Little Guy's Biography

On days that we drive 70 miles to the hearing clinic, I always plan something fun to do in that city after our appointment.  Maybe Goodwill.  Maybe a kids' consignment store.  And definitely a local pizza place! :)

One of the 25 cent books we have brought home from Goodwill included a list in the front cover of others in the series of "Just right for 2 & 3 year olds."  Because our book was such a success, I requested the whole list from Inter Library Loan!

The books came. We read the stack.  And only one was requested to be read again ... and again ... and again ... and again ... and yet again!  Sally Wants to Help was published in 1988 but I think perhaps the illustrations show that it was set in an earlier time.

But the story is timeless!  Sally is a toddler.  Sally wants to help.  Sally's mom is busy.

The story shows Mom in the kitchen, Mom on the phone, Mom doing laundry, Mom trying to work on the typewriter with a calendar on the wall showing circled deadlines.  On each page, Sally "helps" Mom.  On one particular page, when Mom says, "no," the page shows Mommy hugging Sally and says, "Mommy loves Sally."

I know why Little Guy likes it so much.  It's the story of his life!

Life's trials

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,

Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;

One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,

So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

1 Ofttimes the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God's eternal day.

Chorus:
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

2 Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
We're tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;
But there is one in heav'n who knows our deepest care,
Let Jesus solve your problem, just go to Him in pray'r. [Chorus]

3 Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,
We'll cross the great divide to glory, safe at last;
We'll share the joys of heav'n - a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished, we'll lay our burden down. [Chorus]

{quiet}

In addition to learning to be quiet when I'm on the phone, Little Guy is learning to be quiet in concerts.  During May, he had five opportunities in less than two weeks to {shhh!  be quiet!}.

He likes to put his finger up to his mouth in the {shhh!} motion and whisper oh-so-quietly, "quiet."  First we went to the high school musical, where he will tell you he saw dancing and singing "on the porch," since he didn't yet know the word for "stage." [He does now, but I thought that was a creative solution!]

Then we sat on the bleachers in the gym for a combined band concert.  "Two drums!" he will tell anyone who asks what instruments he heard.

Next was the high school choral concert, followed by the middle school choral concert.  As we walked into the school for the second choral concert, I asked him what he likes best about concerts.  "All the instruments!" he emphatically declared.  Um, there are no instruments tonight, I thought.  But he was happy to hear a drum, a rainstick and a triangle on the first song, and four (simultaneous) piano duets on the last song!

Our final event was the promotion from middle school to high school for 8th grade students. 

But, the opportunities to be {quiet} are not over.  In April, we started taking Little Guy to the first part of the Sunday worship service with us.  He is excited every week to "go in the big room," and I am excited to read my copy of Parenting in the Pew, when it arrives from PaperBack Swap. :) Any and all tips are appreciated!

Deals

Last week, I wrote about townwides, and today I'm sharing some of my deals.


Snowsuit

tablecloths for $1 each

shoes in Little Guy's current (and future) sizes

a purse!

a wristlet

toddler drum for 25 cents (seen hanging on stroller handlebar with guitar perched across stroller)

pjs galore in size 24 months and up

good quality play pants, hoodies, and tees in future sizes

5 wooden vehicles (I love these!)

play food with Velcro to practice cutting

pretty post-it notes

2 games (Hungry Caterpillar, Thomas matching)

lacing cards

2 puzzles

FisherPrice Doodle Pro with 4 stampers (like a magnadoodle)

Lost and found

Our list of lost items is growing.  There are three main items that I continue to pray will be found: an important paper, a piece of jewelry, and my favorite dog-eared cookbook filled with many notes.

[Side note:  The cookbook is about to be re-printed in a new edition (see Facebook page here: More-with-Less Cookbook 40th Anniversary Edition).   One person wrote on the FB page: 

“In 1978, my husband ... and I took off for a three-year ... assignment in Brazil. More-with-Less was practical and easy to use in a foreign land. It called for readily available, fresh foods, and [our co-workers] used it heavily. When we visited others’ homes, I would go home and write beside the recipe at whose house we first tasted that dish. Now, as I leaf through the pages, a flood of memories, sights, sounds, and smells instantly come to mind.” 

My (albeit lost) copy does the same for me, which is why I would rather find it than receive the new one as a birthday or Christmas gift.]

