Still Shouting

We are still thrilled to the core over here.  I woke up this morning, and Scott was still in the room getting ready for work.  The first thing I said to him was, "Can you believe that Ada is using the potty?"  And he agreed that it is still hard to believe.  It has been such an issue that has filled every second of our days, so we are feeling light, indeed.  Scott and I are so romantic--the main thing we talk about these days is Ada's bodily functions;)  But, really, this is marriage right--being in the daily grind of life together.  I am so thankful to have someone in it with me.  So very thankful.

Last night we made the promised trip to Target, where Ada picked out her "prize" for filling up her chart.  Her choice?  A barbie movie and window markers.  And this morning before it was even light outside, she was asking to use the markers. 

This afternoon Ada has ballet and AWANA.  She never has trouble going to ballet because I stay there during her class, but last week she couldn't get up the nerve to stay at AWANA without me.  I am anxious to see if there is any change in her behavior since we have conquered the toilet situation. 

I am already seeing changes in her in other areas.

Lately, she has not wanted to pray AT ALL.  It has actually been a battle, where I had to make her sit quietly and not cry while I prayed for us.  Well, this morning she asked if we could pray for the day--a first for her.  I, of course, said YES!!!  We can certainly pray for our day, and Ada proceeded to pour her little heart out to God.  Mark it down as one of my favorite motherhood moments, and a huge break through for Ada.  She prayed about everything from sleeping all night in panties to Jesus dying on the cross.  It was killing me that I didn't have a tape recorder or at least a pen and paper so I could get it all down word for word.  We have been praying every night before bed, and if Ada doesn't want to pray, I at least make her repeat after me, "God, help me to want to pray and give me a heart that loves you."  I want her to know that even the wanting to pray comes from Him, so to have her want to pray this morning is such an answer to her own prayer. 

Anyway...I am just thankful today.  So thankful for the Lord caring about this little trial in our lives.  It is so very very small compared to the things that other people are facing today, but I am reminded that God knows every sparrow that falls to the ground, and that this "potty issue" matters to Him.  He has absolutely walked me through this.  Thank you, Lord!!  And thank you, friends, for caring right along with Him:)

Back to Reality, with a new gameplan

So...I didn't get the Christmas pictures posted.  I am going to have to ask my mom how to get the pictures on blogger.  Stay tuned (b/c I know you can hardly stand the wait).

After church today (and one more really yummy meal) we are headed back to Georgia, and honestly I am eager to get back to the routine.  And I am glad for a fresh start.  I like how my mom put it, the New Year is like one giant Monday, a giant fresh start.

A few goals for this month.  I will revisit these at the end of the month.

1.  Exercise three times a week.  That's all.  I am making this a very doable goal, so that I will, well, do it.  I am so out of shape, and I can't take it anymore.  I have recruited Sarah to hold me accountable for just three little days of exercise a week.  The point is to get back into the habit, and then I will add more days once the habit is established.  I am thinking two week days of Thirty Day Shred and one weekend day run.  Surely, surely, I can reach that goal!!

2.  Miralax for Ada.  That's all I am going to say about that.

3.  Bed made as soon as I wake up in the morning.  That takes about two seconds, and it immediately makes the room look cleaner.  Two seconds.

4.  Two 15 minute cleaning sessions a day.  Again, the key here is attainable goals.  A 15 minute cleaning session can make a world of difference.  And I have noticed that I rarely stop at 15.  The fifteen just gets me going.

5.  And one major goal that really tops them all.  ONLY USE CASH.  This helps our budget so much.  Do you know what eats into our budget the most?  The many times that I am out running errands and lunch time sneaks up on us.  It seems so easy to run through the drive through, but if it's not budgeted, it's not budgeted.  I repeat, CASH ONLY.

6.  Final one--for now--two, only two, days of planned preschool activities for Ada.  That is so doable.  I dropped the ball in a MAJOR WAY with the preschool this past semester.  Everyday, at this stage of life, is just not realistic.   So two days of planned learning activities, mixed in with LOTS of reading and story time at the library, and I will feel good about that.

Okay, deep breath, here we go...

How We're Doing Christmas at Our House

Christmas at our house looks much like everything else in our life--full of good intentions, but a bit scattered in it's approach.

My brain fills up with ideas and images and suggestions from the millions of things that I read, and it all overflows into a bit of a mess.  Advent?  Jesse Tree?  Santa--to do or not to do?  How many Christmas gifts and which ones do we eliminate?  How do I make Ada understand that it's all about, only about, Jesus coming to earth to save us from our sins?  And the anticipation and the celebration and the gifts are just a way to remember that he came, IN THE FLESH, to earth, to meet us in our desperate need.  There are some days that Christmas feels like one more thing that I might, gasp, fail at doing.  And then I remember, that's why he came!!  Because he KNEW that I would fail over and over and over.  And so...

The Grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all people.  Titus 2:11.  Amen and amen and amen. 

So this is my humble attempt at Christmas this year.

Ada and I are doing this together every morning, usually in our pajamas, hair a mess, house a wreck, and, again, scattered in our approach, but by God's grace, she will understand the story of Christ's birth by the time we are through. 

And then we do it again at night, when Scott is with us, because, at three, repetition is everything. 

And because my own heart tends to get caught up in decorations and baking and making Christmas feel a certain way for my children (which is not a bad thing, as long as it doesn't become the ULTIMATE thing, right?), I ordered this for Scott and me to read each day.  Because I want to anticipate Jesus.  I want to understand, just a tiny, tiny bit, what it felt like for God to speak into the silence that Christmas day, sending a savior, who was Christ the Lord.

(I discovered both of these resources--Ada's chart and our book-- at this website, which continues to be a favorite of mine)

John Thomas

This little guy was baptized this past weekend.  And he did great!!  I was worried that he would have one of his breath-holding spells when the water hit his head, but he didn't even flinch!!  Sadly, just at the moment in the service when Matthew (our pastor) began to explain the sacrament of baptism, Ada started jumping around saying that she had to go to the bathroom.  I tried to brush her off, but she insisted, so I asked Edna (Scott's mom) to take her, and Edna and Ada both ended up missing the actual baptism.  BUMMER!!!  And I was so busy watching the door to see if Edna was going to make it back in time, that I almost missed hearing what Matthew was saying.  But...he got baptized, and it was special, despite the mishaps.

Scott's parents were in town for the event, and after church we went to lunch at a restaurant on the square.  At lunch John had one of his worst breath-holding spells yet, which involved my sticking my hand down his throat just to make sure he wasn't choking on an actual object.  It was awful.  I think he just wanted to make the day memorable;)  I will be one happy mama when he outgrows the breath-holding.  They seem to get worse as he gets older (and more strong-willed?)

It was a beautiful day--beautiful weather.  And the baptism was such a reminder of what I am praying for John and for Ada and for any other children the Lord chooses to give us and even for generations to come.

Little John, you are so dependent on me now.  You love to nurse and to cuddle and to be with me, immediately crying if you see me and can't get to me, but I know that I will blink, I will blink, and you will be a big, strong man.  The years will fly by; I know that they will.  And so I start now to pray, oh I pray, that you would Know God.  That you would love Him and His word.  That you would cling to His gospel.  I pray that you would love righteousness and hate wickedness.  That you will always delight to do God's will, and that God will work in you what is pleasing to Him.

This is what I cry out to God for (quoting R.C. Sproul Jr. from his When You Rise Up),

"If you are like me, you long to see your children exceed you in holiness.  You want your grandchildren to do still better.  If you're like me, you look for progressive familial sanctification, one generation standing on the shoulders of the previous generation and seeing further into the consummation of the kingdom...we start with the Bible and go from there, learning evermore of who God is, of what he has done, and of what he requires of us," (96).

On Sunday, I wore a bracelet that belonged to my maternal Grandmother.  I slipped it on Sunday morning because I wanted a reminder of the generations before me and the generations to come, and I thought of the words that I typed above--of one generation standing on the shoulders of the previous generation.  I pray that John will not only long to know God more and more, but that he will also long for the generations after him to know God more and more. 

What is the goal?

We have had a hard week here at the Moore house.  Ada has been sick with a sore throat, which is an understatement.  I took her to the doctor on Tuesday, and she had ulcers on her throat.  Ouch!!  She has had no voice except for a whisper, and she has been so pitiful.  It made for a couple of very long nights.  Now that she is getting better but still feels somewhat "under the weather," her behavior is out of control, and my patience is wearing thin, thin.  So...these verses that I read today were just the ticket to get my eye on the goal and off of the daily stuff that "entangles" me.

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell them to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders he has done.


He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;


Psalm 78:  1-7

When it is hard for me to see past the children's tylenol and the piles of dirty dishes and the time outs and the spankings and the endless discipline, I am reminded that this is so much more than the day to day.  Generations upon generations are depending on this.  Generations upon generations are dependent on diligent parenting, on my not dropping the ball.  And the best news of all?  God's grace is sufficient for this day-to-day parenting.  In his sovereignity, He made me, absolutely inadequate me, a mother, and All that he asks, he provides.

