My sweet, obedient, love-to-please-my-parents firstborn daughter will occasionally disobey or display moments of stubbornness. Recently, we were doing a piano lesson, and she insisted on doing something her way (i.e. the wrong way), and her teacher (Mama) patiently pointed out that she wasn't doing it correct and tried to show her the right way. Whether from a lack of sleep or simply one of the moments that all humankind succumbs to, she suddenly yelled at me- and continued to do so, even after I warned her to stop. Unfortunately, she just kept on going! Much to her great chagrin, I informed her that she was going to be given a spanking (a very rare occasion with this child, especially since she turned three). I brought her to her room and she went ballistic at the thought of getting a spanking, begging me for a different punishment. I told her that I was going to give her time to settle down and that I’d be back in a couple minutes, but that she would still be receiving a spanking. When she calmed down, I went in to talk with her. We talked about her behavior, and I had a heart to heart with her about why I still needed to discipline her. She looked at me with wide eyes, almost in disbelief and shock-
“What?!?!?!?!?!? I still get a spanking?!?!?!?! My prayers didn’t work!!”
Sigh… unanswered prayers.
My Songs of Joy!
Do Re Mi Fa Sol!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Lost One, Gained Even More
M and I took a little walk the other evening to get our mail and send out some (yes, belated!) Mother’s Day cards. On our way to the mailbox (it’s at the end of our street, in a cluster of locked boxes), M asked me who I was sending all the cards to. She asked if I was sending one to my (Great) Grandma Wewers, whom I have fondly spoken of and reminisced about to M, especially when praying with my special rosary that she gave me for my First Communion long ago.
Me: No, Sweetie… Grandma Wewers actually died awhile ago, so I’m not sending her a card.
M: Oh. (Thoughtful pause… then with the sincerest and most serious sigh) It just really breaks my heart when people die.
Me: (Understanding right than and there what it means in Scripture when it says that Mary ‘held all these things in her heart’!) Oh? Why is that?
M: Well… I mean, it’s actually good, because she’s in Heaven with Jesus, and that’s happy. But it’s sad, because, well… when you die, you can’t breathe, and that’s, you know, really hard and sad.
We got back to the house and I went to look for my rosary, remembering that I hadn’t seen my special rosary from Grandma Wewers for awhile… in fact, the last time I’d used it, it had been accidentally broken by one particular little child who currently likes to put everything in her mouth, and I had set it up on a counter, kind of forgetting about it! Well, I got home and frantically searched everywhere for it. Without going into long details, we figured out that it was unintentionally ‘tossed’ because it was broken, and the guilty party did not realize that it was a very special rosary (we do tend to ‘inherit’ numerous rosaries, and many have been broken along the way!) I was pretty devastated when we figured this out. With tears in my eyes, I took little C and went to put her to bed, resigned to feeling awful as I brooded over the situation. About five minutes later there was a gentle knock on the door. M popped her head in and whispered that she had something for me. I nodded, and motioned for her to come in, though not really feeling up to any conversation at the moment. I was pretty dead set on moping and wallowing in my sadness, deciding that I had the right to go to bed very upset that night, and there was nothing anyone could do- short of bringing me the broken rosary from a trash bag!- to make me feel better. Well, M walked over to the side of the bed where I was laying, and she handed me this:
(Reads: "From Grandma Wewers, To Mama")
In an instant, my emotions of anger and sadness were completely overtaken with the Love this precious child had just given to. As many other mothers have had such moments as these I’m sure, you will understand when I say that words cannot begin to express the overwhelming gratitude and love that swept over me like soothing and healing balm!
M: I made that for you, all by myself, Mama. I thought it all up for you and tried to make it just like the one you lost. See- if you want to pray that rosary, you can just use this one now! We did look for it, me and Papa- but we couldn’t find it in any of the trash bags.
In the end, I wound up losing something special, only to gain something even more special. This new homemade ‘rosary’ is one of the dearest, priceless gifts I’ve ever received. You can bet I won’t be breaking or losing this one!
Me: No, Sweetie… Grandma Wewers actually died awhile ago, so I’m not sending her a card.
M: Oh. (Thoughtful pause… then with the sincerest and most serious sigh) It just really breaks my heart when people die.