A friend and I prayed together for our lost things a few weeks ago.  A few days later, I realized that I couldn't find my phone charger.  Then a few days after that, I was cleaning the car and pulled out a tote bag that held a change of clothes (for me, from the time when Little Guy was sick and throwing up on a day when I had to take him to the doctor).  Thankfully, I hadn't needed the clothes, but I had forgotten about them ... AND about the phone charger that was also in the tote bag.

So, I prayed that my friend would clean the area where her lost item was, so she would find it.  The next day, she told me that she had done just that! She cleaned an area of her house, and found her lost item we had prayed for.

Evidently, I haven't cleaned the area of my house where our three lost items are. :)

But I have found several other things as I clean. :)

And from the time I wrote this draft until the day I'm hitting "publish," I have lost one more thing: one of our two keys to our postal box.  Until I find it, you'll find me frantically searching pockets and purses and bags and under the seats of the car...

Have you lost or found anything lately?

Prayer Buddies

Little Guy snuggled in the recliner with his morning milk.  I quickly checked Facebook while waiting for my morning cuppa.  Then I scooped him up, put him in my lap, and we had our morning snuggle while we both drank.

But this particular morning, before I picked up my mug, I pulled LG close to me, bowed my head, and said, "We need to pray to Jesus for your friend."  And then, based on a one sentence plea for prayer that his friend's mom had posted on Facebook an hour ago, LG and I prayed.

LG knows his friend's big brother and big sister in real life, but only knows his friend through pictures and our praying.  He knows him by name, and talks about him.  And he frequently asks to look at pictures and videos of his friend on FB. 

I don't like that his friend needs urgent prayer right now.  But I love that I can model for LG praying for his friend.  His friend is just a month older than he is. But, from before LG could hear (literally), I've said to him at random times, "Let's pray for your friend.  Dear Jesus, please heal our friend's hurts. Amen."

In my life, too, God has graciously given me peers to pray for.

When I'm struggling with yet another sinus infection that exacerbates my asthma, I remember my friend who has similar (but different) chronic breathing problems.  Praying for her helps limit my self-pity.

When the wait to adopt seems interminable, I remember my friend (okay, several friends) who is (are) waiting alongside me, and pray for her the things I know would help my attitude.

A few years back, when I was having repeated surgeries due to problems that caused pain, it helped to pray for a friend going through the same thing.

When I struggle with selfishness in marriage (MY selfishness, let it be clear), I pray for other married friends who have shared their own struggles with me.

When I worry about LG's speech progress, I pray for other moms I know who also have sons enrolled in Early Intervention for speech delays due to hearing loss.  And, when one of them told me a few weeks ago, that her son has started making sounds, I could rejoice and exclaim, "What an answer to prayer!!"

God is good to give me peers whose burden I can help bear through prayer.

God is good to give me friends whose experience I can understand to some degree.

God is good to help me weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.

Townwides

It's spring!  It's garage sale season!  And it's time for the townwides!

I had never heard of this until moving here to the Midwest.  "Townwide garage sales" refers to the day (or two days) when a specific town declares that it is garage sale weekend.  It makes sense when the geography is dotted with small towns every 5 miles.  If you are going to drive one or two towns away (5 miles or 10 miles) to a garage sale, it pays to go to dozens of garage sales in that location.

For the past four weekends, my calendar has listed townwide sales each weekend (four different towns; one per weekend).

We started the season with townwides in a town with a population of 2300.  There were 77 sales listed.  (That town is by far the largest townwide I go to.)  The lists (and maps) go quickly!  Usually the local bank prints them as a courtesy, and they are available for free at the local gas station or village office.  The printed list (with brief descriptions) is helpful so you don't stop at a sale with all boys' clothing if you only have girls or all junior-sized clothing if you only have babies.

You can imagine the traffic jams that happen in an area less than one square mile, when you have cars coming from surrounding towns.  Shopping at the townwides reuqires patience ... and lots of walking, as you park your car and then walk to as many sales as you can from that point.

This year, Little Guy and I made it a group effort, taking an aunt or two &/or cousin and even a cousin's friend along with us.  As we got back into the car each time, LG could be heard saying, "Another garage sale!"  At this point, he sees them as opportunities to play with toys in other people's garages. He doesn't yet realize that sometimes I buy toys that come home with us. :)

This year, probably because we went with others, and probably because I have a toddler (not a baby in a carrier), and probably because I know more people, I realized what a prime visiting time it is!  One lady mentioned that her husband is in Gideons with my husband.  One man told us the story of how he got his name, and about the measles epidemic raging at the time of his birth.  Several people made connections with someone in their family who went to school with one of my in-laws.

