special delivery and the sweet aroma of ketsup

Lucy and I headed to Chik-fil-a.  I was kind of desperate.  I had just spent an hour in walmart and I had a head-ache and felt like I'd been submerged in a pit of grimy despair.  (I kind of hate walmart, especially the one closest to where I live) (And I hate that the lines are so ridiculously looooong!)  You see my frame of mind, and why (after long check-out delays) I just threw in the towel and suggested a rare treat--eating out, just the two of us.

Oh, how my Joy-Belle can turn things around for her grumpy mama!

We had a lovely dinner, during which I got lots of ketsup-py hugs and lovely conversation.  She noticed the small vase of flowers on the table (nice touch Chik-fil-a!) and leaned in to "mell 'em!"  She smiled dreamily and declared, "They 'mell like ketsup."  Like it was just the best thing--ketsup-smelling flowers.

We finished and then had to play a bit.  There is a play-land where she can climb up, go in a plane or a car, and then come down a slide. 

She was in the plane, and she called for me.  "Mama!  I'm getting my baby!"  I was confused and pointed out that her baby was with me.  "No, another baby!  I'm finding my baby!"  It hit me.  "Where are you flying to?" I asked her.  "E FI opia!"  She slid awkwardly down the slide, careful not to jostle her imaginary baby, held gently in her arms.  She brought the "baby" over to me and gently deposited her in my arms.  "Now she needs a sister!"  She headed back up.

A child after my own heart.  Let's get some more babies around here!!

:

a date!

Lucy and I had this conversation on the way home from church on Sunday.
 "I want to go on a date!"
 I repeated it to make sure I heard this correctly.  "A date?" 
"Yes!" 
"With who?"
"Mama." (with an "isn't that obvious" tone).
"Where should we go?" I asked.
"To a farm to see animals," was her quick answer, "Maybe we can go tomorrow!"

So, we had a date.  Monday rained, but on Tuesday, we were ready for our date.  We went to the creation museum to walk the garden paths and go to the petting zoo, which did have farm-ish animals.  She was so excited about our special time, and I was, too. 

Thank the good Lord for almost 3 year-olds and the wonder that they bring to a Tuesday.

 

Lucy reads Pete the Cat

We've been to storytime quite a few times this summer, and Lucy (and most of the other little ones present) LOVED Pete the Cat and his Groovy Buttons.  We saved up our storytime dollars and bought it, and she loves it!  I love it too, because it has a little math, a little singing (more like rapping), and a message:  stuff come and stuff goes... do we cry?  GOODNESS, NO!  (but Lucy still answers, "Yes, we do" most of the time). 

Here she is "reading" it, which I think is pretty precious.  (The sound messes up at the end, but you can catch most of it.)

 

from the mouths of babes...

We've been listening to these wonderful cds with Bible verses set to songs.  (I know, you're imagining something horrible, but I promise, they're catchy!).

Lucy has been singing (instead of "there is no commandment greater than these") There is no commandment greater than ME.  To tell the truth, I struggle with that one sometimes, too :)

Also, she was asking for the "Pirate Song" from that CD.  I don't think there are just loads of biblical references to pirates, so I was pretty confused.  Finally, I realized that she wanted the song that
says Where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.   I'm proud of that brain--making pirate/treasure connections at 2 and a half!

This morning I was sitting on the couch with Lucy thinking about what we needed to do today.  I started to jump up, thinking that I'd forgotten to switch the laundry (with the clothes I wanted to wear today) to the dryer, then sat back down, realizing that I'd switched it before I went to bed.  Lucy just saw me say, "Oh!  I've got to..." and then almost immediately, "I already did it."  She nodded with understanding, and asked gently, "You poopied in your panties?" 

Oh. My. Word.  I about lost it, people!  She's SO funny.

She followed that up tonight with what seems to be a sad commentary on my culinary prowess (and/or emotional stability?).  I've been trying to eat ridiculously healthily, and this has resulted in trying many new things, quite a few of which are not what you'd call successes.  I may or may not over-react to these non-successes, as I've spent a lot of time "cooking" them and my kitchen is trashed and I'm HUNGRY and dinner looks like something a herbivore threw up.  So, last night I made a marinade and tonight I grilled chicken on my George.  It turned out beautifully (a first for me!) and was finished just as the broccoli finished steaming and the sweet potatoes came out of the oven.  The plates looked so good!  I was so surprised at how good it all looked, that I triumphantly announced to Lucy, "I made DINNER!"   To which she replied, equally triumphantly, "And you didn't CRY!"

Whew!  What a day with my good little buddy.

God loves you, just as you are--our favorite books

There are many WONDERFUL books out there, but these are ones with positive messages that Lucy loves.  I also try to find books that celebrate diversity.  Anything by Debbie Anderson has beautiful pictures of children of all races (and includes children with wheelchairs) and we both just LOVE them!  And, of course, the very best books point to God's truth. 

 

I put a page on the top bar for favorite books, here.   But here's a mini-list.  These are the books we read every day:

 

Current Favorites  (1.5 years -3ish)



Most of All, Jesus Loves You!  (Piper)
This books is an every night favorite--a beautiful message to send a child off to bed with:  You are SO loved!

God Loves You (Bostrom)
This one is every night as well.  I hope it's message sinks deep into Lucy's heart!  It says it over and over again...
God loves you just as you are.

Jesus Storybook Bible (Lloyd-Jones)
This is WONDERFUL!  The stories are too long for her now, but we've skimmed and shortened our way through it several times.  The stories are told so beautifully--they feed my heart along with feeding Lucy's.

The Beginner's Bible
This one has shorter stories, and Lucy likes being able to read it a few times, then flip through the pictures and retell as much as she can.  We read this one or the Storybook one (above) every night with her two favorite books  (above).  It's so lovely!

I am so thankful for these books.

I am thankful for the Bible, of course.  I love that she's learning stories and that she is asking questions, and that she's memorizing (ish) verses.  (I'll share more about our Bible learning in another post.)

I love books myself, so of course, I love to read with Lucy.  But I'm realizing how very powerful words are.

The first book, Most of All, Jesus Loves Me, ties her up in a big bundle of the love her family and friends have for her.  And then reminds her of the most important part--Jesus loves her even more!  She reads this one herself (for the most part) now.  I love tucking her in after she's been so assured that her people and her God loves her.

The second one, God Loves You, is so precious.  It talks about different kinds of people... you can be messy or you can be neat.  You can be pokey or fast on your feet...  Then, it says in it about 5 times "God loves you, just as you are."  We've read it at least once a day for almost 2 years... so my precious child has heard these powerful, true words thousands of times. 

I think that important messages need to be soaked in, we need to be saturated in them.  God knows this and told us to hide HIS words in our hearts and to weave them in our conversations (especially with our children) as we come and go and do life.  I try to make sure Lucy gets the important messages about her--the truths--that she is special and wonderful and loved, just as she is.  Life gets busy and time gets short and I am so thankful that she loves these books, and that they have been a medium for her to hear me saying these words to her thousands of times.  I pray that they sink in deep and she never doubts or forgets them. 

As I look at what a tricky world it is for teenage girls, full of all kinds of sources of feedback (positive or negative) from everyone they know about every detail they choose to share, I get a little antsy...  Will these words of truths stick?  Will she know what a perfectly crafted creation she is?  Will she remember that MOST OF ALL (most  importantly of all, and far more importantly than any facebook like, twitter follower, media, or boyfriend) JESUS loves her?  I hope and pray so! 

And I say, "Let's read it again!"