Emily Cook's Blog, page 54

When they think they know how the world works

For your reading enjoyment, 
observations from the Cook kids on matters of science.

Rain
Thunder is no longer a mystery to the kids, as Grammy has informed them that it is simply the angels bowling.  From this they have drawn other scientific conclusions.  Marcus began to giggle when the rain came one day, because as he explained, "The Angels are spitting on us!"

The Common Cold

 Achoo! (I sneezed.)Achoo- YOU,” Marcus said snarkily.“Are you sassin’ your mother!?”“No, I’m sassing your sneeze.” (I think I like that better than the traditional “bless you.” Sass away, son.)

Ear WaxDaddy look, I have a carrot growing in my ear! (ear wax)

Nausea 

After a few pukey hours one morning I told Aggie I was feeling better. "Of course you are mommy, I prayed for you." "Aw, Aggie, thank you!" Aggie, with a serious face, replied, "Your welcome. Now, Let's not have that happen again."
Yogurt recipe"Is yogurt made out of milk and snow?"
Hair growth"Mommy look!  All the rain we had this week REALLY made my hair grow!" 
Germs"Somebody yuckied-up my toothbrush!!!"
TearsHe didn't like watching me cut onions, because, he said, "My eyes got sweaty!"
On Fighting Fatigue“My body is tricking me! It says it wants to watch Batman, but it says it is tired and needs to sleep, but I really just want to watch Batman! I don’t like it!”
Heartburn"My body had a little spill in me."

Grease

"Wow mommy, that bacon has a lot of bacon juice!" 

What have your young scientists observed about the way the world works?Share today's joy with me in the comments!

When we rest in Him even in the midst of danger.

A snippet from My Gilead- a memory keeping file for my children.
7/14/11Eldon, what a sweet moment we shared tonight.  We laid on the dock at sunset watching the birds.  I sighed, “This is nice,” and you echoed, “Niiiiice.”  You sucked your fingers and we pointed out the birds.  You wore your little Spiderman pj pants and no shirt, and cuddled up to me in the cool of the evening.  You tried to dangle your feet off the dock but couldn't reach, so you almost fell in, and we both laughed.  And you looked at me with your sweet smile and said “Hey mama! Love you!” and gave me a kiss.    
What a great way to end the day.

How many are your thoughts towards me, O Lord?  If I could number them, they would be more than the sands….  And many are my thoughts towards you, children.  
And to think, God’s thoughts are are more, better, purer.  Towards you, towards me.  It is a comfort.
You children are so young, you are given so many things to delight in with innocence.  You do not see the shadows I see, the dangers lurking.  That's OK.  It is my job to notice the dangers and protect you when I can.  Yet, I miss that innocence.  I had it too, as a child, before I understood that people drown in lakes and the bodies of children can be broken.  I never used to fear, but now I fear.  
Yet fear leads me to cling to God (where else can we go?), and I have prayed a million prayers for your safety.  The danger is ever-present, but God will remove all of that someday.  
How pleasant it will be when he makes all things new.  Perhaps He will allow us to swim and play together, and there will be no shadow of death to taunt us.  I’m not sure what I will do, how I will act, if I can run along a dock and not guard the edges, not brace for jumping and saving one of your precious bodies.  It is good, that God will me making me new too.  I look forward to the version of myself without anxiety.  I hope you can recognize her.

Sunday Brings out my Sin (Grace for the Good Girl)

Does Sunday morning ever seem to bring out the sin in you, or is it just me? Getting the kids ready for church, actually attempting to do my own hair and makeup for once, and then going out in PUBLIC with my crew...It is hard work, and I do not always go to church with a shining halo.Last Sunday was no exception.
-----
What a morning. It was actually going pretty well until that last few minutes before church.  The fighting and the fighting, and then suddenly the sharpie on the couch. 
WHAT!?  Sharpie on my SUEDE couch!!! And my tongue loosed hellfire on them, on the big brother even more than the guilty 2yr old because he had the marker in the first place. 
And then they leave for church and again (AGAIN!) they fight and I am ANGRY and I give them the what- for.  My lecture was loud and long and complete with immature statements like “You guys have SO many sins to confess when you go to church today!” I suddenly realize it’s Sunday morning, and quiet, and we are outside, and my voice might be carrying and I am ashamed. I am near tears, and yet the anger is not gone nor are the constant irritations.
Church next, and there it gets worse.Their wiggles make me want to smash them. The sermon is on humility, and taking the last seat instead of grabbing the first.Great.
Pastor calls up the children and they gather around him for the children's sermon. I try to act like I think they are all so cute, and I listen.And my God does work on my heart.
Again, I am shocked  at myself.For two reasons.
One – the rage is a symptom of my ridiculous pride.I shouldn't have to deal with this. I shouldn't have to help you guys work out your problems all day long. I should be able to have a couch without marker on it. I should be able to think without being interrupted by your NEEDS.
Two- even my tearful worry about this is pride.That one really hurt.
How do I know that even my burning tears were pride? Because my tongue lashes out like this daily, but only this day am I upset to the point of tears about it. And suddenly I see: I am upset because I almost got caught. Because my rage came out in public, and I may or may not have been overheard, and if I WAS overheard, then… what do they think? My reputation! Oh my poor reputation!  And so the tears.
Not the children. Not the fact that my rage wounds those that I “love,” but my reputation. That’s what I really care about.  
Exposed. Proud in anger, and proud even in ‘shame’ about that anger.
My heart, Lord. You have SO much work to do on this heart of mine.Lord, have mercy.
And again, He does.
I apologize to the kids right there in whispered words in the front pew, and they whisper grace back to me. “I forgive you mommy. And I’m sorry, too.  Here, I drew you a picture.”

