Dear God,

Hearing a heartfelt prayer from a child is one of the sweetest things there is. I love to listen to Chloe when she talks to God. To preface this story, Chloe has been having a hard time lately at preschool because one little girl isn't very nice to her. She tells Chloe that she doesn't want to be her friend and this obviously would make Chloe very sad. So, we have been praying about this. Well, today as I was getting ready Chloe was in the hallway singing and talking and this turned into a prayer to God. Now, I don't remember the exact words, but here is some of it.

"Dear God, thank you so much for mommy and daddy and Hunter and that they love me so much. Thank you so much for all of my friends, (insert names here). Thank you so much that they love me so much and please help me to be nice to them. Please help (mean friend's name)to be nice to me. Please help me be nice to her even if she doesn't love me because I love her. And, please don't let her be mean to me anymore. And don't disappoint me again! A-Man."

I couldn't help but laugh and feel delighted, and a little speechless as the end of the prayer came. I felt so happy that this was bothering her and she knew to go to the Lord about it. How very wise for a three, almost four, year old. She was so sincere in her prayer and really meant what she said. While I don't tell God not to disappoint me again, I know there are times I have felt disappointed when things didn't go the way I had prayed. I think deep down I probably did want to say that prayer. I wanted to say to her that God doesn't disappoint us, but the truth is in our human nature we at times feel disappointed. We cannot see the big picture and the great things he has in store for us. He uses every situation for the good to help us develop character and grow closer to him. So, the truth is, that God wants to hear what is on our hearts.

As a parent, you hope everyday that you are teaching your kids the things they need to deal successfully with the world around them. As a Christian I thank the Lord that she is learning how important prayer is and hopefully as she gets older it will stay with her.

Time

Sooo, I haven't written since November I guess. I have been meaning to, but I never know how to start, so I just look at other people's blogs, but am embarrassed to leave a comment. If they try to look at mine, they will see...not much. So, I am going to get on it.

I have some time to myself today. My gramma took #1 for the day and I have #2. I didn't realize how much easier it is with just one. I always considered Chloe to be pretty easy, but she is definitely getting harder to entertain. So, Hunter and I went to the y, the grocery, and now, since Chloe isn't home, he has been able to be asleep for about 3 hours. This never happens. Hopefully he will go to sleep tonight. I am sad to say I have been completely unproductive in this time to myself. I have, however really enjoyed it. The plans that I made for myself for the day, did not work out at all! I am amazed everyday at how God is at work in our lives and is constantly adjusting things to make them work out. While often it seems like they aren't going our way, an adjustment in perspective will show otherwise.

I feel so completely blessed. God is real and is at work in our lives everyday. I praise him for this little bit of time today to be refreshed and to spend some one on one time with Hunter.

Widget

BRRRR-eautiful

Well, I see that I am not a very consistent blogger. I don't really think I have that much to say. So, I am just going to give some updates on what we have been up to.

So... a couple of weeks ago we went on a super fun camping trip with another couple. We didn't take the kids because we knew it would be cold and we wanted to do some hiking. We had such a fantastic time. We went to Brown County State Park with our good friends Danielle and Andrew. We actually only camped for one night, but were gone for two (one was in a hotel.. because it was too late to set up camp) . On Saturday we went on a fun, and tiring hike. Scott and Andrew made it much more exciting however by running ahead on the trails and hiding in the leaves, under branches, and in trees. It was totally silly, but fun at the same time.

When we got back to our campsite it took us forever to make a fire because the wood was a bit damp. As we were trying to get the fire going we were able to enjoy some lovely people singing karaoke into a microphone just across the way. Ok, so actually the singing was completely terrible and the song choices weren't so great either. Scott and Andrew kept yelling comments across the way. Ahhh Good times.

He are just a few photos of the trip.

HUGS!!!

I have always been a fan of hugs. I remember how it felt to be hugged by my mom when I was little. She would always give us a hug and kiss before leaving and she would smell like perfume and toothpaste. Even though she was getting ready to leave, I always felt so loved and safe in the midst of those hugs. In high school I remember hugging my friends all the time... when we saw each other, when someone was sad, when we were joyful, when we left, after a good game... it didn't really matter the reason.

When Scott was deployed, one of the things I missed most was being hugged. It really made me think about how I could still get hugs from the kids, my friends, my parents, but who did Scott have to hug him. This is where we got the idea to get Scooter. Scooter was just a little monkey from the zoo. Chloe and Hunter would wrap him around their necks and give him all their loving, then we would send it to Scott. Ok, while I know this wasn't really a hug, and he probably didn't sit there with the monkey around his neck, it still felt like we were doing something.

Now, I think that there is nothing sweeter than when Chloe runs up to hug me, or Hunter wraps his little pudgy arms around my neck and lays a big wet one on me. These moments are the most precious things I can think of.

When my children hug each other, this can be a very sweet act of love... or very often something else. When Chloe hugs Hunter, it very often ends up in a body slam, which Hunter usually thinks is hilarious. It seems like when one of them wants to hug the other, the one who is receiving the hug doesn't feel like being hugged. Go figure.

Sometimes I get so busy in my day and moving from one thing to the next, or trying to get my kids to listen, that I forget to just sit down and hug them without hurrying the hug because we have to go. Part of the reason for this I guess might be that unless they are tired they only let me hang on to them for a few moments. It is these moments that are so precious.

One thing I love about hugs is what they say....

I love you.

I am here for you.

I am happy for you.

I understand.

You are special to me.

I forgive you.

And sometimes there just aren't words to say what a hug can say.

Have you hugged someone today?

When my Mommy was little.....

For those of you at church on Sunday.. you already know this story, but I am going to post it here for my own memory's sake. Here is a little background about my beautiful little daughter, Chloe. For quite a while she was going through a very shy stage. She was very hesitant to go into new situations alone.. for example the children's sermon at church, or Sunday school, or the activity room for kids during the sermon. She would basically ignore people if they tried to talk to her first. So, recently she has been coming out of this shell and is to put it lightly...more than excited to take on all of these situations with a new independence. So Sunday, after running to the front of the sanctuary for the children's sermon, she sat very nicely like a little lady while the pastor was talking. However, her wheels must have been turning because just as the pastor was finishing up Chloe started to share in her sweet little 3 year old voice, " When my mommy was little..." at this point I was a bit nervous about what was going to come out of her honest little mouth, "she had a hamster." Now, I realize this doesn't really sound all that funny, but she was so enthusiastic about it. Most people were laughing, so not everyone heard her continue with her story.... "and one time when I was gone, my daddy had a surprise for me and when I got home" ... at this point she threw her hands in the air and delightfully shouted, " Surprise, it's a hamster!!!!" Sweet little Chloe. Now, my sister who was hasn't been around Chloe much since this "new outgoing Chloe" has joined us was a bit shocked by this and said, "when did that shell crack?"

Anyway... thanks for taking the time to read that story...

Here are some pics of our pumpkin carving. I love fall!!!

Pumpkin Pickin'

I love fall activites!!!!! I am so excited this year to have the chance to slow down just a little and enjoy some fall fun. We went to the pumpkin patch and the kids had such a good time. They had pony rides, pig races, turkey races, a straw maze, so much fun!!!!