In other words, I visited more during the townwides than I have the rest of the year!

I met the grandparents of a little girl who shares a lot of Little Guy's history and who is a success story for Early Intervention.  We ran into a lady who gave LG a baby gift but hadn't seen him since last year's townwides.

I caught up on the post-surgical progress of two of my neighbors and met one's daughter-in-law at a sale at her home in another town.  One elderly neighbor took LG's hand and walked with him around her garage while I shopped. 

The Kiwanis Club's sale was our next-to-the-last sale of the morning one Saturday, and LG had reached his limit.  Through Monday night meals at a local church, through BSF, and through a drapery business in town, I've gotten to know several of the Kiwanis members.  They have delighted in watching LG grow and develop, and jumped in to help him enjoy the sale.  After asking my permission, they gave him a bag of chips and a seat in one of their folding chairs, where he contentedly munched while I shopped.

Stay tuned next week for my deals. :)

On my nightstand

On my nightstand is: Hope heals : a true story of overwhelming loss and an overcoming love, by Katherine Wolf.

I may be the last person in the world to read Last Child in the Woods, which is currently on my Kindle app from my local library, but may disappear in two weeks before I ever read the first page.

Parenting in the Pew is on its way via Paperback Swap.

And I'm highlighting almost every other sentence in  Missional Motherhood: The Everyday Ministry of Motherhood in the Grand Plan of God by Gloria Furman.

On my to-read list are:

Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favorite Book Taught Me about Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All,

Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C. S. Lewis.

Also am LOVING The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms by Tim Keller.

Want to check this one out of the library again: Downsizing the Family Home: What to Save, What to Let Go by AARP.

And really want to read  The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages: The Little Things That Make a Big Difference by Shaunti Feldhahn. 

What's on your nightstand?

Today

Perfect weather for planting seed corn (after days of iffy weather) led to an early morning for the Farmer.  I was in a deep sleep when I barely fluttered my eyes open to say, "Good-bye." 

But not for long!!

The farmer's movements around the house led to a certain 2-year-old waking up. Fun times!!  (This was 30-45 minutes before normal wake-up time.  AND followed a late night where he had stayed up 30 minutes past bedtime.)

We cuddled at the kitchen table (with his milk and my hot tea).  We made silly faces and took selfies. 

And then at 6:42 AM the text came that our speech therapist had to cancel 8:30 speech therapy today.  So, on to Plan B. 

Kroger, CVS, Walmart, Jimmy John's (for a special sandwich for Daddy's lunch), and drop off a few items at the mission thrift store.

At which point, said 2-year-old fell asleep ... in the car ... at 11:30.  Ut-oh!

Drove home, kept the car running and the house door open, ferried the groceries inside & the cold items to the fridge, made some baggies of carrot sticks, olives, peanut-butter on celery, and grapes, and put them in a bag with a banana and the Jimmy John's sandwich, and got back in the car ... to a still-sleeping 2-year-old.

Headed out to the field to take lunch.  I knew the road the field was on.  I thought it was the north side of the road, and almost delivered lunch to a random farmer in his tractor, but spied two tractors working in the south field, which I know is one of ours, so I turned south.  Jim saw me and called me to tell me where to park.  When he finished that round, he drove the pickup over to where I parked at the edge of the field. 

Then Little Guy (who had just woken up and was VERY excited about the tractor ride) set out with him walking back to the tractor and got to ride a round!!!

I asked him about it afterward.  "Touch steering wheel.  Daddy, 'no.'  Tractor drive itself."  (Touching the steering wheel turns off auto-steer.)  I asked if Daddy ate his lunch.  "Daddy pray.  Take hat off.  Put hat back on." 

And, there you have it, two lessons from the day: don't touch the steering wheel, and take your hat off when you pray before you eat. :)

Do you know what time it is?

Walking out of the high school at 8:10 one evening, after a band concert, I asked Little Guy, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Going home time," was his accurate reply.

"And then when we get home, what time will it be?" I prompted.

A mom walking ahead of us through the parking lot to get to her family's car, turned around and called out enthusiastically, "Bedtime!" as she herded her small children along.

1000 Gifts, Vol. 5, #14

131.  spring - new life, new starts, new celebrations, traditions

132.  graduations

133.  weddings

134.  corn sprouting up in fields for miles around

135.  new baby born in the extended family

136.  farewell reception for long-time church members

137.  and the community we experienced around the tables sipping punch and eating cake

138.  three weekends in a row of garage-saling with various relatives

139.  summer schedule (as school-year activities have wrapped up)

140.  end-of-year band & choral concerts, school musical, and promotion ceremony

Busy, busy, busy, everyday

Back in my English teaching days, I taught kids' classes from a series titled, "Let's Go."

