Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Surprise!


Baby Lorelai and I got the best surprise yesterday! I thought our Children's Ministry team was going to lunch, but we ended up at my sweet friend Jayne's house. Inside were so many of my YCW friends waiting to throw us a surprise shower. I was truly shocked!! I am constantly blessed by the women that I'm surrounded by. I think the time to sit together and visit away from work was even more precious than all of the sweet things they spoiled Lorelai (and Maelie!) with.
Sweet friends! I was a little overwhelmed to walk in and see all these faces, but it makes you realize how blessed you are to have so many ladies in your life!!
Jayne and Sally - these ladies are the poster children for hospitality! Seriously, I have learned more from Jayne about being a Christian women, friend, mother and wife from her than anyone else. There is no one like her!
Me and Barbara - I am so blessed to share an office and big part of my life with this precious woman! She is a woman after God's heart and it is contagious when you're around her.
The gifted and talented Shei! She is one of those people who I just hit it off with immediately. We talked over email for our first few "conversations" and I felt like I already had a new friend. I was right! Now she's an old friend I wouldn't trade for the world.
Okay, so this one is not shower-related at all, but on our Valentines' Day party for school I got Maelie dressed and she said "I'm so beautiful!" I said yes, you are!! Can I take your picture and she ran to the red curtain and smiled so big! I loved it and haven't posted any pics of her in awhile :)




Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Funny for the Day

For Valentine's Day, we bought Maelie "Mickey's Sweetheart Stories" and one of the clips has Mortimer Mouse in it. Around the same time she got interested in the story of Esther in the Bible and wants to read it each night. I guess all those names are a little confusing, because she keeps telling me she wants to watch the Mickey with Mordecai in it - it cracks me up!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Life Lessons from a Two Year Old

Wow! Yesterday was a rough, and I mean ROUGH day for Maelie. I was crying by the time we got in the car, had already spanked her 3 times and was crying out to God "Why? What am I doing wrong?" Things did not improve throughout the entire day (though her teachers swear she was good in class - not quite sure I believe them!) Anway, after tiredly and admittedly somewhat joyfully putting her to bed, I started talking to God about it again and was literally brought to tears. He really put it on my heart that I am His "Maelie on a really bad day" quite often. How often must he think "I gave you that brain, why can't you make good decisions? You're a smart girl, why can't you just obey me?" The one that came to mind the strongest was a different interpretation of the thought I had had all day - "I love you so much and would LAVISH good things upon you, but I can't when you act that way." These thoughts and the other similiarities between my two year old and myself that presented themselves to me were not easy on a tired, weary Momma late at night, but then I really feel like he put it on my heart that no matter what I loved Maelie and would scoop her into my arms in a heartbeat if she fell, or cried, or needed me. What a comfort to know that He feels the same way about me. So I guess, at the end of the day, thanks Maelie for bringing me closer to the Lord the times I look at you with amazement at your beauty, your intellegence, at the miracle that you are and that you are mine and can do nothing but thank the Lord for you. And thank you Lord that you are so tender hearted that even on really bad days you show me your unconditional love and gently teach me.

I do hope, though, that today is a day that we grow closer to God because it's so good :)