Meerkat

Eldin has reached that age where he is trying to figure out possession (or he is trying to take over the world by claiming it is all his). During this time in his life he has expressed recently the following phrases:

My Kids
My Park
My House

While we are trying to teach Eldin about sharing and that some things in this world are not his, I realized that he is also learning community. SO, it came as no surprise to me that our life seems like Meerkats (minus the digging tunnels in the ground. Although sometimes you wouldn't think that by how dirty my sons are).

-A Meerkat community is called a mob or gang - "My Kids"
-Meerkats are extremely social animals (have you met my son Eldin?).
-Observing Meerkats is a wonderful experience (I'm sure observing my life is sometimes better than living it, if nothing else it would be more humorous).
-They love grooming one another, wrestling and playing with one other. (My sons are some of the very few boys in Searcy, so most of the families we hang out with have daughters - they play dress up and Eldin plays a dragon that chases the princesses and takes on the castle).
-They have avid curiosities and can make a toy of almost anything (thankful and unfortunately that describes my kids and our friends).
-Even with all this play, Meerkats do not ignore the need for security. One Meerkat always seems to be a sentry and stands guard to keep the gang safe. (This is a perfect description of the parents in different ways:
1.Moms: Our primary sentry duties entail the safety of the children from themselves (falling, hitting into objects, swallowing anything we don't want, etc)
2.Dads: Their primary sentry duties are default to the outward life to the entire family "gang"
(sometimes the Mom Sentry forgets that the Dads are sentries also, because they can feel as if the dads are adding to/creating some of the safety concerns on the MS radar)
-Meerkats constantly communicate with one another in three different ways:
scent (the primary thought that comes to my mind is dirty diapers)
sound (The Mom Call/Tone)
body language (The Look - you know what I'm talking about, the one we all hope as new parents we can pull off that put the fear of God in us as kids from our parents).
-One last interesting point, sound can be broken up into one, two, three, and even four syllable calls. (Mom Calls usually are short & with one word, even through it carries the entire weight of the human language, so you are warned that you definitely don't want that lecture).

The pictures above are from December when 3 families got together to take a horse carriage ride downtown. I was touched and joyfully blessed when I realized the gift that God had provided us with in our friends. He instructs us on the importance of community and so I shouldn't be surprised when He provides.

Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

I am so thankful that my parents taught me, and more importantly, showed me how to live a God-filled life. This includes the previously mentioned "The Look". Now it is my responsibility to teach and live a life that our children will know is the Truth and to become a community with others as a body of Christ. Currently this takes the form of a Meerkat Community.

Not Available

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:7

Don't get me wrong...I would never want to give birth in a stable. I want nurses, doctors, and most importantly, meds! However, God reminded me: Sometimes when we have to improvise (make due with what we have), our life is open to receive and experience so much more. For example, we all know that a kid usually loves and plays more with the box of a toy than the toy itself.

These memories are about the experiences and life with love.

I come from a life of stories. (I wish God had blessed me with the ability to tell them, but that has not happened yet....maybe through writing so I don't go through so many rabbit holes in the story). So much joy comes in my life from remembering moments in my life - a big smile can't help but arise with each thought. This year I have restrained myself and bought a couple of things here and there and let it be. I'm trying to spend my energy and time coming up with moments to create/share with my family rather than searching the internet for another toy.

I'm excited to be living in the moment of Christmas.

There are only a handful times I can recall an awesome hotel or room I traveled to. The adventure is not in the room, it is out there in the unknown....the empty space that is available for any possibility since it is not restricted within a space. Life is an adventure of love. As much as it would scare me to live as Mary did, I am so thankful that Jesus Christ was not born in a room. I am so thankful that the Creator, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha & Omega, Abba, Son of God was born out in the open - an empty space - no restrictions - He filled the void of nothing with Everything! Now we have the ability, through Him, to live life without restrictions, without void/nothingness, open to all possibilities (especially those we can't even imagine). Christ is reminding me that Christmas is about rejoicing in the "Not Available". For in that moment all predictions, laws, and restrictions were removed and Christ used the heavens to unveil His Love, and now all things are possible through Christ! (even a virgin birth)

Merry Christmas!

Ellis 4 Month

Ellis is now 4 months old - wow, how the time has flown by. He went for his check up yesterday and passed with flying colors. The doctor was very happy with how healthy he was and how he was developing. At the end of the exam he picked Ellis up and while looking at him said:
"You are sporting that baldness son"

We laughed and I told him that he has the Captian Picard hairstyle. He is handsome and cute. I wouldn't mind his eyebrows changing color so you could actually SEE them - would help frame his face :).
Above is Eldin sharing his crackers with Ellis. They are so sweet together and we are very thankful that Eldin loves him so much.
So....here are Ellis' Stats at 4 months:

Length: 25.5" (Growth Chart 75%)
Head Cir.: 17.25"
Weight: 16 lbs 1 oz (Growth Chart 80%)

Ellis currently is wearing 6-9 month old clothing. We are doing great and so thankful to have such a happy healthy boy.