Book 3 has a song titled, "Busy, busy, busy," the lyrics of which are below.  Unfortunately I cannot find the music online.

Busy, busy, busy everyday.
Busy, busy, busy I can’t play.
Are you busy Monday? Yes, I am.
English classes, music classes
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Are you busy Friday? Yes, I am.
Friday is a busy day.
Are you busy Saturday? Can you play? No!
Saturday’s a very, very busy day.
Busy, busy, busy, I can’t play. I’m
Busy, busy, everyday, but not on Sunday!
Sunday is my free day, and I can play! 

I thought of it the other day, as it describes Little Guy's life.  Summer ladies' Bible studies at our church are out, because WE ARE BUSY!  My desire to enroll LG in a summer music program is out because WE ARE BUSY!

Busy, busy, busy everyday

Monday play group, Tuesday Bible study, Wednesday speech therapy, Thursday music therapy or aural rehab therapy, Friday Mommy's prayer date, Sunday nursery.

Busy, busy, busy everyday, but not on Saturday!
Saturday is my Mommy's free day, and I she can play!

Needless to say, Mommy looks forward to Saturday.  What shall we do?!  Where shall we go?!  Garage-saling?!  Thrift-shopping?!  House-cleaning?!  Projects?!

A mother's charge

A mother's charge—an immortal creature.

A mother's duty—to train him up for God, heaven and eternity.

A mother's dignity—to educate the family of the Almighty Creator of the universe.

A mother's difficulty—to raise a fallen sinful creature to holiness and virtue.

A mother's encouragement—the promise of Divine grace to assist her in her momentous duties.

A mother's relief—to bear the burden of her cares to God in prayer.

A mother's hope—to meet her child in glory everlasting, and spend eternal ages of delight with him before the throne of God and the Lamb. 

Female Piety—The Young Woman's Guide Through Life to Immortality

John Angell James, (1785—1859)

1000 Gifts, Vol. 5, #13

121.  spring!

122.  garage sale Fridays, a different town each week

123.  everything's better with aunts!

124.  some new decor, new organizing helps, lots of footed pjs, toddler snow suits for next two sizes, and small kitchen appliances for $1 or $2 (George Foreman and blender -!)

125.  crops are coming up!!

126.  antibiotics and steroids

127.  refund from all my co-pays I've paid for each allergy shot (I knew $30 per visit was too much, so took a wait and see approach.  Thankfully insurance statements arrived today that agree with me)

128.  Facebook to help me feel like I'm at a special college graduation today

129.  long naptimes

130.  getting lots accomplished (see steroids in #126)

Our Circuit

On days that we don't have therapy or Bible study or hearing tests or allergy shots, that is, on very rare days {sigh}, we make our circuit here in our little village (population just over 1000).  And, to be truthful, even on days when we do have therapy or Bible study or hearing tests or allergy shots, we often make our circuit (or part of it).

First we go to the post office, and have a running debate in the car as to whether or not we are going to the post office or to the mail office.  :)  The clerk can hear little feet running all the way to the farthest spot of the outer lobby to our post office box and can hear our conversations.  If we find a yellow package slip in our box, Little Guy takes it and runs to the door to the inner lobby, where the clerk usually already has our package ready, because she knows we are there!  Often she has a sticker (bar code) or paper (from a pad you get free from a charitable organization seeking a donation) to give him, and always a kind word. 

Then we might go to the library to pick up books that we have requested or to return books that are almost overdue (or, to be honest, overdue!).  Little Guy hugs whatever decoration is in the foyer - a scarecrow with pumpkin in the fall, snowman in the winter, bunny in the spring, and then makes a beeline for the stuffed animals (Clifford is his favorite) or the puzzles.  When we leave (or to bribe LG to leave) the librarian has a sticker.  The other day, as he got back into the car, while I held his "I visited the library" sticker, I spied a Tonka sticker back under his carseat and pulled it out.  Immediately he said, "Dr. D--- gave you the dump truck sticker."  Yes, why, yes indeed, 12 days previously he had received that sticker at the pediatrician's office.

Then off we go to IGA for eggs or milk or who knows what.  He always wants to see "the man," i.e., the manager, and has been known to ask loudly for the man and crane his neck to see in the office just behind the checkout clerk, until "the man" comes out to say, "Hi." :)