Noah's Thoughts on Grandparenting

Noah's journal assignment this week asked him if he had ever thought that he might be a grandparent one day and what kind of grandpaent he would like to be.  Here is his entry:

Dear Mom and Dad,
I have never thought about being a grandparent.  I think I would like to be a Grandfather who would be there for my grandchildren.  I would also like to be someone who would take my grandchildren on campouts.  I would be able to use things in nature to tell them about Jesus.  Have you ever thought that maybe you would be grandparents?
Love,
Noah

No parent is ever going to parent perfectly, and I'm so very aware of how often I fail.  Journal entries like this encourage me, though, as I get insights into how Noah thinks about the world and his future.  I sometimes miss the sweet little toddler that he was, but I love to see God at work in his life and am so proud of the young man he is becoming (often in spite of his imperfect parents).  I can't wait to see what his future holds, and if the world lsts that long, I think he's probably going to be a pretty amazing Grandpa!

Reality Check

On Sunday morning, Rosie came into the bathroom for some help fixing her hair.  Having arrived, she sat down on the chair and watched me finish getting ready for church.  After a couple of minutes, she stuck her head out of the bathroom door and shouted to the rest of the family, "Mommy is really beautiful today!"

From the kitchen, Nathan shouted back, "Mommy ALWAYS looks beautiful, Rosie!"

I was feeling pretty good until we were driving to church, when Gareth asked me if I had heard the conversation.  I repeated what they had said, and then he filled me in on Nathan's other comment (made somewhat more quietly), "Well, except for days like yesterday when she cleaned house all day and  just stays in her pajama pants".

This boy will definitely keep me grounded!

Soda Crackers

I've mentioned before that as part of their writing curriculum, the boys keep a journal that we write back and forth to each other in.  This week, Nathan's journal assignment was to write about a time when he was sick.  This was his entry:

Dear Mommy,

Remember when I was sick at Grandma and Grandpa's house?  You said I started throwing up when I was aslee.  I wished I hadn't eaten so much.  You and Dad took care of me until 2:00 in the morning.  I did not feel good.  I was sick for about a day and a half.  I did like the fizzy drink.  And the soda crackers were okay, but they are not my favorite things to eat.
                  
                                                                                                                                                         Love,
                                                                                                                                                          Nate

P.S.  I would NEVER live on soda crackers.

Such typical Nathan!  He never fails to leave me smiling.

Absence

There has been so much that I have thought about writing over the last couple of months.  So many sweet things that the munchkins (who have decided that they are too old to be munchkins, and will be Yaehoos instead--how on earth do you spell Yaehoo, anyhow?) have done and said.  But, I just really haven't had the heart for it.

Blogging about life is great--when life is great.  Blogging about life is hard when life is hard, especially as there are some things that, out of respect for others, probably aren't appropriate to air in public  .  Unfortunately, we had a really "interesting" holiday period that concluded with some really difficult relationship issues.  I don't think this is probably an appropriate place to air the issues or the frustration, anger, and pain that they have brought about.  Suffice it to say that those you love the most have the power to hurt you the most.

January and February have been months of much soul-searching, praying, and making some really hard decisions about what boundaries need to be drawn for the sake of our children, our marriage and me, personally.  This has to rank up there as one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Knowing that there are steps you need to take that are going to not be understood and will cause pain even when you don't want to are never easy, even if they are right.  Having to admit to yourself just how broken people can be and just how much "junk" you are carrying around from history isn't fun, and figuring out how to not allow others to blame you for their bad behavior and denial of their wrong choices is no picnic, either....  

Gareth is a rock!  I know that the world in general take a dim view of a Biblical definition of marriage with a husband leading and a wife submitting.  I, though, am so grateful for his willingness to take the lead, make the hard decisions, and to do so in a loving, gentle way that makes submission easy.  The kids are doing well.  They know that there were some problems, but overall, I think we have been able to shield them from their natural curiosity and the issues that they aren't yet old nough to need to deal with.      

For those of you who know and love our family, I'm sure that we would all appreciate your prayers as we try to live out some hard choices in a gracious, God-honoring way  that leaves room for reconcilation should situations change.

Too vague?  Too dramatic?  My apologies, in advance.   And now, back to our more typical posts!