Oxen

As promised I am writing today to explain how God relieved to me that my sons are Oxen. If I was to look up oxen on the internet (Wikipedia & the Dictionary) I could learn a lot about oxen like:

1. Working oxen are taught to respond to the signals of the teamster (mom or dad). These signals are given by verbal command, body language ("The Mom look"), and the use of a goad, whip or a long pole (index finger of pointing). In preindustrial times, many teamsters were known for their loud voices (Me? Loud? I'm sure that has to be a typo...I'm quite soft spoken *sarcasm*) and forthright language (Is it bad that I had to look up forthright? This point is mostly pertaining to dad, as he can attest I like to take detours to the point).

2. Oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. (While I love my sons SO very much and I think that are very good kids, discipline is painstakingly hard)

3. "ox, bull"), said to be from base *uks- "to sprinkle," related to *ugw- "wet, moist." The animal word, then, is lit. "besprinkler."(This describes Ellis. Ellis loves to sprinkle! I have lost count of all the times Ellis has sprinkled me and at Thanksgiving he sprinkled Dad in a manner deserving of an Olympic Medal (I can write this story if you want....let me know))


Overall, it is a pretty hard stretch for me to think of my wonderful sons as oxen, until God gives me some of His perspective.

Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

There are times in my life when I feel like I'm not a good enough woman/person since my house is a mess and I'm not very productive. I have been over at some people's homes and they are MUCH neater than mine. Also, I know people that get TONS done during the day and are very productive. Sometimes this gets used as a weapon against me and I get down. The other day God popped this verse out amongst the verses I read in Proverbs.

I could have a clean life.
I could have a clean house.
I could have an organized and clean schedule.

However,
I have wonderful sons that are going to be mighty warriors for the Kingdom of God. I have two sons, at the moment, that are filled with the Love and Joy of Christ. God uses my sons to bring so much joy, peace (God's definition, not mine), grace, patience (OH, the patience that comes...), perseverance (try to stop a 2 yr old from doing something His way or putting him down for a much needed nap...I have truly seen, experienced, and respect perseverance in such a new way), and love.

There are days that Dad comes home and there are blocks everywhere, broken boxes from the construction and demolition of forts, dirty clothes from crafts and food, spit-up soaked onesie on a drooling 3 month old son, and mom still in PJs with dirty marks (merit badges) of the day. Life is dirty that day, but I know that sometimes those are the best/most remember-able days for my sons development and heart growth, as well as my own heart's growth.

"Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox."

So, while the true definition of oxen are not very becoming....I take great joy and love thinking of my children now as oxen some days.

Camel

I was playing with Ellis, our youngest son, with an octopus and I started thinking about characteristics of animals, and I came to a realization:

Sometimes I feel like a camel.

To explain this statement/thought here are some reasons:

1. I have to drink TONS of water - I'm not drinking enough and need to drink more

2. Two bumps - thankfully mine are for milk not as bumpers to carry people, although there are times when Eldin is climbing me when that point could be contested

3. I carry heavy loads when traveling - Ellis is packing on the pounds and the diaper bag has turned into a "Bag-o-Stuff" to take care of both boys

4. Some mornings I wake up looking woolly, like a camel or after Eldin has been using me as a new jungle gym

5. I'm jiggly in places that are just not right - need to work out, but who ever wants to...not me, in case you were wondering

6. I spit - well, I spit on napkins and tissues to wipe my son's face from caked on snacks and stuff

7. Give rides - most of the time it is for fun with the boys, but sometimes I must carry a boy to a nap and then the ride isn't as much fun

I'm sure I could think of more reasons, but I think 7 is enough. After writing this post I've come to realize that while the Chinese have years of animals (i.e. Year of the Ox, Year of the Lion, Year of the Rat, etc), as moms life is more of days, if not hours, of animals. Yesterday I was an octopus (long story involving a doctor's office, bored 2 1/2 year old, massive explosive diaper of a 3 month old), and today I'm more of a camel. I'm so thankful God created SO many numerous creations with each a unique life and character - it makes me smile and have so much joy in my life imagining myself as one, like a camel.

P.S. Tomorrow I will explain how I discovered that my children are oxen. It's a good one - you don't want to miss it so come back!