Me: (Understanding right than and there what it means in Scripture when it says that Mary ‘held all these things in her heart’!) Oh? Why is that?
M: Well… I mean, it’s actually good, because she’s in Heaven with Jesus, and that’s happy. But it’s sad, because, well… when you die, you can’t breathe, and that’s, you know, really hard and sad.
We got back to the house and I went to look for my rosary, remembering that I hadn’t seen my special rosary from Grandma Wewers for awhile… in fact, the last time I’d used it, it had been accidentally broken by one particular little child who currently likes to put everything in her mouth, and I had set it up on a counter, kind of forgetting about it! Well, I got home and frantically searched everywhere for it. Without going into long details, we figured out that it was unintentionally ‘tossed’ because it was broken, and the guilty party did not realize that it was a very special rosary (we do tend to ‘inherit’ numerous rosaries, and many have been broken along the way!) I was pretty devastated when we figured this out. With tears in my eyes, I took little C and went to put her to bed, resigned to feeling awful as I brooded over the situation. About five minutes later there was a gentle knock on the door. M popped her head in and whispered that she had something for me. I nodded, and motioned for her to come in, though not really feeling up to any conversation at the moment. I was pretty dead set on moping and wallowing in my sadness, deciding that I had the right to go to bed very upset that night, and there was nothing anyone could do- short of bringing me the broken rosary from a trash bag!- to make me feel better. Well, M walked over to the side of the bed where I was laying, and she handed me this:
(Reads: "From Grandma Wewers, To Mama")
In an instant, my emotions of anger and sadness were completely overtaken with the Love this precious child had just given to. As many other mothers have had such moments as these I’m sure, you will understand when I say that words cannot begin to express the overwhelming gratitude and love that swept over me like soothing and healing balm!
M: I made that for you, all by myself, Mama. I thought it all up for you and tried to make it just like the one you lost. See- if you want to pray that rosary, you can just use this one now! We did look for it, me and Papa- but we couldn’t find it in any of the trash bags.
In the end, I wound up losing something special, only to gain something even more special. This new homemade ‘rosary’ is one of the dearest, priceless gifts I’ve ever received. You can bet I won’t be breaking or losing this one!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
It's a Bit Puzzling...
How does one do such a thing…. And not even realize it?!?! Seriously- he was clueless why I insisted on snapping pictures of his hair! Oh, one more thing- he was looking everywhere (without success!!) for the 'lost' puzzle piece to complete his puzzle!!!!!
Mustache Man and Lioness Lady
This evening, right before I called everyone to dinner, I overheard L say to Papa, “Papa, I want a mustache.” I chuckled to myself, then went back to putting the final touches on our dinner. Two minutes later, I turned around and found myself staring at, well… why don’t you have a look for yourself.
Of course, M had to get in on the fun- especially after seeing that her Papa was not only condoning the use of ‘face-paint’ (i.e. Crayola washable markers!) but in fact the artist behind the artwork!! Not to be one to miss out on any fun, here’s our little Lioness:
Of course, M had to get in on the fun- especially after seeing that her Papa was not only condoning the use of ‘face-paint’ (i.e. Crayola washable markers!) but in fact the artist behind the artwork!! Not to be one to miss out on any fun, here’s our little Lioness:
Taking Matters Into Her Own Hands...
Sometimes C is not the best eater for us. Mama tries diligently to make sure she’s getting really healthy homemade foods… and she’s just not always thrilled to comply! The other day, Mama was ever so patiently (ha!) trying to get her to eat another helping of 7 grain-7 bean-carrot-apple-spinach-wheat germ-flax seed- kelp porridge (phew! Try saying that fast 3 times!), and finally gave up after one hour of coaxing. She went to the sink to clean up and then got side-tracked by something else in the kitchen (probably by L!), and suddenly, we all heard C giggling. We looked over to the high chair, and there she was- bowl of porridge on top of her head, food all over her face and her hands and everywhere within a 3 foot diameter around her high chair!! She had reached over to the table and decided to take matters into her own hands! And here’s the kicker- she was eating it!!!! So… despite the awful mess, in the end- Mama was actually rather happy, since C ‘finished’ her dinner!!
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