Music is the language of Heaven...I sure hope so. :)

shaggy

I like the long, curly, shaggy look...but not so much on my 1-year-old because it was still looking like baby thin hair! So today, unprompted (except for my disgust of the mullet), we got Noah's hair cut - SHORT! Shorter than I expected, but I like it. :) I think when he's a year older or so, he can totally pull off the long shaggy look (Lincoln's head will forever be too big for this fashion!). But until then...

Good News

We're jumping for joy around here!!!!

 And granting tons of cheesy, toothy grins...

 Coupled with soft, endearing smiles...

 Because of 2 answered prayers:

Our house has an official contract for sale in order, with closing date set for June 2nd, but most importantly:

 we just found out FOR SURE that our little nephew Jack does NOT have Cystic Fibrosis!!!! Praise the Lord!!! He is home now and doing fantastic!!

(And that's just a fun outside picture I inserted randomly).

Bring on summer!!!!!

Immense Faith

Over the past year, the theme of God's working in my life has centered around Him teaching me more and more about His faithfulness.

What a ride it's been.

Some stories here and there have been shared on this blog or in conversations I've had with some of you...others have been shared on our private blog about what God's doing in our hearts through our finances...

But there are stories and this verse has been the theme through them all:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Phillipians 4:6

Worry about NOTHING...because God is FAITHFUL.

Sometimes in the past I've taken that to mean "because he is faithful to work this out...to fix this problem..to heal this sickness..."

And those are all true statements, but it doesn't mean those things are His will.

You see I used to think of God being faithful as God "doing" something...but I have since leanred that God being faithful means that God IS.

God IS love...he loves me.
God IS good...therefore He intends me no eternal harm.
God IS believable...He is who He says He is...
God IS faithful...God IS.

Faith fights...it presses on through the trials, through the pain, through the uncertainty...because on the other side is eternal life with Jesus in GLORY.

Wanna know about a gift we received last night? A precious friend came to our house and blessed us with incredibly rich conversation about (you guessed it) God's faithfulness. He was, just a few weeks ago, at his wife's death bed letting her go to live with Jesus, and shared with us some of those final days.
He began to share how his wife had been praying that she would be given glimpses of Heaven on her death bed so that she could share some of what she saw in those final days on earth.
God granted her that.
She shared some of these experiences with her daughter and husband, and hearing him in turn share those with us ignited a mighty sense of JOY in my soul I can't even begin to explain on here. I challenge you to read their blog post about it and see if the same Joy might be ignited in your soul.
I came away from our conversations feeling like Jesus had just given me a precious gift. A gift encouraging me to keep fighting...keep perspective on what brings glory to His Kingdom and leave alone that which is selfishly motivated.

Oh and what was our Beth Moore subject this morning???
Faithfulness. :)

And just yesterday Lincoln was acting sick again and we thought Noah had pink eye. I knew what the subject was this morning and I wanted to be there more than any other time this semester. I felt it was an attack. Seriously.
So I prayed...I prayed against illness that I would be able to go and hear God speak.
He answered. :)

Here are some things on faith and prayer (which fuels our faith) that I have collected over the years...some scribbled throughout my Bible (particularly in the Hebrews 11 area) and some gathered through speakers and such:

Faith is believing God CAN...even if He doesn't.

Faith is confidence in God, even before we see Him emerging.

Faith is a certainty about God that transforms the way we live.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

When we get down, God gets UP, and the devils/evils of the world start RUNNING in fear.