Grocery Store Adventures: The "Sniper"

       When I grew up, every night, like clock work, as the sun set, the curtains HAD to be shut, because, as my former Marine, Vietnam Veteran Dad would say, "You got to watch out for those snipers."  He tried to say it like he was joking, but...we knew. And, every time we would go to a restraunt ,my dad would have to face the doors when seated, so he was aware of the possible danger that could come upon us. (Hang in there, this does connect to taking four children to the grocery store.) These childhood experiences have been seared into mind. Because, even though I know that their are no Viet Cong snipers out to get me, I become very unnerved when there is a curtain open at night or when my back is to the door at a restraunt. So with this in mind, proceed with reading the following story.
       We had gone into the first set of doors at the Wal-Mart, and were about to go into the second, when there was another family going in at the same time. They nodded, to go ahead, and then......The General collapses on the floor! Clutching his side, and arm, he is SCREAMING like I have never heard him before. He was in obvious pain. As moms we always quickly access the situation, and go from there. But, in that one second, of his sudden unexplained collapse, the first thing that my mind went to was, "He's been shot! Dad was right! The snipers took down the The General!" That  thought took maybe about two seconds when I got a hold of my logical mind. (I mean, really, there are no Viet Cong in Louisburg!)  I then got down on my hands and knees, The General, still screaming, and now people in the Customer Service Dept., looking on, I lifted up his shirt, bracing myself for what I might find, when....out pops a wasp, from his short sleeve shirt! The "sniper" is still on him, and attempting to sting him more. So, I take my sandal off, and attempt to kill and swipe the thing off him, before it stings us both! Now, I want you to picture this for a moment......The General was on his back, holding his side, Screaming, and I am on my knees smacking the poor kid with my sandal! What a sight we must have been! The wasp got him good, but, you will be happy to know that he is doing fine.

Fun Days

  Something I try to do  is have fun days. To purposely enjoy my children. That probably sounds horrible that I have to make myself do that, but when you have 4 children in 3 years and a good portion of them are strong-willed, sometimes you have to stop yourself , literally, in your tracks, and take them in. You know, smell them, stare at them, listen to them. For example, my oldest, when he has been playing hard, smells like a wet puppy. No! He really does! And...I like it! Because, the smell is all boy! And occasionally, when he turns just so, he still looks two. And that reminds me, that even though he challenges me in his almost seven year old way, he is still so young, and he still needs his momma to hold him, to reassure him, to praise him on all the wonderful things that he does, to tell him that he is going to be an amazing man of God one day.

And to listen to my little girl's voice and hear how wonderfully raspy it is. How she still mispronounces  words. I don't have the heart to correct her...How occasionally she still runs like a toddler, with  her arms pumping with determination all over her face.

And the rain boots! Can't get enough of her in rain boots!

And then there's the General....dimpled smile, giant blue eyes, with long lashes. A heart like a teddy bear. I love to just watch him build and create. He goes into a different world and his imagination takes off. I try to picture him as a grown man because he still has the toddler roundness to his arms and legs.

Finally, there's the baby, three years old and growing too fast for this mamma of 4, and him being the last. So ,I sit, and he takes my face between his still chubby fingers and plants one right on my lips, and I try to sear it into my memory.

So on days like today, where there is sharpie on the carpet, and on the walls, when the three year old has better things to do then pee in a potty, when the others have need to be separated for hours because they act like the divided Korean countries, and for some reason the house has seem to come alive and tears itself apart, I take in these things. I try to focus on the wonderful, individual ways that the Lord has made each of my children.

I Was a Strong-Willed Child

    I was a strong -willed child. There were four of us in our family, 2 boys, 2 girls. I was the only one that my mother prayed that I would recieve a child like myself. I now call her on a regular basis, and say, "Mom...mom..Oh...my...goodness...mom, (isert: pause, with a broken sob) I am so sorry! Seriously people...if reality shows were in back then, we would be a hit show. The drama....
My dad is a six foot, one inch, 240 pound, ex-marine/truck driver. It is by the Grace of God that I am still alive. That's right, I was that strong willed that I even took on my father! My siblings told me a couple of years ago, that they could never understand why I would never take a spanking and just been done with it. (The spankings, that we deserved, by the way) Instead, I would insist, that they never hurt! "Never give in to the enemy!" was my motto.Well, it's funny because I could never  understand why they would give in so easily. I thought everybody thought like I did! But, I was wrong. Turns out, that's part of what makes a strong-willed child child tick.
     My mom's prayers were answered, and I am pretty sure that out of the four of them, three of them are strong-willed. So this blog will have two reasons. One is to encourage others that have strong willed children, because, let's be honest, who talks about this stuff on facebook! And, second, as a record of the wonderful challenges that come with raising a strong willed child for Jesus. Because,one day, I would imagine that one of my children will need encouragemet in raising a strong-willed child. It's ecouraging to me, to call my mom, and have her tell stories of me when I was completly pycho, and know, that today, I am a completly normal adult! So there's hope, parents!

paint mousee

One of my strong willed children. This was the paint that he decided to get into! I am playig with my blog. Trying to see what I can do.