Turning the television OFF

A while back, my blogging friend, Lauren, asked me how we realistically turn the television off during the day.  How we convince Ada that it's a good idea.

Her question made me laugh at myself, because in all honesty, we watch too much television every single day.  So my first response is, Lauren, when you find the answer, let me know!!  However, we have been purposefully trying to turn the television off as much as possible, so I have a few suggestions of how we are working on it.  We are certainly in process.  We have not arrived!!!! 

Okay, first things first, I think about what times of the day when I most need Ada to be occupied.  This is when I do let her watch television--during dinner prep, when I am getting ready to tutor, or when we all need to be some where by a certain time.  Or, when I really, really need the house to stay clean or straight, then I definitely let her turn it on.

I also think about good alternatives to the television.  See the pictures below.  (Thank you, Jessica, for Candyland.  Ada and I play it multiple times a day, so I have a love/hate relationship with the game).

We also try to get outside for a little bit everyday.  We go out during John's morning nap to avoid the awful afternoon heat, and our time outside always involves water!!  I think kids need to be outside as much as possible.  It's not a good day unless there is at least a little bit of dirt underneath Ada's fingernails;)

Sometimes we even go outside first thing before the heat has arrived.  I bring John's exersaucer out, and we all three enjoy the fresh air.  This trip outside doesn't involve water.

And I make sure her toys are accessible.  I used to keep all of her toys upstairs in an effort to keep downstairs straight.  But, I found that the television ended up being on all of the time.  Now, her toys are where we spend most of our time, so she usually chooses the toys over the television.  Because of this, we are making it a habit to do a quick "pick up" of downstairs at least twice a day.  And I make her help me, even though it slows us down.  Trying to instill those habits!!  (The ones that I have trouble with myself!!)

Another way to keep the television off is to let Ada help me with the housework.  She loves to clean the oven door or the dishwasher door and even her little table and chairs.  I am also teaching her to fold her own clothes and put them away (with much guidance from me). 

And, in a few weeks, we are going to start a weekly preschool curriculum that we will take up a chunk of our mornings.  I am hoping that will provide even more structure to our days, eliminating even more the need for cartoons in the background.

And bottom line, we have good days and we have bad days.  And we take it one day at a time, and I am thankful that God's mercies are new every morning!!

Any mom's out there have more television alternative suggestions?  I am all ears!!!!

I Found Some Space

Remember that space I was craving? 

The Lord delivered in a big way this past weekend.

First of all, I ended a long, tiring Saturday with time on the couch in my pajamas.  John went to bed, and Scott and Ada headed to Chick-fil-a for a date night, and I just sat in disbelief of the quiet around me.

I used that time on the couch to think and pray and plan. 

I spent a lot of time reading this blog for some practical advice on how to be more intentional with my days, and then I woke up very early on Sunday morning and slipped downstairs while the rest of the house was asleep.

Oh the quiet.  Oh the peaceful way that day began.  I listened to some praise music, I spent time in the word, and I finally got outside for that run.  And I was the only one out there.  What space I found.  It was heavenly. 

There was much room to run and breath and pray and think and prepare my heart for the day.  The task in front of me.

And when I made my way back home and opened that door, I immediately heard little feet running down the hall upstairs, and then, there it was, that familiar sound, "Mommy!!!!"

And despite my sweaty self, she hugged and hugged and hugged.  (She was alarmed to wake up and find only daddy at home). 

I have always been a morning person, so that hour in the morning to start the day on my own is much needed.  And, taking the suggestion of this blogger, I began the day listening to this song because it certainly echos my heart's prayer.  It's crazy because I used to listen to this cd as a student at Auburn.  After I saw the suggestion on the blog, I dug through my old cds, and sure enough, there it was.  I can hear the words playing in my altima at the stop light on College, yet it now echos my heart most in this town I had never even heard of back then.  Here are the lyrics--

Invade
Watermark:  Purest Place

Come, come in
Invade all You see of us
Any man, who'd walk Your road is welcomed here
And You're the only one

Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy...


Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade...

Reach, reach in
With the hand that heals all our suffering
Conquer all that is not of You
Bring Your spirit through
As we fill these walls with Your praise


By the way, waking up this early is only possible because John is doing so well at night.  He usually wakes up around 5:30, which is just when I want to wake up anyway.  I feed him, put him back to bed, and head downstairs.  It is bringing much order to my previously chaotic nights and mornings.  I am so thankful.