His grace reconciles us sinners, and His grace makes even someone like me lift my head.  I am found. I am forgiven, and I am loved.
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

When they ALMOST make sense

“Daddy, is there a fat chance that it is going to rain today?” 


-------- One day, we were walking along and Aggie tripped.  
As she hopped back up her uncle Quinn laughed and said “Geeze, Aggie, walk much?”
Agnes immediately made a fist and hit Quinn, yelling, “No! I'm not a 'walk much,' YOU'RE a 'walk much!'”
--------

“Mommy, will you put piggy tails in my hair today?”  
Sure honey.  
“I'll be so beautiful you can't take your eyes out!”
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One of my sons likes hamburgers when we go to fast food restaurants, but insists that they are "Hamburgers with only ham."

--------
She wanted to go somewhere, so I said, "All right, I guess you can go, if you will behave..."I WILL behave mommy!  I will Be-SO-have!

-----Share today's joy with me in the comments!
I'd love to hear from you!
To read the full series, click here.

When they have no choice over what they wear

I like that the very little ones have to wear what I want them to wear. I pick the colors, I pick the level of ridiculous coordination.

Hey look, they match!



Sometimes, when I'm really lucky, I get out the very same gratuitously cute clothes,  and I put them on another set of bodies.

And little bodies, they do not protest the cuteness.


The big ones-- the same ones that would refuse to be "cute" even for my sake, they delight in the cuteness of the little ones. And I know that, on some level, they understand.  And they will forgive me for the overly-cute pictures.



Perhaps.

When the easy way is their favorite way

Sometimes, I need to give myself a break. I need to do something the easy way, just for the sake of my sanity.  And once in awhile, the easy way happens to be exactly what THEY want.
Our easy lunch:

This is a "round-the-table" meal.  (it's not a trough, exactly.)

TV and easy food for them, time opened up in my schedule for me.
When they are done, they are capable of bringing this one dish into the kitchen for me, and running the vacuum over the floor.

And I love it, when I'm feeling too overwhelmed to make a normal sit-down meal, and I say, "Sigh... kids, I think we're just going to have a round-the-table meal this time," they respond with "Hooray!!!" and "Yippie!" and dancing!

Wouldn't it be awesome if they celebrated all my attempts to simplify with loud cheers!?

Share today's joy with me in the comments!

When they remind you that they are just KIDS

One evening, many months ago, we had a picnic dinner over at the church.  
It was a beautiful night and the kids and I sat on the grassy hill eating PB &J.  
The beautiful evening caused one of my children to become reflective.....
"Mommy, why does time go by so fast?" the child sighed.
"Oh, Honey, I know what you mean, when we are having a good time it sure does fly by doesn't it?"
"Yes it does. but why?"
"Oh it just seems like it does.  When you are feeling bad or sick times seems to go slower, don't you think?"
"Oh yes." this serious child nodded in complete understanding.  "But then when you look back, it doesn't really seem like it went that slow."
"That's right, Honey.  The good times make it seem like the bad times weren't really that bad."  Yes, I thought, this child is growing up. We are bonding on a deep level here, talking about life and the change of seasons. 
"Right.  Like when you have to poop, and you just sit and sit and sit and it feels like a really really long time, but later when you think about it, it wasn't that long."

31 days of Joy on the Mommy-Job

I'm trying something new for the month of October.I'm going to be blogging for 31 days on one topic, and linking up with other bloggers via The Nesting Place.


I don't typically hop on bloggy bandwagons, but this one sounded like fun. I like the challenge of posting every day for a month.  
But let me be honest here: I chose this topic for ME. 
My attitude has not been the best lately. I've been giving in to goat mentality, plowing through my days and my lists, feeling overwhelmed, and getting grumpy when the little people "get in my way."
These inconvenient little people!  
Of course, they are also my blessings!  When I really see them, they are miracles, joy, and grace with skin on! But how often do I slow down to really see?  Not often enough.
Join me this month for daily snippets of joy.  This exercise is for me, but if it blesses you, that's great too.
(I will probably add in a few more substantial posts here and there too, and I will not forget about our Grace book club!)
Gathering bits of family joy is part of my job as a writer-mother. This is one of the ways I use my art to bless my family.  
This month, I'll be sharing daily snippets from two of my favorite memory-keeping files:
Kid quotes:If it goes on facebook, or if I tell my mom about it, it goes in the quote file.  I intend to share the funniest,  and most absurd words spoken in this house from the past several years.
My Gilead: A journal written to all my children, to help them see these childhood days through my eyes. (read more about this here)

-------What is your favorite way to store family memories?Will you be joining me this month?

31 mark tree

31 pete puzzle