-
The Experiment that Made God’s Love Real to Me
A science experiment made God’s love real to me at my daughter’s fourth birthday party in an object lesson I never forgot. My daughter had a science themed birthday party when she turned four. I was searching for a cute gender neutral party theme, and thought science experiments would be something different and extra fun. All the kids wore labs coats and colorful safety glasses. They blew touchable bubbles from test tubes, and we performed several easy experiments. We covered the lawn with Mentos and Diet Coke, the kitchen with vinegar and baking soda. The party was a blast. One of everyone’s favorites was the packing peanuts experiment. I took…
-
Swimming Lessons
“Mommy is right here. You know I won’t let you get hurt, right?” “Right . . .” Tiny arm wraps around my neck, clutching me in a death grip. “You know that I will be here the whole time, right?” “Right . . .” Little fingers clutch at my hair. “You’re going to have to trust me.” “But I don’t trust you!” she wailed at a paint peeling decibel. I’m sure the neighbors were quite certain I was committing various acts of torture instead of just trying to get my child to float in the pool with her life jacket on. This is the child I have doted on since…
-
Be careful little tongue * Part 2
We all know children imitate what they see. From very early days, my daughter would imitate me talking on the phone. Because her daddy deployed when she was three months old, I spent a lot of time on the phone as a new mom with her husband in a war zone. She imitated me by pacing with the phone in her hand, gesturing while she talked, even laughing periodically as if the other person in her imaginary conversation had just made a joke. I was amazed at the depth of the details she picked up about talking on the phone from watching me, before she could even speak. It was…
-
It isn’t the rule that matters
Today, my daughter needed to tell me something while I was in the bathroom. We’ve instituted a rule that if the door to the bathroom is closed, she is to knock before entering and/or wait, unless she has an emergency or something is really important. She’s four, so we give her some latitude with what she considers important (i.e. her brother holding a toad in the living room), but today she by-passed three closed doors to get to me. Opening all of them without knocking. So far she has only done this with me, but the rule is partially in place to avoid her walking in on her father or…
-
Watch Me, Daddy!
This entry will post a day after Father’s Day because having just posted a long entry on Saturday, I hadn’t prepared an entry about Father’s Day. I only write posts when God prods my heart, and despite not planning on writing today, I spent quite a bit of the day being emotional. I prayed a lot for comfort today. My father-in-law passed away a few years ago and the last time we saw him was Father’s Day when my daughter was just born, so Father’s Day is hard for my husband in a way that I can only imagine even though I grieve for him as well. We knew he…
