Christmas Cookies
...today the boys and i were baking sugar cookies and listening to Christmas music-things normal families do on days in december. they were mixing and cutting out Christmas shapes when i asked clay to please check on the cookies in the oven. he hopped off the stool, eager to help, and turned on the oven light. he looked at the cookies and, with much drama, said, "oh cookies, are you o.k.?!!?"
i should be sleeping
...but i have several, unrelated, annoying thoughts going through my head.
1)...i have been searching (and winning-yeah!) ebay for the hard to find, much desired harry potter action figures. while searching and bidding i discovered two(and confident there are more like them!) disturbing items up for bid - very used nike shoes and condoms!
2)...while shopping at ross today i became frustrated with the security measures necessary to attempt to prevent shoplifting. as if it isn't bad enough that parents must spend hours unraveling the many ties to keep the toys in their boxes this time of year! how might you decide if a pair of sunglasses look good on you when they have a security tag across the middle? and then there are shoes...you can try them on but don't expect to be able to stand up and walk a few steps to see how they feel because the tie holding the pair of shoes together leaves approx. 3 in. between your two feet, take a step and the chances are high that you will fall to your face right there in ross! i am a very naive person, i was shocked to hear from the sales person at famous footwear that shoes are stolen EVERYDAY! people, just like you and me just walk out of the store and leave their old used shoes in the new shoe box!
3)...some people would disagree with me that my 15 month old daughter can understand "time out". our kids are so much smarter than we give them credit and when i see parents who don't agree, their kids walk all over them. but that's an entirely different blog... "the top ten parenting mistakes by tera harshman".
my daughter is so smart, she imitates everything she sees and tries to predict what others might do by cues she has observed. for instance, last night she played in my room while i was in the shower. when i turn the shower off she will point to my towel and say something that to her means towel, she watches and knows what i will do. what she did next amazed me. she watched me comb my hair and then i do two things only when i am going to blow dry my hair straight, put straightening gel on and pull up half of my hair into a clip in order to dry the underneath first. as i was pulling my hair up i realized that she was next to me, moving the stool in order to get in a cupboard the she has never been in. i started to say "no" when she turned around with my blow dryer in her hands and gave it to me.
4)...tonight i read "The Crippled Lamb" to damon before bedtime and we talked about Jesus being born in the manger on Christmas Day. i don't know if you have noticed but Jesus is missing this Christmas in our society. the ads, the songs, the decor (target had one wrapping paper tube with a baby Jesus theme-ONE!), the spirit is different. it is sad, this is the day my Savior was born and the world is not acknowledging it for fear of offending someone and their religious preference.
december 1, 1998
...after 8 long months, kidney stones, high blood pressure, 5 weeks of bed rest, 30 hours of trying to induce labor, our first son was born on this day. i remember tears of joy; it was an amazing miracle & tears of sadness; he was so tiny and i was really scared. 6 years later, clay asked me, "mom, why did God make children?" - i remember on the day he was born, feeling joy, overwhelming responsibility, instant unconditional love for him, the need to protect like a mother lioness does her cub and i'll never forget the moment that all of these feelings overwhelmed me and i completely understood the love that my Father has for me. clay has taught me many things over these last six years, his contagious laughter brings me unmeasurable joy, his love for his brother and sister has taught me how to love others deeply, but of all these things i am most thankful that God made this child so that i might know His love for me.
Happy Birthday Clay!
